Join the Debate: Can a Corduroy Couch Be Chic?

For the recurring series That’s Debatable, we take on a contentious issue of the day and present two spirited arguments—one in favor and the other emphatically opposed.

DESIGN PROFESSIONALS generally agree that corduroy is the casual relative of velvet. “Simply put, corduroy is best suited in the family room, and velvet is more of a living room fabric,” said Caitie Smithe, designer and buyer at Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design in Chicago. Some argue, however, that corduroy’s kick-back character does not preclude it from telegraphing the various qualities that add up to “chic” as an upholstery fabric. In the great room of her family’s vacation home on Apple Canyon Lake, in Northwestern Illinois, design pro Jenni Bishop has installed a Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin circular sectional in its original deep-caramel corduroy. “It’s cabincore chic for certain!” said Ms. Bishop, a principal with Chicago’s Studio Gild. Still others believe corduroy on a couch looks irredeemably dated.