The type of nail you’ll be looking for depends on what you’ll need it for. Most commonly used on indoor furniture for attaching a new fabric covering, upholstery nails can be used for decoration or to give a beloved old piece of furniture a new lease of life. They are both functional and nice to look at.
There are various types of upholstery nails. They come in different sizes, colours, finishes and shapes. Depending on your project, you’ll need to think about where these nails are going and what size will fit their placement. You’ll also want nail colours that match what you are applying to them too.
Multiple Uses of Upholstery Nails
Upholstery nails can help cover up unsightly staples whilst adding a finishing flair to furnishing. They even enhance the look or change up the style of a product. Upholstery nails work best with these delicate materials as both the fabric and the nails would be susceptible to harsh weather outdoors. Rain could ruin the material or rust the decorative nails.
When it comes to furniture, it’s not just seating fabric that upholstery nails can be used for. You can also use the nails to customize a chest of drawers or liven up a wooden cabinet, making it unique and memorable to you.
With the nails, you can create a pattern around the edges of a drawer. For example, a heart shape pattern made with heart-shaped nails would be ideal for a little girl’s room or even a particularly romantic couple’s room.
You can even use upholstery nails to personalize pin-up boards. You can place these boards in your room, home office or kitchen and attach reminders to stay productive or photographs, souvenirs or other memories.
A Look at the Different Types of Upholstery Nails
As mentioned, there are various sizes and shapes, so let’s take a look into each type so you know what’s out there.
Rounded and Domed Nails
Probably the most recognized type of upholstery nail. For a more subtle approach to your project, you can add small nails with a flatter, circular head.
Enamelled in various basic colours from blue, red and green to subdued tones of black, brown and off-white, you have plenty of choices for rounded and domed nails. These can either blend with whatever you’re attaching or provide a contrasting accent to it. Think of it like you’re adding jewellery!
These nails also get longer and more dome-shaped, all the way up to a bigger ‘Conical Head’. These can be brass or nickel-plated, among many other options.
Square Nails
You can use square upholstery nails if it’s a better fit for your project. They come in a few different sizes and patterns. Some resemble flat pyramids. It sounds obvious, but you can also tilt the square nails slightly and treat them as a diamond shape.
Decorative Nails
To add a unique flair to a project, you could opt for some decorative nails. From heart shapes to quirky pins that look like playing cards, modern styles and individuality come into play.
There are also more complex decorative designs with patterned heads, made to look like flowers, footballs, butterflies, daisies and honeycomb textures. For upholstering, something more antique looking, classy and elegant nails that feature designs like an ornate cross, a filigree pattern or a ‘Fleur-de-lis’ (a French decorative lily symbol) will match up well.
Depending on the interior you’re designing, decorative nails like the ‘Greek Key’ (also known as the meander, a symbol for ‘infinity and the ‘eternal flow of things) could add a neat touch. Alongside the highly decorative turquoise and brass Starfish nail, these two types of nails could easily add an accent to a bathroom.
Crystal Nails
Slightly more subtle than some of the other decorative nails mentioned above, crystal nails add a highly sophisticated touch to any piece of upholstered furniture. The crystal nails come in plenty of fancy colours, including amber, fuchsia, purple and ‘crystal’ clear, as well as your basic reds, greens, and blues. With the crystal nails, there are two styles to choose from, a regular nail or a prong style for easier attachment.
Nail Your Upholstery Projects
Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what kind of upholstery nails are out there. You may even know which type is right for you after reading this. But if you’re still unsure, you can order a sample board to see the range and help decide what kind of upholstery nails are right for your project.
