Normally I would reserve the expensive fabrics for the bedroom and the living room and would opt for cheaper ones or discount upholstery fabric to be used for the kitchen. It is way too impractical to dress the dining table and other dining furniture with expensive materials. Think of numerous messy spills and dozens of nasty stains that will require a huge amount of effort to get washed off, or worse, a considerable amount of money to have it dry cleaned! There are cheaper alternative that would still help achieve the contemporary and homey effect that I want on my kitchen and dining area. A little creativity and a good alliance with a good tailor will help me do the trick many times over.