Advice on buying a sofa First Things First 2 seater, leather, corner, chaise, The choice out there is baffling. So how do you go about choosing and then buying a new sofa? The starting point shouldn’t be the picture in the interior magazine! What a pity you can’t have an upholstery expert on your shoulder, whispering advice as you wander down the aisles. If only you could see under the fabric to those vital elements that tell you about the quality, or lack of. It is all too easy to be seduced by the glossy photos, the generous cushions and the fabulous discount offers. However if the construction of the sofa is poor, cheap frame, non-existent springs and weak joints, your bargain buy could turn out to be a white elephant. Choosing the right sofa starts with asking the right questions. So lets take a look at what you should think about and find out so that when you sink into the sofa, at the end of a hard day, you have sweet dreams not back ache. Questions Questions Who is this sofa going to be used by? Family & kids or in a more formal entertaining setting. Lounging and watching TV or sitting and reading the morning paper. Is the sofa going into a rented apartment or property? How long do you want the sofa to last – A good sofa can last a lifetime but you should expect to live with your purchase for up to ten years. Or are you tarting up a property to sell? If so then a budget option might fit the bill. What’s your budget? Like a good bed or mattress, invest in the best sofa you can afford. I always say that it is worth sacrificing other purchases and buying the best sofa that your budget will allow. Think about this. If you spend £1000 on a sofa and it lasts you 10 years then that works out at about £2.00 a week to sit comfortably. What size room are you buying the sofa for? Will it work in the space you want the sofa to go? What style are you trying to create? Will you be redecorating soon and if so what style are you planning? Do you want a sleek crisp look or are you more faded glory and gentleman’s club? These are just a few questions to be going on with, you’ll have a load more to throw at the salesperson once you’ve read my guide. There are several elements in the construction of a sofa:
- The frame
- The construction
- The suspension system
- The cushions
- The upholstery
Each of these plays an important role in creating the finished product.
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Upholstery
 Finally we get onto the bit that you can actually see. Here, of course, certain decisions of design come into play…see my article on choosing large pieces of furniture article for more design/ style information….
The length of life of your sofa is determined by all of the elements, however the length of its desirability could be a lot less if you choose the wrong fabric.
When choosing fabrics for sofas, keep in mind that tightly woven fabrics tend to wear the best. The number of threads per square inch rather than the thickness of the yarn used determines durability. Generally, fabrics that have their pattern woven in will wear better than printed fabrics.
There are many types of fibre used in the manufacturing of upholstered fabrics. They each have unique attributes that must be considered in making a selection based on the planned use of the upholstered furniture. In addition to their look and feel, factors to consider are wear, clean ability and sensitivity to direct sunlight.
Wool
Naturally springy and resilient, wool is extremely durable for sofas. It tends to take colour softly and has good resistance to abrasion. Wool has natural stain resistance .
Cotton
Cotton takes colour well (soft and pliable), blends well with other fibres, and is durable with unlimited styling potential. However, continuous exposure to direct sunlight will cause the cotton fibre to disintegrate on your sofa. In damp climates, cotton may tend to mildew. It is somewhat less stain resistant than synthetics.
Flax/Linen
With a strong, cool, crisp "hand", linen is one of the most durable fibres available for sofas. It has a tendency to resist colour and is often found in natural colour shades as a result. Linen reflects heat somewhat better than cotton, but will disintegrate in intense sunlight. It is at the higher end of fabric cost.
Silk
One of the most beautiful, yet fragile, of all sofa fabrics. Soft and lustrous, strong light will tend to discolour and disintegrate the fibre. Difficult to clean, the fibres will tend to mildew in damp climates. I tend to recommend silk for formal sofas that will have light use. Use silk in the scatter cushions on more regularly used sofas.
Synthetic Fibres
Polyester: a polymer that takes vibrant colours well. Polyester is strong and cleanable and stands up well under direct sunlight. Flame and abrasion resistant, this upholstered furniture fabric is often blended with natural fibres to soften its feel. Recent developments have led to a finely extruded polyester fibre that resembles the look and feel of silk.
Nylon: The strongest and most dirt resistant fibre, nylon is used often in commercial applications where it will take a beating. Until recently, nylon upholstered furniture typically had a high lustre. However, now it is often available with a de-lustred wool look and feel. Its only drawback is its sensitivity to sunlight.
Armed with your new knowledge and questions are you ready to hit the stores?
Almost…just a little more information and then you can get going.
Before you leave do the following
- Measure the room and specifically the area the sofa is going to be positioned. If you want to draw a simple plan of the room to take with you.
- Measure your doorways and passageways to be sure that when delivered, your new sofa can be bought into the room.
- Make a note of the colours of other major items in the room that you are buying the sofa for – carpet, walls/ wallpaper, curtains, and major pieces of art. Use a common paint colour card to help match up these colours.
- Think about other pieces of furniture that you may be considering, but haven’t purchased yet, for this room.
- Pack a measuring tape, a digital cameral and put on some comfy shoes.
Persuade a friend to take a day off and come shopping with you. Two people testing out a sofa and looking at the good and bad is always better than one.
At the shops
- Ask as many questions as you can about the materials used, the construction method, the time between ordering and delivery, the fabric quality and treatment, any extras. If the salesperson doesn’t know the answer, ask them to find out or ask for the manufacturers contact details to ask them.
- Sit on the sofas, push and pull them about a bit – don’t be shy these should be made to last…see the side bar.
- Don’t stop at just one shop…have a good look around, take price information and then check out the competition. Go on the Internet and see what else is available. There are quite a few outlets that sell the same sofas, made by the same manufacturers, but selling at very different prices…don’t fall for ‘special weekend deals’.
- Don’t be seduced by the comfy cushions, the sofa in the room set. Remember that those show rooms have lots of space to display their sofas, but will it fit in your room?
When you get home
- Check out all the information that you have been given.
- Draw up a list of ‘pro’s & con’s about each sofa and style.
- Make a paper template or use a sheet and lay out the area of the sofa to ‘see’ how it might feel in the room. Can you walk around it, does it look dominant in the room?
- Check up on the construction and other details.
Then and only then are you ready to place your order.
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The Frame A well built sofa’ like a solid building, is based on a good sound frame. Look for sofas with ‘kiln-dried hardwood’ such as oak, poplar or other hard woods. Kiln drying removes the excess moisture in the wood and thus ensures that there is little chance of it cracking or warping in the future. Today’s manufacturing also uses furniture grade plywood, thicker than the normal plywood. At the budget end of furniture construction you will find the use of soft woods, plastic and lower grade plywoods being used. These materials are cheaper but make a lower grade and inferior product that will not wear as well as the more expensive base products. There are further reasons that cheap sofas may not last as long. Ask about the materials used in the construction of the sofa.
Construction A well-built sofa will have its frame joined using a mixture of dowel, block & glue and screws. This structure will be solid and survive the shunting, lunging and thumping that sofas inevitably sustain during normal use. The cheaper sofa will, most probably, be staple and glued together with lighter weight braces to hold the joints together. For a quick test use the ‘Wiggle Test’ See side bar.
Ask about the construction method when you are in store or call up the manufacturer and ask them. The Suspension/ Spring System When you sit on a sofa there will some form of suspension system that gives it its ‘bounce’. How firm a ‘ride’ you get from your sofa will also be determined by the style of springing that is used in the construction materials. Think about whether you like to sink into a plump sofa that envelops you or whether you prefer to have a firm sofa that looks crisp and firm as soon as you get up. There are basically 3 different springing systems for sofas. The 8-way hand-tied steel coil system, the drop coil system or the sinuous strung wire system. The 8-way hand-tied coil system is the Porsche of sofa suspension. Each coil is attached at 8 different points to the other coils in the seat. The coils are then attached to the frame. This system gives you a nice continuous ‘Ride’ with the higher density of coils giving the firmer ‘ride’ overall. The Drop coil system differs in that a pre-made unit of coils that are clipped together are dropped into the frame and then attached to it at the corners. This is a little cheaper than the 8-way system and gives a slightly less continuous ‘ride’ so you could end up sitting in a bit of a dip. The number of coils used, again, effects the firmness overall. The last of the systems is known as the sinuous system thus called because the wires are wrapped over the frame and zigzag back and forth to create a bed for the seating cushions. This system is often used in sleek low-slung modern seats. The ride is very firm, so not for those who dream of diving into a soft plump enveloping sofa. All frames and suspension systems should be wrapped in a base fabric to ‘pad’ them and give a barrier from the covering material and the frame etc, and also the padding gives the sofa some of its shape and ‘body’. Be wary of foam-padded arms on sofas. These can ‘slip’ or ‘spilt’ (under the outer upholstery fabric) exposing the frame material below. Cushions
Part of the overall feel and comfort of the sofa will come from the style of cushion that is used in the sofa. The base cushions separate your bottom from the springs of the suspension system. Again there are basically 3 style of cushion construction. Full down and fibre cushions, central sprung with fibre wrapping and foam cushions. Full down cushions are, as they sound, often filled with a mixture of down and other fibre fillings wrapped in a very fine grade fabric to prevent their escape. The cushions are plump and soft and are the type that you sink into but that need plumping up to reshape them. Semi sprung fabric wrapped give a firmer seat. These have a central spring mechanism that is enveloped in fabric wadding and sometimes down and fibre as well. This is a medium firm seat that will return to its original shape once you get up. The foam filled sofa seats are the firmest of the lot. These are made of high-grade polyurethane foam, for the purpose of seating, they are often tightly bound in wadding to give a little softness to the very firm seat that you get from this style of cushion. Foam is used in cheaper sofas but also in more expensive sofas where the look is very sleek and crisp. Anatomy of a sofa
- Hardwood frames create a strong foundation. Critical stress points are reinforced with dowels, glue, screws and braces.
- Arm edgeroll helps provide a tailored silhouette.
- Corner seat blocks or springs offer extra support where it is needed most.
- An intricate web of eight-way hand-tied steel coils becomes a sturdy, resilient foundation for seat deck.
- An underlying layer of steel strapping and spring-tex gives coil springs an extra measure of support.
- Interwoven fiber placed over springs ensures a comfortable, noise-free seat.
- Foam seat deck provides another layer of support and comfort.
- Edgeroll adds firmness, comfort and shape to seat edge.
- Special high-density polyurethane foam, wrapped in dacron fiber and sewn into a cover, makes an extraordinarily plush seat cushion.
- Lined and underlined skirts hold their shape beautifully.
- Highest-quality polyester fiber brings softness and shape to seat back.
- High-density foam used in back construction provides a perfect balance of firmness and luxury.
- A covering made of spring-tex and polypropylene brings more support to back construction.
- No-sag sinuous springs provide a supportive, resilient base for back construction.
- Multiple layers of arm padding provide cushiony softness and support.
Useful Adresses/ More To Read Slip cover suppliers -
www.plumbscovers.co.uk
www.lynplan.com
Good Quality Discount Fabrics
The Curtain Factory Outlet - www.curtainfactoryoutlet.co.uk National Home Furnishings Association
www.nhfa.org/consumer.asp Bank Rate (general advise)
www.bankrate.com |
