14
Choosing Upholstered
Furniture
Cushioned Support:
Feather and down seat cushions are the most
traditional and also the softest. They must be
regularly plumped to maintain shape. More
resilient are seat cushions with a mix of feather
and fibre with casing, or a foam core with a
feather wrap.
These are firmer than pure feather but still
need plumping. Foam provides the firmest
seat cushion and is low maintenance too,
although seat cushions can look rather square
and unyielding un-less softened by a Dacron
wrap.
Where to Start:
A logical starting point is to think about the
best features of the sofa or armchair being
replaced so you can try to emulate them in a
new purchase. Otherwise, sitting on a variety
of models is the only reliable way to find the
right one. People often choose a sofa after
perching on the edge of the seat and bouncing
up and down. Better advice is to take of your
coat and shoes as well, if you like to put your
feet up, settle down with a newspaper or book
or pretend to be watching television, Just as
you would at home.
Sizing it up:
The size, function and relative formality of the
room will influence your choice. For a small
room, a sofa with slim arms won’t overwhelm
the space. A stream-lined model with a low
back will complement a room with a low
ceiling, but you may miss having somewhere
to rest your head.
A high back will give good head and shoulder
support and echo dimensions of a tall room.
If getting the sofa into the house might be a
problem, take door or stairway measurements
to the showroom with you. When access is
restricted, there are companies that will make
a sofa in two halves or with removable arms
and assemble it on site.
Having a sofa made to order usually allows for
some dimensions to be modified. Sofas can
be made longer and shorter than standard
two-, three- or four- seaters. A small person
can ask for a few centimeters to be taken off
the seat depth so that feet can rest flat on the
floor; someone tall can specify a deeper seat
so that knees are not higher than the waist
when seated.
Most back cushions are filled with feather and/
or manmade fibre. The best sofa companies
will offer a full range of options.
On some sofas, back height can be increased
as well. A couple with p[referred ways of sitting
may do better to order a pair of personally
adjusted sofas or a sofa and a chair. Modular
Sofas also offer useful flexibility. Style file:
Under Cover: A classic sofa with fixed covers and no valance
can be transformed by changing the legs.
Cabriole legs, bun feet and polished turned
legs suggest a traditional context, while
tapered legs and apt choice of cover can give
the same sofa a contemporary edge.
The cost of a sofa reflects directly to the
method and materials used in its construction
or , in the case of classic 20th-century and
contemporary pieces, to the reputation of the
designer. Sofas built by traditional methods
will have a hardwood frame with coil springs
or a spring unit fitted to the frame. On to
that foundation will come horsehair or fibre
stuffing, then a second layer including wool
felt or cotton padding to give a firm seat or
base for cushions. The best hand-built sofas
cab last for generations.
Contemporary upholstery may also be built on
to a hard-wood frame but will be constructed
differently. Many pieces have firmer short coil
springs or elasticated webbing and hessian
fixed beneath high-density foam on the frame,
sometimes with feather seat cushions on
top. Superior grades of upholstery foam are
resilient, but low –density foam used directly
over webbing grid in some inexpensive sofas
can flatten and begin to crumble in a relatively
short time. Under-filled cushions tend not to
last long.
Many popular sofas are based on design of the
past. Often, elements from different periods
define the sofa as classic. Such as scroll arms
or buttoning. But most of all, it’s the legs.
Some Sofas have legs that are integral to the
frame, but when they are fitted individually to
a sofa, it can be updated to match a new room
scheme by swopping the legs for a different
style. The obvious time do to this is when the
sofa is recovered.
Website: www.wesley-barrell.co.uk