We’re talking about one of the most important parts of picking out the right sofa, but one that is often ignored.
QUALITY!
So often we go out shopping and forget to look into quality. We look at style, and comfort, and price, and somehow let quality go as the task gets more and more daunting. But really, it should be the first questions out of our mouth when we go to buy upholstery. I can tell you from experience that nothing like poor quality will ruin the looks, ruin the comfort, and ruin a budget.
But what do we look for, and how do we fact check? So much of a sofas quality is hidden underneath the pretty facade of its design. Let’s do a run down of some things to focus on.
The outside is the most obvious, and will receive the most wear and tear.
Even when it’s not being used, a piece of upholstery is being tested by its environment. Sunlight (UV), humidity, dust, heat, and more are working on wearing in that fabric. So find out what your fabric or leather consists of- for fabrics, look at the fiber contents first. Aside from wool, most natural or organic fibers do not hold up well on their own. Watch out for cottons, rayons (a processed tree fiber), silk, etc. and look for things like polyester, acrylic, olefin, etc. Generally synthetic fibers can be spun more densely, across a longer strand.
Once you know about the fiber type, find out how it rates in common upholstery tests like a double rub. If the salesperson doesn’t know or can’t get you the answer, its probably a pass. Most cheap import fabrics never receive an ounce of testing, so no one really knows how it will hold up. Good quality upholsterers know what a double rub count is. (FYI, its basically a sand papering of the fabric to determine how well it holds up under frequent use). Double rubs should number in the tens of thousands. The two most common methods are Wyzenbeek and Martinsdale. Below is a Wyzenbeek machine used by Kravet.
A machine used to test fabric resilience
Also find out about cleaning codes. The two most common are ‘S’ and ‘W’ types. S stands for solvent and means that the fabric mill only recommends using dry cleaning or professional cleaning services to handle spills, soiling, and stains. Obviously this means that most things can’t be cleaned by you. This can be a big pain if you have company coming over and a wine stain on your sofa (personal experience here). W is water, in cases you needed to know. Obviously a damp dishcloth is easy to get a hold of, and great as a cleaning tool in case of a worrisome accident. Don’t be afraid of S type fabrics, as more and more materials are made with this cleaning code. Just think about buying a professional service warranty with your upholstery- hiring a company after the fact can run hundreds of dollars. Again, this is common information that ANY good quality furniture store should know. Bassett lists on the back of each of its material samples both fiber content and cleaning code- no hidden catches.
After all that, inspect the fabric sample you’ve selected closely. Look for fraying, snags, lint/dust build up, tears, and pilling. You see any signs of those, you may want to pass.
Once the outside is covered, look at the inside. Most upholstery, be it a chair, a sectional, a sofa, or a loveseat, has 3 major interior components. Cushion and padding, seat support, and frame.
Cushion padding is very difficult to analyze- most foams are made through complex chemical processes that establish resiliency and longevity. Good upholstery seat cushions should always be high resiliency (HR) with a rating of 1.5 or greater. Again, if the store can’t get you that info, then pass. Bassett’s premier custom upholstery has a rating of 2.25 and a 7 year warranty on parts. They’re also zippered so you can easily substitute a cushion if there ever is a problem. Back cushions and pillows should be zippered (again for easy care and maintenance), and should have a separate fiber bag within the exterior upholstery fabric. This fiber bag should be chambered- its what will save your cushion from significant sagging after several years of use. Ask a sales person to remove the core or show you IN WRITING, the store’s warranty on their cushions. Once the cushion wears out, the fabric has more stress, and then your upholstery is done. CHECK THE WRITTEN WARRANTY ALWAYS! If the cushions are sewn in and not zippered, make sure it covers labor too. Do you know how to take out a seam, restuff a cushion, and restitch it? Then make sure they will.
Seat decks/support are your next big component. Most often you can feel underneath the actual seat cushion and determine how they’re constructed if the store/salesperson can’t tell you. Ideally, you have an eight way machine tied spring base. Hand tying (pictured below) is also good but because of the twine used, and the irregularity of spacing and tightness around the springs, it usually needs to be reworked sooner then a machine tied spring.
Hand tied seat spring base
Sinuous wire and seat webbing are used more frequently in cheap furniture, but can also be used for select styles where a traditional spring base won’t fit (decorative accent chairs, low frame profiles, etc). There is a big range in the quality of sinuous wire and seat webbing constructions. Density of spring dispersement, strength of steel, etc, can all affect your outcome.As always, find out your warranty.
Finally, there’s your frame. Most modern sectionals and sofas are built from plywoods. IF its frame is built from solid pieces of wood (like boards), its probably an antique, or a very cheap piece of new furniture. Antique wood frames can last for very long periods of time, since the timber is more likely to be old growth and more dense. Most new growth woods are cut while the tree is still relatively young, and thus more likely to snap or crack under stress. That’s why plywood is used.
Find out how thick the plywood is (most common is 3/8″). Look for things that are greater then 1/2″ as a general rule. If they say its thicker then 1″, its either overkill or a lie. Usually the thicker plywoods have higher shear strength and more cross-laminated pieces. A healthy tid bit here is that kiln-drying only matters in solid wood. All plywood should be already kiln dried or the plywood would delaminate on its own.
Bassett uses 7/8″ thick, 7 ply, cross laminated frames or 13/16th frames.
Then see how it is all put together. Wood frames should be interlocked, with one piece cut partially into another in such a way that they support another. Junk furniture relies on glue, screws, and staples to support weight or resist stress. If the frame isn’t interlocked, you’ll have creaking, wobbling, and racking in no time. If you haven’t picked up on it yet, CHECK THE WARRANTY. A manufacturer and a store should have a lot of confidence in a frame built well- it should be the last thing to go on a couch.
Hope this helps with a happy shopping and purchasing process. Check out our Bassett Beaverton store to find more information and knowledgeable designers. Tell them you saw our blog!
