Upholstered Furniture Shopping Tips

Style, comfort, and quality are the main criteria for selecting a sofa, chair or other piece of upholstered furniture when furniture shopping. Fabric and leather provides beauty to a piece of upholstered furniture. But it's the inside that you don't see which makes the difference in the overall comfort and durability of a piece.

In most upholstered furniture, there are three basic parts beneath the covering material. They are the frame, the supporting foundation and the cushioning or padding. The frame and supporting foundation are critical to the comfort of an item since they are the support for the other components. Traditionally, the best frames are made of kiln-dried hardwood, which resists warping. However, some quality frames today may also be made of steel, laminated boards or a combination of other materials. Support for seating areas can be provided by webbing, slats or springs of various types. Spring systems can be a single coil type, double cone coil or zigzag (sinuous S-type) and can be connected with twine, wire ties or metal clips. Eight-way hand-tied coil springs have been considered a mark of quality for decades. In this method, each coil spring is placed in the seat by hand and the coil is tied into place with twine and interlocked with the other coils using an intricate set of knots. Each coil is set-up to individually respond to body weight. Eight-way, hand-tied springs are still the standard of excellence for those who can afford the very best when furniture shopping. However, many comfortable quality pieces use other support systems including sinuous springs and webbing.

Cushioning a piece of upholstered furniture is the next step in producing a comfortable feel. Cushioning materials commonly include cotton or polyester, polyurethane foams and even down. Foam and polyester fiberfill wrap are commonly used padding materials. These synthetic materials are very durable and resilient. There are different grades of foam that lend themselves to various styling applications. HC (High Comfort) foam and HR (High Resiliency) foam are excellent materials. Foam can be used as a solid unit, wrapped with a softer polyester material or chopped and blown into new shapes for arms and backs that would otherwise be difficult to pad.

Furniture upholstery materials include fabric, leather and vinyl. Express your taste in your upholstered furniture with the colors, patterns and textures you enjoy. The choices available when furniture shopping are virtually unlimited, however lifestyle and budget should still be seriously taken into consideration.

Basically, there are only two types of fabric, naturals such as cotton and synthetics such as nylon. Many fabrics are a blended combination of natural and synthetic fibers combined to provide the best qualities of each including beauty and durability. Generally, fabrics with tighter weaves and more durable fibers such as olefin or nylon stand up better to hard use. More elegant fabrics such as damasks and brocades are breathtaking, but they should be reserved for seating where hard use isn't a concern.

Leather is one of the most popular furniture upholstery materials today, and it now comes in many different colors and textures. Newer methods of tanning and manufacturing have also brought leather into an affordable price range for most household's furniture shopping budgets.

When furniture shopping, the best way to initially test an upholstered piece of furniture is by sitting in it. It doesn't matter how good it is if you aren't comfortable. Be sure to check that the height and angle of the back and depth of the seat are suited to your size. If others are going to use the piece often, they should try it out also. This is particularly important when choosing a recliner or chair. It must be a perfect fit for the person who uses it the most or it will always be a regretted purchase – no matter how good the price. The keys to remember are to choose a feel you like and a durability that matches your lifestyle needs.

Upholstered Furniture Construction

The following factors should be considered when furniture shopping for just about any upholstered piece of furniture, whether it's a sofa, sleeper or recliner.

• Frame Construction
  Good: Air dried hardwood with hardwood plywood in non-stress areas such as the sides - double doweled corner blocks glued and machine nailed - plastic screw-in legs - hard front edge.
  Better: Kiln dried hardwood throughout - double doweled corner blocks glued and screwed.
  Best: 5/4" kiln dried hardwood throughout - double doweled corner blocks glued and screwed - built-in wood legs - center support leg on larger pieces for better weight distribution - spring edge - front to back seat stretches or braces.
• Spring Construction
  Good: Sinuous or no sag S-shaped wire fastened from the front to the back of the frame - webbing.
  Better: Drop-in coil pre-assembled coil spring unit that's placed in the frame instead of clipping each spring separately.
  Best: Eight-way hand-tied coils provide an even foundation so that no single spring has to support more pressure/weight than another spring.
• Cushions
  Good: 1.5 density, polyurethane foam.
  Better: 1.8 density, polyurethane foam with Dacron wrap.
  Best: 2.0 density, polyurethane foam, which is usually wrapped in a Poly-Dacron and sewn into a muslin bag to prevent the fabric from slipping out of place on the cushion.

Checklist for Upholstered Furniture Shopping

• Seats fit well and are comfortable.
• Backs are free of bumps and hard spots.
• Frame is sturdy, doesn't creak or wobble.
• Frame sits squarely on the floor.
• Frames, corners and edges are well padded.
• Corners are braced and glued.
• Seams and welts are straight.
• Patterns and stripes match at seams.
• Patterns are centered.
• Cushions fit securely.
• Cushions are resilient.
• Buttons are sewn on securely.
• Pieces that will receive hard use are covered in a tightly woven, durable material.
• Mechanisms on recliners and sleeper sofas work easily.
• Any moving parts clear the fabric to prevent tearing.
• Metal parts are smooth with no sharp edges.
• Dual-purpose seating is well balanced in each position.
• It has a gold UFAC tag, which means it's more resistant to cigarette ignition.

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