Upholstered Furniture Buying Guide

A kiln-dried hardwood frame is a must in ensuring durability in your sofa or sofa sectional. Some times pine frames are used to save expense, which is fine, but just know these typically don't last as long as hardwood frames. Oak, maple and ash are woods most commonly used. A good frame is joined using dowels as well as corner blocks glued and screwed together. The legs should be an integral part of the frame and center legs should be used for additional support.

There are two primary spring systems used in constructing upholstered furniture; eight-way hand-tied and sinuous. Eight-way hand-tied springs are used in the base of better quality pieces and are often considered a sign of quality. These three dimensional coils are attached to webbing on the bottom of the sofa or chair and tied with twine at the top to each of the eight adjacent coils to prevent them from shifting. This system gives the product an even comfort level and has the advantage of never "bottoming-out" no matter how big the person is that sits on it.

Sinuous springs are two dimensional "S" shaped wires that are fastened to the top of the front rail and run from the front to the back of the piece every few inches apart. This spring system offers a somewhat softer seat and can be used in pieces that sit lower to the ground as in many contemporary designs. While less costly to produce, it is not necessarily the sign of an inferior product. The quality and quantity of springs utilized is more an issue than which system is selected.

The way a frame is padded will affect not only its comfort, but also its durability. Prior to applying the fabric, it is important that the frame be padded so that at no point will the fabric be touching wood. This will prevent untimely fabric wear in a recliner and also add a subtle softness to the piece. Cotton and polydacron are the most popular frame padding materials. Seat cushions are filled with one of the following combinations of materials:

High density polyurethane foam wrapped in Dacron is the most common (and least expensive) seat core. The density of foam and quantity of Dacron will determine the softness of the seat.

Spring-Down cushions consist of innerspring coils surrounded by foam and wrapped in Dacron. This whole unit is then inserted into a muslin bag of channeled blendown. The springs give the unit support, while the blendown gives a luxurious surface feel.

Blendown cushions offer the softest seat, utilizing a combination of down and feathers sometimes wrapped around a foam core and then encased in a muslin bag. This cushion does not retain its shape without an occasional fluffing. Back cushions are primarily filled with Dacron fiber. Encasing the filling in a bag will help the cushions keep their proper shape. Occasionally, in better quality pieces, blendown is substituted for a more luxurious feel.

When choosing fabrics for upholstered home furniture, keep in mind that tightly woven fabrics tend to wear the best. Durability is determined by the number of threads per square inch rather than the thickness of the yarn used. Generally, fabrics that have their pattern woven in will wear better than printed fabrics.

There are many types of fiber. used in the manufacturing of upholstery fabrics. They each have unique attributes that must be considered in making a selection based on the planned usage of the piece. In addition to their look and feel, factors to consider are wearability, cleanability and sensitivity to direct sunlight.