WE LADIES have all had that dreaded conversation at one time or another. You know what we’re talking about. We try to avoid it, but it keeps rearing its ugly, overstuffed head. The Recliner. The Man Chair. Nearly every home has one, and nearly every couple has had the same argument: It’s ugly! It’s comfortable! But I hate looking at it! But everything else in the house looks nice, can’t we have just one comfortable chair?

The debate rages on, and it’s something we at Posh Living face in nearly every home we design. Some of the newer solutions save space, but we all know that Queen Anne wing chair isn’t fooling anyone, and those modern Swedish recliners are just so, well, modern and Swedish. Unless you’re living the eclectic loft lifestyle, they stick out like a sore thumb.

What to do? As designers, we specialize in problem-solving and finding just the right furnishings for each client. Recliners are appealing because they are so comfortable. The same level of comfort can often be achieved by choosing upholstered seating that fits the client’s needs. When we sell a sofa, we always ask if the client prefers to sit or lie down, if they need support for a bad back,and if they’ll be using the piece themselves or if it’s primarily for guests. If a man likes to lay flat, the right sofa can work instead of a recliner. There is a big difference in the type of seating you need for an hour’s visit versus an all-day football marathon. Often, we’ll choose a medium size sofa that is comfortable for most people, and focus on his-and-hers seating for every day use.

First, let’s talk about the Man-Chair. Comfort is key. Most men look to the recliner for its comfort and flexibility. They want head support for that post-yardwork nap, and lots of cushioning for watching games or reading. However, when offered other options sometimes a guy will choose a chair and ottoman. Our most popular recliner substitute is our overscaled Brighton wing chair. Its wide seat, fat arms and big wings are perfect for settling in for the afternoon. Add an ottoman and you can relax in a reclined position with your head on the wing and chill out. Because it doesn’t recline, it saves space in the room, so it is perfect to tuck into a corner. It can be upholstered or slipcovered, and the slipcover is washable, so if you are not a fan of the typical recliner fabrics, like leather or chenille, it provides a wide variety of choices. If the cover becomes worn or stained, it is easy to repair or replace. For a casual home, both men and women love its distinctive, relaxed English cottage style.

If a recliner is truly what is needed, take heart; they are getting better looking all the time! At Posh Living, we like McNeilly-Champion leather recliners. They come in a wide variety of frame styles, and most of them resemble classic club chairs so they really don’t look like a recliner at all. Imagine an English style club chair with mahogany feet and casters, or an Art Deco recliner in bomber-brown leather – in other words, a recliner that will be a decorative feature in the room, instead of an eyesore. The other advantage of a “hidden” recliner is the fact that they take up so much less room; the same level of comfort can be achieved using far less floor space. Without the typical wide, flat arms, a club chair recliner is much smaller. With a wide selection of leather choices, six leg colors, and a large selection of frame styles, we’ve been able to solve almost any seating problem without a design dilemma. Of course, it has to be seen to be believed, so we are very excited to have one in our showroom. The frame construction is unsurpassed in the industry; the reclining mechanism is smooth and uses no levers – just lean back and the chair goes with you. Needless to say, we are very proud to be a McNeilly-Champion dealer.

Last but not least, we like to address the comfort of the lady of the house as well. Many women are uncomfortable with the overscaled upholstery of today. They want to sit with their feet on the floor and their back against the back cushions, but most sofas are just too deep. It is really important when furniture-shopping to sit on several chairs and sofas to see what best fits you. We are usually concerned with the height of the seat off the floor, and the depth of the seat from front to back. Seat cushions of sofas vary from 18″ high up to 23″, and need to be the right height for those using them. A short person may need an 18″ seat, unless they have long legs. A tall person may not need a high seat cushion, if the sofa is deep enough to sink back into. We ask our clients to sit on several pieces and see what feels right. A higher sofa can be fine for a shorter person if it has soft cushions, but may be too high if it has the firmest spring cushions. Once our client has made her choice, we measure the dimensions of that chair or sofa to choose her custom chair. Many women like to read, knit or scrapbook, so reclining is not as important as sitting comfortably, and we take all of that into account.

As designers, we often become deeply involved in people’s lives. It’s so rewarding when we receive compliments from clients who ordered custom furnishings. Quality furniture can be hard on your initial budget, but we feel strongly that buying pieces that will last makes sense. Years later, we’ll bump into a client and hear how much they still love their chair, room, or house – and we love knowing that we made a difference! Often, a husband and wife will have two entirely different chairs in the same room – leather for him, and something pretty but very comfortable for her. Sometimes, they order his-and-hers matching chairs. As people today are looking to age in place, it is so helpful to have quality furnishings that won’t sag, spring cushions that are firm to ease getting up, or even a motorized recliner. It gives us great satisfaction to know that we have designed rooms our client may have for a lifetime, and that we may have ended an ongoing argument once and for all!

Copyright 2009 Kerry Ann Dame. May not be reproduced without permission.

DECORATING THE FAMILY ROOM has long been a dilemma for families that want to have an attractive space that also functions well for everyone’s needs. Add to that the constraints of room size and budget, and it could be a recipe for disaster. What can we do to create the most family friendly home? By paying attention to the key elements below, your family can create a space together that meets everyone’s needs and looks great.

Family Life

Who will be using the room? If you have a house full of teenagers who are constantly having friends over, then you have different needs for seating and space than a family with toddlers. If a computer is in the picture, invest in a table or desk to create a tidy computer area, and have an extra chair to pull up when two are surfing the web. Make a list of the items that absolutely need to be in the room – such as storage for small toys, bookshelves, a media center, a computer center (move away from the TV to avoid traffic jams), perhaps a recliner for dad and a favorite chair for mom with tables nearby that have drawers for papers, projects and remote controls. Then think multi-function for the pieces you will have. Bookshelf units can have cabinets on the bottom to hold baskets of toys. Instead of an end table, look for a small chest of drawers that can hide clutter. A soft ottoman can be great for toddlers, but they do take a beating, so have it slipcovered with a washable fabric. Don’t waste any opportunity for storage – make sure the ottoman opens up and it’s a great place for preschool toys or floor pillows and quilts for movie nights. One budget-friendly solution is a fabric skirted table. They cost far less than a nice end table, look very elegant, and the space underneath can hide a basket of bills, knitting, toys or even the dog crate.

Space Planning

This can be an area where professional help is invaluable. Many families assume they need a sectional sofa, but they are not always the best choice as they can really swallow up a room. Since there is usually one great TV spot, you’ll end up wearing out one of the seats rather quickly and have to replace an entire sectional (essentially a roomful of furniture) because one seat is worn. In the long run it is far more cost-effective to have a pair of sofas and a club chair or two, which can be replaced piece by piece as needed. If your kids are into gaming, they might like swiveling chairs which allow for more action. They can also be turned around easily to face another area, such as the kitchen, when adults are entertaining and want to chat. A designer can help designate traffic areas and create storage that fits your media and computer exactly. Making use of every square inch of space efficiently works wonders in making a room feel much bigger – think about the cabinetry on a ship or a well-designed kitchen, and apply those ideas to your computer and media equipment. It doesn’t have to be an expensive custom project, either. Take stock of your equipment and measure the dimensions of every piece. Measure how much file drawer space you need, how many feet of bookshelves, how many baskets of toys, etc. Then purchase storage units that go together and combine to provide the sizes and shapes of storage your family needs. This can be time consuming ( or you can hire a professional hourly to do it) but in the long run it looks great, keeps the family organized, and cleanup is quick and easy when everything has a place.

Durability

The quality of furniture you purchase makes an enormous difference in how long things last in a home with children. I often have parents tell me they intend to buy cheap furniture while the kids are small, and replace it later when it gets destroyed. I’m against that idea on so many levels. First, as parents we want to teach our children to respect our things and have good manners when they visit others; if we don’t care that the furnishings are being destroyed, they won’t either. Second, cheap furniture wears out quickly anyway; add a growing family and it will look awful in just a couple of years. The cushions, of cheap low-density foam, will quickly go flat if used for forts on the floor. The cover, with inadequate padding on the frame, will wear through at the edges in what seems like no time. Cheap sofas and chairs actually require more tender loving care to last more a than a couple of years before looking tattered, and they certainly won’t make it ’till the kids grow up! Try to find pieces in a medium price range at least, and ask for cushion density of 1.8 foam or higher (if the salesperson can’t tell you the grade of foam used, keep looking). Ask to see a cutaway drawing of the sofa, and check to see there is lots of padding on the arms, and glued and doweled joints to keep the frame solid.

As a designer I have had great success with slipcovered furniture in homes with kids, grandkids or pets. Clients can have a nicer-looking fabric (velvet, linen or cotton are popular) and have a room that is attractive for company. They can ask the kids to be respectful of the room, since it looks nice and is easily appreciated; but if there is a horrible accident involving grape juice or pizza sauce, no harm is done and the slipcover goes right into the washer. After five years of little kids, a slipcover may start to look tired from repeated washing but it is easily replaced at about half the price of replacing the sofa. I’ve had some families order slipcovers for everyday to cover the nicer upholstery that they keep for company, giving them two different looks for the room and a lot less worry. Slipcovers can be made in a variety of nice fabrics that are much more interesting than the typical cotton duck. When we make them in our workroom, we make a pattern right off of the clients furniture so they are more like a fitted suit and look great.

The second most abused element in a family room is the flooring. Carpet can wear quickly and an area rug on top can really extend its life. Today’s wood floors have finishes that last for years, but they need extra protection in the seating and traffic areas. Classic wool oriental rugs are excellent for this. They are durable, very cleanable and offer strong patterns to hide any spots. If that’s not your look, you can also have a plain patterned carpet made into an area rug. Choose a commercial grade 100% nylon fiber, or a Stainmaster brand, and have it cut and bound into a rug. In our shop we often use commercial carpet that looks like seagrass or sisal. These natural floorcoverings are popular but not very stain resistant, and the commercial nylon version provides the same look and wears like iron. The right rug can do wonders to dress up a room for company while performing admirably under the daily wear of family life.

So it is possible to create a family room that looks great and functions too. With the proper storage, you can avoid feeling like you’re living in a cluttered playroom. Having a place for everything creates a relaxing environment, and when it comes to cleanup, it’s quick and easy so there are no more excuses! And with the right materials, you won’t end up with a room full of stained and beaten-up furnishings and rugs that seem worn out before you’ve had a chance to enjoy them. Everyone can pile on the slipcovered sofa for a night of popcorn and movies, and snuggle with the quilt pulled out from the storage ottoman. The kids can watch videos on big floor pillows or rock and roll in swivel chairs, leaving some sofa space for the grown-ups. When everyone’s needs are met, things run so much more smoothly, and that’s all parents really want, isn’t it?

Copyright 2008 Kerry Ann Dame. May not be reproduced without permission.

WE’RE ALL LOOKING for ways to make our budgets go further these days, and decorating is no exception. The most fun way to save on your interior design projects is to become an avid do-it-yourself-er. Tackling new skills can be intimidating, but many projects are easy to learn. As interior designers know, planning and executing design projects is not only fun, but it can be rewarding in many ways.Instead of purchasing a pre-conceived look from a shop, do some research and put some effort into developing your own style. Putting your own stamp on things rejects the theory that there is a right or wrong way to decorate. It quiets that critical voice in our heads that tells us to follow the crowd. You’ll end up with a room that expresses your personality and has a more timeless style. No matter what the trends are, your house will always be primarily a reflection of you. When your home is constantly evolving, it will never need an expensive, top-to-bottom decoration again.

Decorating for yourself is also a lot easier on your design budget. Instead of approaching your interior design as an all-or-nothing project, think of it as an ongoing hobby. Having an unhurried attitude towards your home allows serendipity to come into play. For example, you may see a fabric in a design magazine that you love, and find out that it is very expensive. Six months later, you may be in luck, as one of the larger fabric mills is likely to jump on the trend and produce a less-expensive version with a similar look. Or, you may have your heart set on a custom French sofa covered in a designer fabric. This is an item that could really be expensive. However, with time on your side you may find a vintage sofa in a similar style that could be refurbished. In our upholstery shop, we often work on vintage and antique pieces. The springs can be repaired, stuffing replaced, the wood frame refinished or painted, and replacement cushions in feather and down, just like the original. With bolt pricing on our fabrics, that designer fabric costs half as much. While it may sound like a large expense to fix up an old sofa, if you compare the result to the price of that $2500 sofa in the showroom window, spending less than half as much on a reupholstery project is a bargain.

While this may sound like a new approach to decorating, in reality it is tried and true. Designers have always used antiques and refurbished pieces because they add so much character to a home.

Often our clients will have sofas and chairs that are in perfect shape, but the fabric is tired. It saves them money and time to reupholster. Older furniture is often more sturdy and can last a lifetime. If you don’t have a frame to recover, it is worth it to splurge on the best-built frame you can afford; later, when you need to recover, you can slipcover or reupholster for half of the replacement cost, and you’ll have your choice of thousands of fabrics.

Buying vintage and reusing existing furnishings has the added benefit of being a “green” choice. We all hate to see something go into the landfill that could still have some life left in it. The best way to avoid contributing to the mountain of trash is to buy the best quality furniture you can and keep it as long as you can. If you truly don’t need it, pass it down to the kids, or donate it to a charity shop so it can become another thrifty decorator’s project. In addition, buying vintage usually means buying locally, which cuts down on energy use. If we must buy some new pieces for a client, we encourage them to order American made products. The shipping times are faster, there are fewer problems with quality, and the prices are excellent.

The idea of creating a home as an ongoing project sounds great, but it can have pitfalls too. Proceeding without an sense of your own taste or a list of what you need can be disastrous if you buy things willy-nilly just to save money. We advise our clients to begin with a Saturday afternoon and a pile of decorating magazines and books. Settle in with a cup of coffee and start marking pictures you like. Soon you’ll see that the pictures have a common thread, and you’ll learn what your taste is. Perhaps you like antiques, but want an uncluttered, modern look when it comes to accessories. Or maybe all of the pictures you like have colorful paint on the walls or soft sheers at the windows.

Once you know what you like, walk through each room of the house and make a list of the things you could do to move the room closer to that look. A sample list might say: build bookshelves, paint the walls, add curtains, recover the sofa, rehang art. Some of these things you can do yourself, and some you may need to hire help with. We work with many clients who meet with us every few months for a consultation, and they’ll have a list of questions for projects all over the house. It can be very helpful to run your ideas by a professional. A designer can take your idea pictures and create combinations of fabrics for you to work from. Floor plans, paint colors, and questions of proportion and scale are always important. When you shop for fabrics, work with your designer to choose a fabric that is appropriate for the use you are considering. Designers know what is best for upholstery, or whether or not a fabric will drape well for curtains. This kind of information is crucial for your project to go smoothly.

Buying something that doesn’t work just because it is on sale is wasting your budget, so professional advice can be a real help. After the consultation, you can get a lot accomplished on your own, getting walls painted or stopping in to select fabric for an upholstery job. We often will work out pricing for an entire room or home so the client knows what the project will cost. Then they work towards their goal, having things recovered or adding small furniture pieces one at a time.

When we attend to our decorating projects consistently, things come along as if by magic, and a beautiful home is created in a fun, stress-free way. So for 2009 and beyond, put more of yourself into your home, think green with vintage pieces, and find a professional you really click with to help.

© 2008 Kerry Ann Dame. May not be reproduced without permission.

WE ALL KNOW that a home is more than four walls; we want a comfortable, relaxed environment that is inviting to friends and expresses who we are. But to have the kind of home that offers even more, the kind of place where memories permeate the air, we must pay attention to more than just matching colors and hanging pictures. Just what sets apart such wonderful places? Some of the good design principles below, combined with personal touches and collections, make all the difference when creating a home.

Furniture Scale

Old fashioned homes did not have ten foot sofas that were forty inches deep. Furnishings were smaller and more mobile in the old days. They were more human in scale, so you didn’t have to be seven feet tall not to have your feet sticking out like Edith Ann when you sat. And there was more flexibility – since a smaller chair is as comfortable in a bedroom as a living room, pieces would be reused as people moved from house to house. In addition to saving your budget, old pieces grow even more charming when you choose from the thousands of fabrics available for recovering, rather than picking from the manufacturers’ bland choices. Consider unusual fabrics such as toile, cotton ticking, or washed damask next time you recover, to give your home an historic air. In our business we recommend slipcovering for a washable, cozy look, and specialize in sofas and chairs of a normal scale. Measure well before you buy – nothing looks very big in a stadium sized showroom. In the condo living room above, we chose a medium sized sofa and small scale, movable chairs for maximum seating.

Even if you live in a large home with huge rooms, you gain nothing by using a ten foot sofa that only two people will sit upon. Divide large rooms into two or more cozy seating areas; make sure that people sitting in these areas are no more than about eight feet apart, so they can chat comfortably. Delineate the areas further by mixing area rugs, and denote uses for the areas, like putting bookshelves for reading, or a games table. Remember, really big rooms are still inhabited by regular size people; and the nicest times spent with family are often with different activities happening in the same room.

Practical Concerns

Make sure your seating areas have adequate lighting. Ceiling lights are not meant to light people, they are for artwork, pathways and task areas. Each chair and sofa should have a large lamp – at least 28″ tall, with a 3 way bulb. The light should be over your shoulder for reading, so choose a high enough end table. If you don’t read, keep in mind that most civilized people do! Make sure there are enough soft pillows, preferably feather filled since you can scrunch them up just so, flop on them, and fluff them up again. We recommend making at least some throw pillows washable, so you can really use them. Don’t put too many – one per chair, three to four on a sofa is plenty, since you want to see the seat cushions if you expect people to sit down. Pairs of chairs should be angled slightly inward for conversation, not lined up straight. Tables should be plentiful – each seat must have a spot to put a book or drink. Think outside the box – side tables can be anything from a 40″ round skirted table to a Chinese garden seat or small carved stool. At least one large table, deep in a corner or behind a sofa, can offer a large surface for piles of books and a potted geranium, or a collection of family photos, or an interesting display of travel finds. Keep photo frames all the same color scheme to avoid a cluttered look. A small stool beside a club chair is perfect for a glass of wine and remote control, and is easily moved when there’s a crowd. And don’t forget someplace to put your feet up!

This custom library we created (above) provides a home for the owner’s books and antiques; small stands and ottomans can move as needed, and comfortable pillows help create the perfect spot to curl up and read.

Personalize

I often wonder who people really are when I visit their home and there no mementos of trips, no original art, and few books. Nearly everyone is interesting in some way, and here is where a professional designer can really help. Check your closets for heirloom art pieces that can be re-framed or re-matted to personalize your house. Bring your collections out of hiding – hang plates on walls, fill bookshelves with trophies from childhood, make that funny old Chinese statue into a lamp. Buy lots of books, and read them. A professional eye can help sort out the really valuable things and make good use of them. Stay away from the mass-produced poster art sold in furniture stores – no matter how fancy the frame, it’s still just a poster! Why have a $400 picture of a watercolor painting when for about the same price, you can have the real thing? Check art fairs for talented unknown artists, find something you really like, and start building a collection of real one-of-a-kind art at great prices. You’ll have pieces with a story to tell, and if an artist becomes famous, you’ll have something of real value one day. Antiques shops are another great source for the works of unknown “Sunday artists”. It can be fun to work around a theme – some people collect dog paintings, or rose pictures, or still lifes, or botanical prints.

Our design for the Bel Air living room below includes antique lacquer boxes, French chairs, and 19^th century oil paintings, combined freely with vintage textiles to create an air of intellectual glamour. A backdrop of taupe silk curtain panels and walls calms the mix.

Control clutter by gathering pieces into collections and using a hutch, bookshelves, or large tabletop for tidy display. Set your things off with a strong paint color for an inexpensive change with dramatic impact. Remember, when you leave the furniture store with your new living room suite, you are not finished with the room. Really great rooms move way beyond the three fabric combination of retail. Mix in several other fabrics, varying pattern scale and texture, adding fringe to pillows. This is another area where design help can make all the difference. Look at the really fabulous rooms in national magazines and count how many different fabrics populate the sofas, chairs, ottomans, pillows and curtains in a beautifully finished room.

Speaking of Curtains

The loveliest homes are usually replete with some sort of window treatments. While custom treatments can be a significant expense, there is nothing you can buy ready-made that even comes close. Curtains control light, soften corners, hide poor architecture, quiet echoes, and create a human scale in high-ceilinged rooms. They also add pattern and color – in our business, we believe that not having curtains is wasting an opportunity for colorful excitement, or for a soothing cocoon of calm. You could spend a fortune on accesssories and not have nearly the impact of finely made window treatments and a pretty paint color.

We used yards of linen to give a relaxed air to this Lowcountry bedroom (above). Slipcovers keep the wing chairs from looking too serious for sitting, and the simple curtains allow the beautiful Palladian window and view to take precedence.

Get Help

I’ve encountered many homes cluttered with tchotchkes and too much furniture. Often people make one impulse purchase after another as they try to find the one thing that will make their home fabulous. One couple I worked with had five sofas, all bought within three years. Every time they wanted to perk up the house, they went to the furniture store! With professional help, after a couple of years of disciplined decorating, their home was a comfortable, charming and elegant showplace, with pretty curtains, oriental rugs, and slipcovered chairs. And when they moved, they had learned so much they didn’t need my help at all to make the new home just as attractive. As I tell my clients, if you add up all of the $50 impulse purchases we make in a year – the lamp that was too short, the picture that doesn’t match, the rug that was too big for the bathroom – and apply those funds instead to interior design, you may have enough in the budget for a nice window treatment or a slipcover. Combine that with some good professional advice and your own pieces, your collections, your travel finds, and your family stories, and you’ll soon have a home ready for creating even more wonderful memories.

Kerry Ann Dame is an interior designer, and co-owner of Posh Living in Surfside Beach, SC with design partner Layla Altman. Kerry Ann can be reached at (843) 238-0078, or by email at KerryAnn@PoshSurfside.com

© August 2004 Kerry Ann Dame. May not be reproduced without permission.

SHOPPING for a new sofa can be fun; you can freshen up the family room, have a more comfortable place to sit, and have a chance to show off your decorating skills. Why, then, do so many find it an exercise in frustration?

In my experience as a designer, I have learned that most shoppers lack basic information about upholstered furnishings. That really prevents them from making an accurate comparison of the different features and choices and arriving at a satisfying selection. Unfortunately, there is a lot of hype in the marketplace, as manufacturers compete with promises of great quality and incredible sale prices. Who do you trust?

As with any major purchase (and yes, a sofa should be viewed as a major purchase), knowledge is power. Just as when buying a car, the savvy shopper learns about all of the features of the product, decides what features are important, weighs the various similarities and differences, and hopefully ends up with something that fits their taste, practical needs and budget. Let’s take a look at some of the things it is important to consider before bringing home your new sofa or chair.

Frame Construction

The frame of a sofa is like its skeleton, and it needs to be strong. The best, high-end sofa frames are made of solid, kiln-dried hardwood (like oak or maple) and are put together with screws, glue, and wood blocks or metal corner braces to strengthen the places where the frame joins together. Sofas with this type of construction can be expected, with normal use, to last nearly a lifetime, and can be reupholstered several times as needed. Up to about the middle of the last century, most sofas were built this way; but new manufacturing methods and pricing pressures have created some new ways of building frames; some are adequate, others not so good.

A medium priced sofa, however, should still have some hardwood, plus some softer woods like pine, and possibly even some plywood parts, which manufacturers optimistically like to call “engineered wood product”. While some plywoods are very strong, the strength of the frame depends entirely on the largest pieces being of a solid wood. Much care should be taken with corner bracing in key areas, such as the corners, the seat platform, and the arms attaching to the back uprights. If these points are adequately braced, a small amount of plywood in other areas is not a problem. Usually the softer wood, such as pine, is used to shape out the curves of arms and backs, where strength is not an issue. It may even be used for the major frame pieces, and reinforced with plywood for extra strength.

In the least expensive sofas, the entire frame is probably pine; while this is not the best, if it has good bracing where it is needed, and will not be moved around frequently, jumped on, or dropped, such a sofa can last for several years. However, with these softer woods, when the time comes to reupholster, the wood may be too soft to hold staples once the old staples have been pulled out. Or, the screws in the corner blocks may loosen, causing arms to wiggle. These frames can be a money-saving purchase, but just be aware that reupholstering later may not be worth the cost. At the very bottom end, I have seen sofas built entirely of plywood under the cover, or pine frames joined with only staples at the corners. These are likely to crack just with everyday use.

Most manufacturers have information available about their frame construction. If they are proud of it, they may even have a cut-away drawing or photo showing their frame components and corner braces for shoppers to see.

Most companies will also warranty against defects. Be sure to ask a salesperson if you can have some information about the internal construction of the piece, and be wary if they don’t know, can’t be specific, or have nothing to show you.

Cushions and Padding

When it comes to extending the life of a sofa, the padding under the fabric is everything. Less-expensive sofas wear out more quickly because of a lack of padding between the fabric cover and the frame. While important for comfort, the padding is also there to cushion the fabric from the sharp edges of the wood frame, which would quickly wear the fabric through from the underside. On a high-end sofa, there are three or four different layers and thicknesses of foam rubber, cotton and dacron-polyester on the arms, two to three layers of different padding on other areas, and often a muslin under-cover keeping it all in place. When you pat the back and sides of an expensive sofa, it should seem well-padded and not hollow. As sofas go down in price, padding is reduced and eliminated in areas where it seems less important — the back and sides are often fabric stretched on an unpadded frame, and the arms have far fewer layers. Since furniture arms contain a 2×4 piece of lumber, ample padding is important to avoid feeling the frame. Less expensive sofas will often have a piece of cardboard under a thin layer of foam rubber, which makes it difficult to feel the lumber in the showroom. However, when you take the sofa home, the first time someone sits on the arm, the cardboard breaks down and the arm begins to go flat. This trick is not only limited to the cheapest brands, so again, it is important to ask for that cut-away drawing before you buy.

The cushions that we sit on are one of the most important parts of the sofa. The top end sofas will usually have a choice of types. The longest lasting are spring-down, which have an envelope of feathers surrounding a coil spring unit, much like a mattress. These are considered the best, but they are typically very firm. If you like a firm seat or have trouble getting up and don’t want to sink too low, ask for these. The next best, and my favorite, is foam and down. These are a firm foam cushion surrounded by an envelope of down and feathers. They give nicely when you sit, but not too much, and the down envelope gives the cushion a nice soft curve across the top, called the “crown”. They maintain their shape better than their cheaper cousins, the foam and dacron cushions. Dacron is spun polyester (like quilt batting) that wraps the foam to give it a soft edge and a crowned top. However, dacron does lose its loft more quickly than down and feather, so these cushions may lose their crowned top and look flat and bedraggled in only a year or two. It is important to flip them frequently to allow the loft a chance to recover. Typically, the low and medium priced sofas have foam and dacron, and may offer a down cushion upgrade, while a wider range of choices is available at the high end.

If you are ordering a custom sofa, be sure to discuss cushion choices and construction; you should have many options to choose from. If you are out shopping, just unzip the cover right there in the showroom, and look inside. If you are looking for a quality, medium or high-end sofa, check for the following: in the back cushions, you never want to see loose filling without an inner cover. Ideally, back cushions need an inner muslin cover and some stitching dividing the filling into compartments to keep it from shifting. Seat cushions should be closed-cell foam (that means the air doesn’t escape when you sit). This foam is white in color, and should have some additional layers of dacron or feather around it, and a muslin cover. If you see yellow foam without a muslin cover, and loose stuffing inside the zipper, that is a sign if a very low-end ($300 – $500 range) sofa and that should be reflected in the price. The yellow foam deflates quickly when sat on, and won’t be comfortable for long.

Comfort and Fit

At our shop , we believe that furniture should not just look great, but fit both the home and the homeowner. I always ask people what they plan to do on the sofa – do they lie down and watch sports all afternoon, pile up kids for a movie, or sit upright and read? How tall is the purchaser? Do they need to put their feet up? All of these issues come into play when the time comes to select the frame style. I think there is a reason that classic sofa styles have survived unchanged for more than a century now — they suit us. For the afternoon napper, a three-seater is best, since that puts the heavier weight of the hips in the middle of the cushion.

Lying down daily on a two-cushion sofa breaks down the edges of the cushions where they meet in the middle, and can cause a hole to form. The two-cushion frame is great for lounging and chatting, since you have bigger cushions to curl up on.

If you need back support or like to sit up straight, a tight back sofa, with springs instead of loose cushions on the back, is perfect.

For a crowd (or a tight space) a style with a chaise at one end can function like a recliner.

The classic, 3 seater sofa with loose back cushions wears well because the cushions can be rotated to even out the wear, so it is a timeless choice. The height of the arm is also important, as it effects the ability to lie flat and offers support while reading. Finally, consider how you will be sitting – a very deep sofa may look dramatic, but it can be embarrassing to sit with your feet up off the floor like a small child! It really helps to sit on every frame and see the small differences between them; we’ve even measured people to find a sofa that fit them just right, with great success.

The type of covering on a sofa is really important for long wear and comfort. While it may seem like the thickest fabrics are the most durable, it is not always the case. Some thick chenille fabrics are so unstable they need a backing to hold together, and the pile can rub off in a very short time. Always look at the back of the fabric you are considering — if you see a rubber backing, that may be a sign that the fabric was inherently weak and needed to be stabilized. Look instead for a tight weave that doesn’t wiggle a lot when pulled diagonally. For strength and stain resistance, the best upholstery fabrics will have a high synthetic content; but for comfort, a cotton or rayon is more breathable. So a great upholstery choice might be two-thirds synthetic (polyester or acrylic) and one third natural fiber. All natural fibers, such as cotton and linen, are also durable and comfortable, and can work well in most residential situations; just expect to be reupholstering a little sooner. Natural fibers are best for slipcovers, which can be washed at home. We find them to be both practical and healthier, since washing removes chemicals from the fabric and avoids having to use chemicals to get the sofa clean.

Whatever you choose, be sure to know the fabric content so you can clean the furniture without damaging it. Having a stain-repelling treatment applied also makes a tremendous difference, allowing us to choose a more comfortable natural fiber rather than an acrylic, which can be hot to sit on.

Ordering Your Sofa

When the time comes to order your new sofa, make sure it will fit in the room and through the doors and hall leading to the room before you order. You can outline the size of your new sofa on the floor with masking tape if you are unsure, and practice walking around it. Then you can expect to pay a deposit, usually 50%, of the order. Ask the salesperson if you can have a picture of the sofa and a sample of your fabric for your records, and read any order form that you sign in detail to make sure the information is correct. Make sure details are included such as the name of the fabric, the type of cushion filling, and the style number. Shopping for furniture can be an exhausting process, but with the right information, a little patience, and the right questions to ask, you can be assured of making the right decision and having a sofa that you are happy with for years.

© 2008 Kerry Ann Dame. May not be used without permission.