A Guide To Upholstery

The term upholstery refers to permanently attached fabric or leather coverings on sofas and other seating. Shopping for upholstered furniture is fun, but also a bit difficult, since you don't know what's under the cover. However, if you are well informed, things become much easier. When you shop for upholstery, there are two things you should keep in mind - looks and functionality.

Looks

There are two things that create the look of upholstery - its form and cover.

Form

The form refers to the upholstery style. Try to find out which style you like best. Looking over home interior magazines might help. However, you can also mix different styles to create unique upholstery that matches your personality.

Some upholstery is overstuffed, in order to create a large, rounded appearance. Other styles include an exposed frame, with no upholstery on arms and legs. The tight back style includes a firm back and tightly attached fabric, with no pillows. In contrast, cushion back styles have loose or semi-attached cushions.

Cover

There's a wide variety of cover styles you can choose from. If you decide on a leather cover, there are also a lot of leather types available. Leather is the only material that looks better over time. However, there are also a lot of fabric models that look very good as well. You can decide on a loose cover, that can be removed for cleaning, or you can choose a fixed cover, which keeps the fabric tight to the frame.

Functionality

However, the looks are not the only thing that matters. Before purchasing your sofa or armchairs, think about who will use them and how. Your comfort depends on those parts of the upholstery that are hidden - frames, springs and padding.

Frames

The best frames are made from hardwood. Hardwood frames can provide long-term support and stability, while soft wood warps and splits over time. High quality frames are joined with a mix of dowels, glue, screws and corner blocks. They shouldn't rack or twist when lifted by one corner.

Springs

Not all springs are the same. Different types of springs provide different levels of comfort. The traditional springs are eight-way hand-tied, which means each coil is tied from front to back, side to side and diagonally eight times. This system provides high comfort, but is very laborious. There's also the drop-in machine-tied method, which simulates hand-tied springs. The No-sag or sinuous method uses S-shaped steel springs, tied to the frame from front to back. The best versions use 8-gauge wire supported by horizontal steel components.

Padding

Upholstery manufacturers use three types of padding: foam, fibre and feathers. The traditional foam padding provides the firmest feel and recovers its shape quickly after it's been sat on. The more dense the foam is, the higher is the level of comfort. Fibre padding can provide different levels of comfort, depending on how dense the fibre is. The cushions have to be plumped each day to keep their shape. Feather paddings are a luxurious choice and the cushions give a very soft feel. However, they need more care than other foam or fibre paddings. Some manufacturers may use various combinations of these materials to build their cushions.

Now that you've done your homework, you can get to the fun part of shopping for upholstered furniture. Whether it's leather or fabric, contemporary style or a more traditional look, simple or overstuffed, you've got to find the upholstery that goes best with the personality of your home.