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Although nothing beats a leather couch, sometimes you just want a more "cozy" look.
Which fabrics are no-no with regards to durability and stain resistance?
We were at Bloomingdales and sat in a couch. I was very surprised to see it was 87% polyester. A plastic couch for $1800?
Thank you!
Fabrics can be costly - you're going to see more and more man-made fiber content in materials for not only that cost aspect, but also because of stain resistance. However, most man-made fibers will 'pill' and show some wear with use. I think the best fabrics I've ever seen were the European blends of Cotton, Wool and Linen that we used to sell in the late 80's / early 90's. The ones from Belgium were fantasticand would easily last 20 years or longer. Prices just kept on increasing on these high quality materials until consumers said "no" and then they pretty much disappeared when they were hitting the $ 125 per yard level. There are still lots of good fabrics out there (Schumacher, Pindler & Pindler, etc) but you have to pay the price. In good fabrics you'll be at that $ 1,800 price just for the material alone.
Manufacturers are loathe to put high-end fabrics in their lineups - they are very much aware of price resistance. So they will tend to show primarily cheapies - ones that would retail for $ 15 to $ 25 per yard. The story is the same - consumer want high quality but don't want to pay for it. However they will usually have some premium materials in their lineup - just not very many. My suggestion is not to shop price so much withing a given line, but to look at the material in terms of style, hand and longevity. If you just want to eat burgers and milkshakes on the sofa, then just get Crypton and be done with it - this is as close to bulletproof as upholstery material can get:
http://www.cryptonfabric.com/About/
However its boring, doesn't have much 'hand' to it, and there is no style.
I tend to like blends, and especially double-wovens for their resistance to stretching and overall longevity. Bright colors that pop are something else to consider - cheap fabrics look like they were all washed together in dirty water and have no life to them. A Cotton/Rayon blend is decent for a mid-price.
Bloomies is not exactly cutting edge in upholstery, BTW.... :)
Hi. Have been looking around and around and around and around and cant seem to find what we want and am going to settle to get a style of sofa and love seat that we want. I've seen a couple manufactures with the construction I want but not the style which has been a big letdown.
Because I think the style we want is only made in crap category. Not really sure why that is though.
Anyway I think we are going to get a set by Palliser. The model is Regent and we will get a dual power sofa with a drop down tray and a dual power loveseat with console. We have decided on fabric and it is Bela in the color of Bon Bon which is a deep brown/chocolate 100% poly feels like suede.
Is that a durable option? Can you steer me to something else? If not on the fabric the set? Or am I just hijacking the wrong thread entirely? :D
Thanks
Willy
Sounds like a microfiber if 100% poly and it feels like suede. That's a long wearing, usually inexpensive material that tends to be easy to clean.
Thanks for the timely reply. Any chance you can weigh in on the rest of my dilema? The high back reclining drop down tray issue? I had one local person react like only a hick would want that lol. And another tell me they dont do that anymore and I need to change!
I know what I want and am willing to pay a reasonable price. More for better build. But I CANT find it!!
Even a close to home amish manufacturer called Ort had a style I could have tolerated because the build quality blew me away with but wont do the drop down. Of course he did have some hick prints on some although they wopuld look good in a lodge or hunting cabin.
If you cant help me with the furniture part, can you tell me if I am in fact a hick then :D
All this aggravation has led me to this Palliser group that I am so less than impressed with but style wise works.
Thanks again
Well, we in the trade call that a Joe-6-Pack sofa, when you see the drop-down trays. Those have largely gone the way of the typewriter, and few - if any - better makers do them. Now, if you REALLY want to pursue it, we could probably get Hancock and Moore to custom build one in their Austin Dual Recliner. But you won't like the price.....
Lol thanks! I'm guessing by custom from them we are in $5k sofa plus $3k love amount then.
Again thank you!
JSP!
Having Hancock and Moore custom build a sofa like that strikes me as a bit like having Ferrari custom build a new F12 Berlinetta with a bench seat and a column shifter. Nothing wrong with bench seats and column shifters; they are great in pickup trucks and, like the dual reclining sofa, very practical but there are some things that just don't go together.Quote:
Originally Posted by drcollie
Oh well. Like I originally said we are being forced to settle on this stuff which we think will work better than the home theater stuff in front of our 80" Sharp. I thought Smith Brothers might have something but not quite.
Too bad though that someone cant quality in this environment.
OK, hold onto your hat. I have the H&M Rodeo Sofa that does all that. It's been a while since I've seen one and I forgot the center cushion has a drop down tray with brass cupholders. The arms lift up and there are active USB ports in each one as as well as storage for remotes and magazines. This sofa was originally made as a custom for a gentleman in Texas that wanted to do all his business from the comfort of the sofa! It has dual recliners, power. I'm going to try to get some detail photos and post them here. Its a high quality build and in leather (which I would definitely get with food/drink in a drop down tray use). Price is north of $ 5K but south of $ 10K, depending on the cover.
http://www.hancockandmoore.com/product.asp?productid=2034
Detail photos of the H&M Rodeo Power Station Sofa:
Attachment 3763
Quote:
Originally Posted by drcollie
So what we've learned here is that even a hick can want nice quality furniture.
This a valiant effort on your part sir finding this item sir. I tip my my Stetson to you.
P.S. the wife said for that kind of money I can call her Suzie 6 pack lol!
Just a few comments on this thread. The "Bela" suede referred to above sounds like it is the Bella collection imported by Morgan Mills out of China which currently retails for about $15/yd. Bella is a heavy duty 100% polyester microfiber which is extremely stain resistant. It is probably one of the best-selling microfiber lines in the U.S.
There was another comment in this thread by someone who referred to polyester fabrics as "plastic." Fabric technology has come a long way since synthetics were first introduced. Polyesters now can mimic cottons, velvets, suedes and blends. 100% polyesters can retail anywhere from $7.50 to $30 per yard and are also combined with cottons, rayons and other fibers to add strength and texture.
There is actually some good news regarding natural fibers, particularly cottons. Beginning about a year and a half ago the price of raw cotton in China jumped from 75 cents per pound to $2.50 per pound within a few months. My best selling cotton fabric line jumped from $15 per yard to $25 per yard. After less than a year the price of raw cotton started going back down but the price of the finished fabrics remained the same even as the price of raw cotton got closer to the $1 per yard level. Recently raw cotton went back below 75 cents per pound and I am beginning to hear of the first price decreases for the finished fabrics. One of my sales reps told me recently that his mill is dropping prices by about 20% on most of the cotton lines. Other natural fabrics like linens are also beginning to come down in price.
Jeff Frank
Simplicity Sofas
www.simplicitysofas.com