Journey and Austin Sofa/Loveseat Questions

I have some specific questions regarding the cushions/fillers and styling for a couple of sofas I recently sat in.

Our current sofa, which we find very comfortable, is very similar to the #8134NB Austin (not the highback). We sat in the Highback Austin and it was comfortable enough except for the Fiberplush back cushions--they seemed extremely overstuffed and our heads just seemed to bounce right off rather than sink in. I don't know that the Austin is what I want because we may want to change the look from our current sofa, but my question is what is the usual recommendation for back cushion filling material for this model? The Fiberplush back cushions felt fine in traditional box cushions but not in the Austin we sat in. Do those of you who have the Austin with the Fiberplush back find that cushions tend to come overstuffed and then flatten over time? Would the Ultradown backs in the Austin be recommended or would they flatten too quickly?

I sat in the #1724 Journey Sofa, and although the specs suggest it might be too deep of a seat for my small frame, I thought I had died and gone to heaven it was so comfy. However, I'm not a fan of the loose, wrinkly leather arms that are big and puffy and sag down the side of the sofa. I see in the catalog that the arms shown for the #7039 Journey lounger aren't nearly so loose and bulky as those on the sofa, and they actually look more appealing to me. Duane, has anyone ever ordered the Journey with the arms modified to be more like the lounger and how did it look? Was the modification charge reasonable? Is this more refined-looking arm specific to the design of the lounger only or is that how they do it with the hide-type leathers, which is shown on the lounger?

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/Products/1212/Motion-seating/Journey-Lounger


Also, I read somewhere on the forum that the Journey back cushion inserts were sewn in and can't be removed when you need to fluff them or swap them out, but this was an older post so perhaps this has changed. When I looked at the Journey, I thought I checked to see what the fill was and seem to recall the back cushions had a zipper closure to allow for this. Could someone please confirm this on the Journey as well as on the Austin bustle back cushions? I would not want to be in the situation where you couldn't remove the inserts for fluffing or replacement and have to send it to an upholsterer, which sounds like it used to the case with the Journey.

Thanks!

Some of these Q's have been asked and answered in prior threads.

All Ultradown backs will flatten and shift (gravity) over time. Periodically they have to be fluffed up.

Arms are the same on all Journey's, they are concave, You cannot specify the arms be pulled tighter - it won't work.

Austins definitely can be flipped up an a zipper is under each pillow so you can access the internal casing. Journey's are sewn onto the back, there may be a zipper on the very bottom - I can't recall. If there is, it will NOT be an easy thing to access the core as I don't recall the backs flipping up at all.

Thanks for the info. I thought the Journey sofa I saw had adjustable back cushions even though they were attached at the top, but I don't remember for sure. It seems very impractical if H&M made cushions that weren't serviceable :) Oh well. Just something to keep in mind.

There are many designs where you cannot access the interior cores. Usually its not an issue, I have pieces from H&M that are 30 years old that are on the original back cores and they are holding up fine. It's not as if you have to get in there every couple of years in most cases. Avoid putting down cushions in the backs of ones if you don't like gravity settlement.