Question about new BY Sofa - Handmade or Manufacturing Defect?

Hi Furniture Gurus,

We just had our Bradington Young 960 Imagine series sofa delivered. Overall we're in love with the couch - it's beautiful and very comfortable. That said, there are a bunch of oddities.
Please help us answer this question: Is the couch hand-made so it's supposed to be non-uniform? Or are these manufacturers defects?

One seat is basically a standalone single seat recliner. Cosmetically, the "puffiness" of the back cushion doesn't match the rest of the couch. The footrest at the bottom is misaligned with the footrests on the rest of the couch (there are 3 seats that recline - but this is the only one that doesn't match). Even looking at the back of this seat, the back side is about 1" less wide than the base of the couch. That means from the front, you can see a big gap between this seat and the seats on either side. I'll attach pictures that show this.

In general, the cushions on all of the seats appear non-uniform in size/puffiness. The center seat's top is high in the middle and slopes down on either side (see pictures). There are lots of these non-uniformities in the way the couch looks. It's either charming because it's made by hand, or it just looks sloppy, like it wasn't made by professionals.

What do you experts think?Thanks for your help!

Attachment 11110Attachment 11111Attachment 11112Attachment 11113Attachment 11114

Also, the seat cushion for the center seat looks oddly small compared to the seat cushions for every other seat Attachment 11115

All looks normal with that unit except perhaps the last photo where the L corner seat appears to be "shorter", however you can fix this by simply pulling the seat up and repositioning it correctly (a little more forward by about 1/2"), they are held in place with Velcro so it will stay where you put it.

When you order in inside recliner like in your configuration, you have to anticipate up to a 1" gap in the back, its unavoidable. For that reason B-Y doesn't recommend you float these in the room and I see you have yours in a corner - so it should be a moot point.

Cushions will "break-in" and even out, give them some time, When you are in a bustle back configuration AND a motion piece - you will not get perfect alignments - these are all pieces designed to go together once in a room. There is a higher standard for stationary pieces built on one frame, but for motion yours looks good. If you want that recliner seat "up" a bit, look underneath and see of there are adjustable plastic glides you can screw a turn or two - there should be. If not, a small shim will take care of that.

Thanks Duane! Yeah, we kind of figured that much of this is normal, especially for hand-made furniture where things aren't coming off a mass-produced assembly line. It is a bit surprising how big the tolerances are between the cushions on each seat.

I have to say, this couch is beyond comfortable. The bustle back is very supportive, and the seat cushions are firm but pliable. And while I would have preferred a nice burnished aniline leather, I think this finished leather came out beautiful.

I did pull out the corner cushion a bit and it seems to look better.

Last question: The one bustle back cushion feels under-stuffed compared to the rest. Is there any way to have them beef up the stuffing? Unlike loose back cushions, there don't appear to be any zippers allowing simple cushion replacement.

Bumping because of the question hidden in all that text above.

Last question: The one bustle back cushion feels under-stuffed compared to the rest. Is there any way to have them beef up the stuffing? Unlike loose back cushions, there don't appear to be any zippers allowing simple cushion replacement.

Thanks

If it's sewn-on then the answer is no - requires removing the cover from the piece - typically this is a return to the manufacturer.

Would BY take it back and fix it if it was not properly filled when it was made? I would also expect that they would be filled evenly myself. But I also wonder if it is the style that might make it more likely to have differences in cushions since it is not a taylored look. Do they usually go by weight when adding fill to cushions like that to make sure they are all the same, or is done more to eye and feel by the person doing it? Could it be that there is a slight difference in back angle of that piece and not less stuffing? I do notice that the corner unit seems to have more upright backs than the side pieces. This seems like a more "loose" style and with putting mulitple pieces together, maybe it just isn't going look like a single sofa or more taylored piece.

You will have to check with your selling dealer to see about returning the piece if you consider that unacceptable. Personally I would suggest you use the piece for a few months and let everything break in. If you are looking for crisp and fully tailored, you are not going to get that in a motion sectional.

I'm working with the store I bought it from to see what we can do. They did some damage during delivery to the arms, so they may have to take it back anyway. [Duane - spot on about the importance of good delivery people!]

I'm honestly surprised at how non-uniform this couch is, given that BY makes such high quality sofas. Everything about this couch feels solid - it just looks a bit sloppy, and each seat feels different.

If you even want a crisp, tailored look, buy Hancock and Moore and get a tight back sofa. The workmanship on those is far and above anything B-Y makes, and it should be as its a more costly product. Nobody pulls leather like H&M, its one of the hardest jobs in the plant and most of us don't think twice about what it takes to get that leather smooth and taut.