Upholstery Basics. Shifting gears here, let's jump into some upholstery topics - again, this is VERY general and not specific to one brand or another.

How do YOU, the consumer, tell if an upholstered piece is well made? It's pretty difficult to do when its in the showroom, because what you really need to see is all covered up with fabric! Very simply, let's not focus on comfort so much on an individual piece, but how the unit is made. Typically a manufacturer will use the same construction across his line, so if you like what you see, it's going to be a pretty safe bet to custom order a piece that you might not be able to see.


First off, stand back and look at the piece. When a maker goes to lay out a pattern, he can decide how much panel matching he wants to do. That is, if the fabric is anything but dead plain, you have to match it up like you do when hanging wallpaper. The more matching you do, the more yardage you use up (especially in large repeats) and the higher skill your worker needs to have.


The best upholstery is fully matched, all the way around, on all panels. Best fabric matching I've seen comes from Hancock and Moore, and Southwood Furniture, both premium upholstery shops (granted, I don't see every maker and every brand). Even at a basic level, the cushion and seat back should match - so never accept less that that. I received a Flexsteel chair in the other day where the match on the front panel to the cushion deck was horrid, I couldn't believe it...sloppy.


Test the arms of the piece. The all flex somewhat, but give them a push outwards and see how much. Better furniture does not have a lot of flex. Try that from brand to brand and you will see a difference. Keep in mind tha motion furniture will always have more flex than stationary, as motion furniture has far less tie-in points to the frame. If you get a lot of movement in the arms when you push them out, or if they squeak, avoid that piece.


Look at the tailoring. Fabric (and leather) had to be pulled around the corners and attached, over foam or felt as the underlayment. Does the fabric pucker? It shouldn't. Is the fabric on "up the bolt" or did they "railroad" it? Most upholstery and fabrics are designed to go 'up the bolt', however this requires a sewn seam every 54" and more workmanship. "Railroading" means laying the fabric sideways (90 degrees from "up the bolt") but your pattern is usually going sideways as well...unless the fabric was specifically woven to run railroaded. Some to it far better than others. Again, best tailoring I see comes from Hancock & Moore. There's an art to it, and at then end of the day tailoring is nothing more than Pride in Workmanship and a certain skill set.


Legs. The big bugaboo of upholstery. This is where most companies make shortcuts. It's also a mixed bag. There are times I'm really glad that legs come off so we can get big sofas through narrow doorways and other times I hate those spinoff legs because the nail-in metal grommet with the screws either falls out or is intalled crooked. Hard to fix when that happens....in fact you really can't fix them with out tearing the sofa apart so you fudge-in a make do on those. For myself, I prefer legs that stay on the piece all the time and just hope the customer has a wider doorway when delivery day comes.


Now to the inside. Ask to see the catalog, for every maker that builds a piece of upholstery right is proud of it and has an exploded interior view of their upholstery in the main book. What you're looking for is construction specifics and springs.


Hardwood frames (such as maple) are considered the best. The industry standard for construction of these is 'double-doweled', screwed and glue blocks. You are not going to find mortise and tenon joinery in upholstery frames unless you go to high-end specialists like Richard Herzog in PA.
Second tier construction is furniture-grade hardwood plywood, which has a lot of stability and will cost less than solid wood frames. These hold up well over time and many mid-level companies use this method.
Avoid frame materials such as the reinforced cardboard that Laz-Z-Boy uses in their backs for obvious reasons.


Springs! There are sinuous springs (I call them zig-zags), Coil springs and then metal tension bands (such as used in Flexsteel). This is your support structure for your cushions. The best is a coil spring, and the most costly. You'll have an 8-way hand-tied unit on the seating deck and a 4-way hand-tied in the back. They are the nicest to sit on, and most supportive. If truly a hand-knotted tie, (not 8-way looped as you seen on the video at Classic Leather's web site) if a string breaks over time, the spring will stay down as it still has 6 knots holding it. On loop-ties, if a string goes, UP COMES THE SPRING! The devil is in the details......