The Art of Hancock and Moore upholstery

[drcollie]

Most consumers buy furniture based on three things. 1) Price, 2) Color, 3) Comfort. And of course, they ask about durability, wanting to get the most useful life possible from their purchase. What they often miss - and what I appreciate personally - is the Art of Furniture. There is style, and fashion every bit as much as in a fine piece of jewelry or an exotic sports car if you choose to look for it.

Case in point, the Hancock and Moore # 6277-1-L Monaco Chair that is in my own home. I selected a natural leather Italian called Hyde Park Earth Burnished for the cover and checked off the box for the optional hand lacing treatment on the arms. This morning I was playing with the dog by the chair and was admiring the design aspects of it - thought I would take a couple of photos and share.

You can see the natural markings in the leather - the faint rippled lines across the back of the cushions are fat wrinkles from the cow, and in lesser hides that has been sanded out and painted over with an artificial grain pattern embossed into the leather. The hand-lacing, while adding nothing to longevity or comfort, imparts a unique and distinctive detail that to me is worth the cost of the option. The graceful lines on the chair, especially the sweep of the arms to the back has a strong, graceful style line reminiscent of the Art Deco period in the 1930's. And being Hancock and Moore, it's built with the finest materials and given reasonable care it will last forty years or more in the original cover.



Of course, it's comfortable, too. Yes, a Hancock and Moore is going to cost more than your garden-variety made-in-China upholstery that has a 10-year useful life. It will last four times as long however, so cost per useful life of the piece is actually lower overall. As in most things, you get what you pay for.

I encourage you when you shop for furniture, to look at the Art of a piece, and expand your horizons when making a selection beyond the cost/color/comfort criteria. Bring home a beauty like this and you will enjoy it every day, as I do.