Should I Re-Stuff Cushions

[Lotus65]

I have two approximately 2-year-old Kincaid sofas. They have been extremely uncomfortable since Day One. I wrote to the company and eventually got them to replace the cushions, but that made no difference in comfortability. The back cushions are filled with some kind of fiberfill-type material that push you too far forward, making the sofas "sit short," and at the same time they compress and look sloppy and lumpy. The seat cushions bottom out so that you can feel the frame. My question now is would it be worth it to try and have the cushions refilled with a better quality filling in order to try and save these sofas, or to take a loss and purchase new sofas? The fabric appears to be okay and I believe it will be relatively durable. I contacted a local upholster that estimated the cost to refill the cushions to be about $500 for each sofa. I just can't decide whether it's worth it to spend $1000 on what are most likely inferior frames. Then again, it beats spending $8,000+ for two new better quality sofas. (I was given a quote of $4,000/each for a customizable Century Cornerstone sofa which I'm not even sure is decent alternative judging by what I've read.)

[KelliP]

Hi there,

I can't really help you decide whether or not to put money into fixing your current sofas, but I did want to let you know that you could definitely purchase 2 high quality sofas for under $8000! A little over a year ago, I emailed Duane about a new sofa, and he guided me towards one made by Taylor King. It's part of their Taylor Made program where I picked the cushions, picked the arms, etc. If I chose from subset of their fabrics, then the pricing was awesome! To give you an idea, I told Duane I had a $2000 budget. I purchased the sofa, paid about $200 for shipping, and still had money leftover. ;-) Best part - the sofa is well constructed and extremely comfortable. I'll include a few links below. He may have other suggestions for you now, but just letting you know that a high quality sofa doesn't necessarily have to cost $4000.

http://www.taylorking.com/
http://www.taylorking.com/PDF/Category/21.PDF
http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...ic-List-Update

[Lotus65]

Awesome! Thank you for the links and information. It's good to know that I won't have to spend as much for quality sofas. Sadly, I believe I paid over $4,000 for the two I have now. I have a feeling that because there are really no quality furniture stores left where I live (Long Island, NY), the one I did find jacks its prices up since it's the only one around, and even that one is 40 miles from me.

[Danw99]

Could you try to get just one of the cushions done and see how it feels for you before risking another $1,000?

[Lotus65]

That's a thought. Then again, my husband and I will fight over who gets the "good" couch

[drcollie]

"The seat cushions bottom out so that you can feel the frame."

This sounds like a suspension failure, not seat cores.

You cannot simply replace the cores on your own, if you do you will wind up with cheap foam and it will be even worse. Good cushions are engineered, and you generally will not have access to them as a consumer. At the very least contact someone like these folks who will make you a Qualux cushion core:

http://www.house-of-foam.com

That won't solve a poor suspension issue, however. As they have replaced the cores for you once to no avail, my thoughts are there are more issues with the pieces than the core internals.

[Lotus65]

Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure if I explained it correctly - it's like you can feel the wood under the edge of the cushion, like the foam insert is not dense enough. I believe the problem probably has more to do with the quality of the materials. The store did initially send a serviceman to inspect the sofas and he did not find any structural issues. That's why I was considering replacing the foam inserts and I wouldn't do it by myself. I've been in contact with a local upholsterer that gave me a quote of $500 per sofa. I'm not sure specifically what materials he would use - thank you for your recommendation of a Qualux core. I still don't know if I should go that route though. $1000 is a lot of money to put into junky sofas.

I have a question about the Taylor King "Taylor Made" line. I went to a store that carried it and found it to be very comfortable. In trying to determine the size of the sample I was sitting in, I was told it was the "Standard" size. When measuring it with a tape measure, however, it appeared that it was probably actually the "Plush" size, but was told no, it only comes in two depths, Standard and Continental. The website shows three. I would hate to order the Standard and have it be too short. It's weird but when I purchased my present sofas, which also had customizable depths, I didn't remember the showroom sample sitting as short as the ones I received and at the time wondered if they actually displayed the deeper couch but sold me the shorter couch. Could this be a common practice in the furniture industry?

[drcollie]

He's overcharging you for cushion cores at $ 500 per sofa, either that or they are some pretty high-end cores. Shop another upholstery place. You can always suggest they make you one core, then take it home and try it for a few days before you commit to two full seats.

Taylor King Portfolio and Taylor Made comes in three depths, Standard (39.5") , Plush (41.5") and Continental (44.5"). Plush size comes with two extra pillows, too.

Common Practice in the furniture industry is the salespeople working the floor don't know what they are talking about. It's a recurring theme.....

FYI - I do enough volume with Taylor King that I can get - for my customers - a free upgrade to the Catalina Down core (usually a $ 200 upgrade). You may be surprised how aggressive my price structure is on TK as well, I can ship anywhere!

[Lotus65]

Good to know about the cushions, thank you.
Funny thing about salespeople not knowing anything...he was actually the owner! Seems to be pretty overpriced too.

If I order from you, how do I figure out fabric?

[drcollie]

Which fabric to use? Well, it's not the easiest thing to do as there is no website set up anywhere to make Taylor King Portfolio shopper-friendly. I post the fabrics available in the Portfolio promotion here:

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...ic-List-Update

You can print that out, then go to the TK website and go through the fabrics photo by photo. Whittle them down to about a dozen, then send me an email or do it here on the QUOTES page with your address and I will have free samples of the swatches sent to you.

The only other way is to go into a dealership and go through the handles.