Bradington-Young Spring Cushions

My husband and I have decided that we want to purchase a sofa that is leather but we are taking our time looking at various lines that I have seen mentioned many times on this forum. They include: H & M (which I realize is the gold standard), Bradington-Young, CR Laine, Smith Brothers (which I decided against after reading reviews online), etc. We have visited several places in our area (we're in the Piedmont area of North Carolina) to sit on them and look at the structure of them as well as I have done a lot of research online to look at how they are made, etc.

I'm wondering about the Bradington-Young cushions and how supportive they are. One salesman told us that they don't use high density foam in their cushions and instead use a spring type support. I am very confused about their cushions as I have looked up what they offer below and I know that the premier down would be a bad choice for us with leather (due to possible puddling) but I'm not sure which of the cushion types has a spring support in it that the salesman mentioned.

I know that they use 8-way hand tied in their frame support, but worried that the spring type support I was told that they use in their cushions will cause leather to puddle over time and/or we will have to deal with cushion flatness or there not being enough support in a few years. We've tried spring-down cushions in other brands such as Smith Brothers, etc. and they were very comfortable but I have read to avoid those with leather. Any thoughts on that?

I know that Duane sells BY so they are a good quality furniture but not as good as H&M is due to them using plywood vs. hardwood etc. My husband is 5'9" and weighs around 160 lbs. and I'm 5'4" and weigh around 135 lbs. Our son, who lives at home, is probably pushing 250 lbs. so I want to make sure that our cushions, particularly the seat cushions hold up well. We use our sofa a lot and that includes napes, eating, watching tv, etc.

Also, is the HR foam mentioned below a good one? I know we should look for at least 2.0 at the least.

This is a cut and paste from their construction in a pdf I found online in regards to the cushions.

SEAT CUSHIONS: Standard seat cushioning is style specific and consists of one of three offerings:

HR FOAM: A high resilient (HR) polyurethane core cut to boxing size and wrapped in a layer of polyester fiber. The fiber-wrapped core is then topped with a channeled envelope generously filled with virgin polyester fibers encased in a down-proof muslin ticking providing a slow release of air for the occupant.

PREMIER DOWN: These cushions are constructed from a two-tier foam foundation. The bottom layer is firm for lasting support and the top layer is soft for sink-in comfort. The cushions are then wrapped in a down proof ticking filled with a generous blend of down, feathers and fibers. This cushion is designed to relax and “puddle” for a luxurious, lived-in look that complements our more casually styled offerings.

SPRING DOWN: Cushions consist of a 4 ½” MARSHALL coil unit encased in premium foam. The cushion is then wrapped with a low-melt fiber on top and bottom. The Spring Down cushion is then surrounded by a downproof ticking filled with a luxurious blend of down, feathers and fibers. This cushion is designed to provide superior comfort combined with great resiliency.

I’m afraid your B-Y salesperson didn’t exactly get it right. They use a number of different cores depending on the frame and what they feel works best in that given frame. Ten years ago they were 100% HR Foam, then they switched to all Spring Down cores (previously an option) as standard across the line. Then they realized that didn’t work that well on everything they make so now it’s a mix. I’d say 70% are Spring Down as standard, 30% HR Foam. They try to select the best core for a given frame rather than one size fits all.

Puddling on any piece of leather furniture, from any maker, with any suspension or core, is unavoidable. If you use the piece, the leather will stretch. The more compressible the cushion, the more puddling. That’s whey button tufted furniture stays taut, there is no cushion per say.

My suggestion is to buy what sits well to you, and don’t get too concerned about leather stretch.

Thanks for the quick reply and explanation. That particular salesman didn't seem too happy that we lifted up the middle cushion to read the info about construction on the bottom of the sofa, so we moved on to another area after asking him about the cushion material.

Do you happen to know the density of their HR foam that they do use on some models? I didn't see that listed on their pdf that I found online and haven't been able to find it on a search either.

Also, I have read a lot of information on your wonderful forum but get some things mixed up in my head due to all the information I'm gathering from here and online. Regarding leather and BY stationary sofas, I remember you mentioning that you were not a fan of the married leather covers that they have. I suppose if you bought the model available on the floor instead of ordering it with what you wanted on your sofa that if you were okay with the way the leather looked it would not be an issue buying a married cover in that brand or am I mistaken?

Sorry, I don't know the density level on foam cores and that information is nearly impossible for any dealer to get, its not published nor is it something their customers service team has. The only way we are ever able to find out about that sort of thing is during factory visits when we tour the facilities and get in there with the people that do the work day to day. That would come up in conversations with the person who actually orders the foam.

You can request a Plus 1 firmness at time of order and they will step it up one notch on firmness.

Married covers have improved greatly over the past few years. Some posts I have made in the past are no longer relevant in 2022. I have no reservations about any married covers these days.

Great to hear that the married covers for the BY are not a concern now. Is that with all the major brands you work with (higher quality brands are what I'm referring to) or just BY?

We only have two suppliers that use Married Covers, Bradington Young and Hancock and Moore. No issues or concerns with either.