Re: Mid-century furniture - quality
I find it amusing to hear what some of these know-nothing salespeople at furniture stores come up with. I guess their mantra is "if you don't know the answer, then make something up!" 8-way hand-knotted suspension is not known to burst, in fact the reason it does not is that there are 8 strings that go to each spring and if one should break, there are 7 more holding it in a properly made suspension. The real reason so many makers do not do it is simply because its the most costly suspension system in both materials and labor, simple as that.
On the other hand, certain designs do not have the space inside the deck for a coil spring suspension and MUST use a sinuous spring. For an 8-way deck to work, it has to have some depth in the chassis in order to accommodate the spring itself, the webbing, and steel banding that support it and the top deck. Your design from Precedent just may not have the room, it looks to be on the cusp of whether that kind would fit in the base. Even Hancock & Moore, who build more true 8-Ways into their designs than any other maker cannot use them on certain styles such as this one:
http://www.hancockandmoore.com/Produ...e-Quilted-Sofa
I'd not let a sinuous spring suspension be a deal breaker myself. Look at the rest of the sofa and see how well its made. Solid Hardwood Frame or Plywood (i.e,"Engineered Hardwoods")?. Push outwards on the arms - are they taut? Grab the arm, can you feel the square edge fo the underlying wood or is it amply padded? How are the legs attached? These are all things to look at. Typically a $ 1,600 sofa at retail will not have any of these higher end build specs. Here's a H&M sofa that will have sort-of that period look and has a true 8-way deck and another by Taylor King as well.
http://www.taylorking.com/product.asp?PID=5290&CID=1
http://www.hancockandmoore.com/Produ...ns/Smooth-Sofa
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
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