Chesterfield sofa recommendations..

[ZIVMAN]

Looking for a chesterfield sofa and need some recommendations. This forum tends to recommend H&M and B-Y... I have explored Hancock and Moore and Bradington-Young, but the style/size I want is not something they offer. I have smith brothers pieces in my home and for a while I was hot after an SB243-13. Upon further thought, I want rolled arms. I want an attached tufted seat. I want at least a 22" seat depth.

to get more specific on the style I am looking for

Rolled arms and back
around 95-100" in length
preferrably around a 25" seat depth
Tufted and attached seat cushion... that said, I not fully against a single cushon seat.

Examples of what I like:

Timothy Oulton Westminster Button


and or the Ccococo Chelsea Chesterfield


If all else equal, Id opt for the cococo because they have a local showroom and they offer the leather I like and have experience with. Moore and Giles "Winter Pine"

I am under the impression that some on this forum would not consider these in the same leage as HM or BY and I realize that the reviews on at least the cococo pieces aren't the greatest. Considering my wants, are these my best options?

[drcollie]

I don't know those brands so I cannot comment on them, sorry. I have never come across a Chesterfield that large and that deep, that's a REALLY big sofa.

Moore and Giles has some of the best leathers on the market, so you're good to go there.

When shopping this category of sofa, its all about the padding in the "diamonds" - more is better, and how well are the diamonds tailored? It's easy to make shallow ones that are not symmetrical, so look at the tailoring carefully, make sure the buttons are deeply set into the tuft and the padding is three dimensional. On something that large you want a rigid frame, so if pick up one corner on the front end and lift it off the ground. How much torsional stiffness is there? A good frame at 100" or so will not lift more than about 1 1/2" before the other front leg comes up. Less is better.

These are the largest Hancock and Moore unist without commissioning a custom build.

https://www.hancockandmoore.com/Prod...l/?SKU=8876-88

https://www.hancockandmoore.com/Prod...ail?SKU=6038-3

Good luck!

[ZIVMAN]

I don't know those brands so I cannot comment on them, sorry. I have never come across a Chesterfield that large and that deep, that's a REALLY big sofa.

Moore and Giles has some of the best leathers on the market, so you're good to go there.

When shopping this category of sofa, its all about the padding in the "diamonds" - more is better, and how well are the diamonds tailored? It's easy to make shallow ones that are not symmetrical, so look at the tailoring carefully, make sure the buttons are deeply set into the tuft and the padding is three dimensional. On something that large you want a rigid frame, so if pick up one corner on the front end and lift it off the ground. How much torsional stiffness is there? A good frame at 100" or so will not lift more than about 1 1/2" before the other front leg comes up. Less is better.

These are the largest Hancock and Moore unist without commissioning a custom build.

https://www.hancockandmoore.com/Prod...l/?SKU=8876-88

https://www.hancockandmoore.com/Prod...ail?SKU=6038-3

Good luck!

Appreciate the reply. I did some searching prior to my original post and saw your response about the ccococo furniture here

for reference...
COCOCO 96" with 25" seat depth Chesterfield with tufted seat in mont blanc leather runs $5,750 + tax + delivery
COCOCO non tufted single pillow classic chesterfield in same size and leather runs $4,680 + tax + delivery

it looks like hardwood Plywood frames on these with drop in spring sets
They have a local showroom so I am pretty included to visit to get a feel for the product.


I did an online chat with the timothy oulton group. Their Westminster Button with tufted attached seat is about $7000 This is a 95.3" length and 24.4" seat depth. they didn't have an answer on the construction and said a person from the New York showroom would contact me.

I am not really sure anymore what it takes price wise to get a quality piece. I know the smith brother's sofa is pretty nice and thats 6180... now days who knows what things should cost. obviously I am leaning towards the cococo piece due to price and leather choices, but i have read some very mixed reviews on their pieces.

[drcollie]

I think it's important in Chesterfield styles to actually see, touch and sit in one because I find they vary wildly from one maker to another. Most are either poorly made or sit uncomfortably. A button-tufted Chesterfield style is one of the most difficult pieces to make and requires a master upholsterer to execute properly. At Hancock and Moore for example, there are only four workers qualified to make one, if I recall correctly. Most companies don't have that person on staff because they are expensive to hire and keep, so they don't build them right. A drop-in spring grid would be a non-starter for me, right off the bat. You want 8-way Hand-Tied Spring up suspension. And Smith Bros doesn't do that, either - they are all no-sag (zig zag) suspension.

At those price points, you are about 50% to 60% the price of a correctly made unit, so that may tell you something as well. Those are labor intensive sofas to do right so we see most going from $ 7K to $ 10K and a huge one like you are looking at would be 5 figures. In upholstery, you usually get what you pay for so you have to decide if you are shopping a price point or going for well made.

Leathercraft makes them right - I'm not currently a dealer for them because of some marketing craziness the did a few years back, but they build one in the size you are looking at. https://leathercraft-furniture.com/u...stchester-sofa

A well made Chesterfield is surprisingly comfortable and will last 30 years or more in leather. It's worth it to make sure you get the right one.

[ZIVMAN]

again, I appreciate the reply.

the people from oulton got back to me on the construction. here is what they say

The frame is built out of kiln-dried Beachwood. It has S Springs and elastic webbing for heightened comfort. The seat infill is thick luxuriously soft foam and polyester fibre.

[drcollie]

Beech wood is the least inexpensive hardwood available and is suitable for furniture frames, Budweiser beer barrels, and it makes excellent firewood. It is dense and tough, bends easily and has medium resistance to shock and fracture. It is susceptible to wood beetles. It can be either a domestic or imported frame as Beech trees grow on every continent.

“S” springs are called “no sag” and combined with elastic webbing are less than ideal for suspension, but are easy to construct requiring no special skills. I would not expect a lot of longevity out of that system and would expect sag to develop with age and use, perhaps 6 to 10 years. That’s a very large span for that system, they work better in chairs that are around two feet wide.

Every cushion is foam, but as you might expect there a wide variety of foams. The best for furniture (and the most costly) is DuPont Qualux.. If you ask them that however, it’s almost a sure bet they won’t be familiar with it.

[ZIVMAN]

sounds like a horse a piece between the Timothy oulton and the cococo pieces but the cococo is 2 1000-2000 cheaper

[Shirley]

I have a Smith Brothers tufted sofa in fabric that is 6 years old and the tufting is flattening in the spot I sit in all the time. Looks bad and no way to fix it. I would go with H&M if at all possible…their tufted pieces are gorgeous and I’m sure they’ll last much longer!

[drcollie]

I have a Smith Brothers tufted sofa in fabric that is 6 years old and the tufting is flattening in the spot I sit in all the time. Looks bad and no way to fix it. I would go with H&M if at all possible…their tufted pieces are gorgeous and I’m sure they’ll last much longer!

Yes, this is what happens. I know it sounds cliche, but nobody in the industry builds a tufted sofa like Hancock and Moore, and that’s known throughout the trade if you ask around. Even Century tufted sofas (they own Hancock and Moore) are not made to the H&M level. I personally would rather pay $8for one built right than $4k for one that’s going to the landfill in less than ten years.

[MattT87]

We just went through the same process sourcing a deep chesterfield. We ended up placing an order with Roger + Chris. Solid hardwood and customizations we needed. Their furniture used to come from Cococo, but they now use their own factory. (I suspect, but didn’t confirm, it is the same factory as Of Iron and Oak, which has a showroom in NJ.)

Both Cococo and Roger + Chris (and Of Iron and Oak) use pocket coil suspensions. Cococo uses Leggett and Platt, R+C use Hickory (which R+C claims has shown better quality steel in the last few years.) I’m a science and data guy, so I’d love to have seen more data points on durability and comfort for pocket coils… but we took an educated risk.

That said, if we had fewer budget constraints, we would have customized a Hancock and Moore Tavern sofa. In the absolutely exhaustive research I performed, absolutely no other manufacturer displayed the quality of leatherwork and tufting.

In fact, if we had wanted our chesterfield with a tufted SEAT, we would have probably splurged for the H&M piece. Their tufting is just unreal.