Most leather sofas seem to be made
with a 3 cushion design. I prefer
a 2 cushion design as 3 people
seldom sit on a sofa.
Is there a design advantage to
the 3 cushion design vs. 2?
Slightly, but its minor. The smaller the cushion:
1) The leather will stretch less with use. On larger surface areas being sat upon, you're going to see more 'pocketing' as the hide has less to support it tightly.
2) Cushions tend to want to lift on the sides when sat upon in the middle of the seat. Again, the smaller the cushion unit the less the lift on the sides.
Buy 2 or 3 cushion based on style. Some designs will definitely look better in one configuration than the other.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
OK. I understand.
I've been looking at the Leathercraft site. Not the easiest site
to navigate; images are small and limited and sofas are not
grouped by size, as far as I can tell.
At any rate, almost all of their sofas are 3 cushion designs.
Duane, have you had any experience with Classic Leather
products?
I have read many of your postings. (Most informative!)
I do not believe that you have ever mentioned
Classic Leather. Where would this brand fall in relationship
to Leathercraft?
Thank you.
Agreed. Furniture companies are generally on hard times right now and with the exception of Hancock and Moore, most their websites are dated, clunky and look like they were done ten years ago (many probably have been!)
Classic Leather in my opinion, is one of the better brands and companies, on par with Bradington-Young. I think it still is not quite up to the level of Leathercraft and certainly not Hancock & Moore.
What style sofa are you seeking? Traditional, contempoary? Did you look at H&M's website? They have several 2-cushion sofas in both the regular line and the NEW items categories.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
Thanks for your reply.
A leather sofa is actually my Plan B for
a very sunny family room. I understand
that aniline leather may not be the best
choice due to fading potential.
My style preference is tansitional with
a tilt toward contemporary.
I looked at the Hancock Moore site per your
suggestion and there are several attractive
options.
Plan A, by the way, is to have my Michael Thomas
sofa reupholstered. Super comfortable, very sturdy,
with a most unusual fabric; it is a tapestry mosaic with
smaller insets of leather and suede. I actually would
get the same fabric if I could locate it.
The frustration of selecting a new fabric is the motivation
for considering leather.
CuriousM:
If that sunroom is very sunny, as you say, you absolutely do not want to put an aniline-dyed leather in that environment. It will be bleached out within the year from direct sunlight. It won't just be potential, it will definitely happen. A finished leather (pigmented) will hold up much better over time, but even that can fade. Solar film sun control on your windows is a good idea to preserve all the colors in your room in everything from carpets to artwork on the wall.
Good luck in your decision....
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
Duane,
Your insight and expertise is most appreciated.
Your posts, not just to me in particular, have
been extremely helpful--a real education.
Dealing with someone like you would make
furniture shopping a pleasure instead of
the usual nightmare.
Thank you.
Glad to help when I can. I wish I could get some more people in the trade to join this forum so we can expand our knowledge base. Please put the word out, this is open to everyone, the customer and the supplier, and fellow retailers. Knowledge is Power!
By the way, if you decide to recover your Michael Thomas sofa, and live in a major city, see if there is a Design Center in town. You can see hundreds of thousands of major fabrics from all the major vendors under one roof, and though designed for the trade only, they are open to the public on specific days.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
Fabric is 54" wide x 60 yards long, so a FABRIC sofa can have as many or as few cushions as needed. Leather is different, it is the size of the cow. In addition, leather has defects and blemishes, some are acceptable, and some you have to cut around. The larger the cushion, the harder it is to find leather in suitable condition.
To make a 2 cushion sofa you need to use at least two pieces of leather for the top of each cushion, and many factories do not wish to do that.
I have seen them however. Palliser makes them from time to time, Jaymar has a few. HTH,
Steve
Michael Thomas is fantastic! My sister had an hour-long meeting with him last year and was absolutely impressed with the quality, construction, standards, and operating procedures of his company. Michael Thomas furniture is top-quality! I wish we had a store around here that had some of his pieces to sit in for a "test ride" but unfortunately we do not.