Why You Care about Upholstered Furniture Construction

cross-section of a high-quality sofa

Buying furniture can be a harrowing experience. It's usually a big chunk of our decorating budget, and there are so many choices, we start to suffer from decision fatigue and just pick anything to get it over with.

This is a mistake.

Careless choices can lead to costly problems, like upholsters that shreds after just a year, screws pulling free, springs sagging so badly you're practically sitting on the floor, or ominous cracking sounds just before the entire thing collapses.

Fortunately, there are a few things to know that can help you weed out that crap so only the quality pieces are left.

1. frame construction

2. suspension

3. upholstery

4. filling/stuffing

Frame construction

Generally comes described as 'manufactured wood', "softwood', 'natural wood', 'hardwood', or 'solid wood'. Never get 'manufactured wood' because that's particle board or MDF and it's crap that won't last. Softwood is better, but it's, well... soft. 'Natural wood' can sound good, but it's vague, as it can mean 'softwood' just as much as 'hardwood'. Optimally, you want any of the last two kinds. If you can get it 'kiln-dried', all the better, that's the highest quality of framing.

It's also important to note how the wood is connected or joined-- are there interlocking parts, like mortise and tenon joints or dovetailing? Wooden corner blocks, wood dowels, and/or metal screws and brackets are also sign that a piece of furniture will be sturdy and longer-lasting.

Suspension

AKA springs. There are 3 grades: web or mesh suspension, sinuous or serpentine springs, and coiled springs. The first is the worst because the web gives out after a while. Sinuous springs are better but also stretch out within a few years. Coils are the best, and if you can get them tied 8 ways? The gold standard.

Upholstery

There are many many options. You'll need to choose between which material to cover your furniture with, and what you want to stuff/fill it with.

Fabric: This is one rare situation where natural fibers are your worse choice rather than the better one; natural fibers wear poorly and you'll get maybe 2 or 3 years' use before seeing problems. Synthetic fabrics are best, and if you can get them in the 'performance' variety, it's practically bulletproof in terms of wear, and also washes/cleans well. Some are even stain resistant. Great strides have been made in recent years, in terms of synthetic upholstery, and it's no longer guaranteed to be cheap plasticky crap.

Leather: Not all leather is created equally-- some is absolute shit. Quality grades are, from good to bad, full grain leather, top grain leather, split grain leather (sometimes called genuine leather), and bonded leather. NEVER get bonded or genuine leather, those are the ones that crack and flake.

Filling/stuffing: there are a few kinds: down, down wrapped around a foam core, foam, and chipped foam. Pure down is squishy, if you like soft. Foam is good but can compact and lose its springiness. Chipped foam is trash. The best, IMO, is down around a foam core: you get the solidity of foam with the squish of down, and the down takes some of the heavy lifting off the foam, so it lasts longer.

Best Configuration

So the best of configurations, among all these choices, would be:

• kiln-dried hardwood frame

• interlocking joinery

• 8-way tied coiled springs

• performance fabric or leather

• down-wrapped foam

That will cost you upwards of $3000 on the low end. Compromise with sinuous springs and plain foam stuffing, and you can get a decent one for half that, with a good frame, sinuous springs, plain foam, mayyyyyybe performance fabric if you find one on sale/have a promo code/etc.

Don't compromise on the joinery-- you don't want to sit down and have the piece collapse under you. Or, worse, under guests.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, quality costs-- that's not new. If you simply can't afford a better grade of furniture, by all means, buy what you can afford, but be aware that it's probably going to be temporary, with a single-digit number of years of use.