Furniture shopping requires you to do a good bit of sifting through the good, the bad, and the ugly...
Well, at least the "ugly" always stands out, so it can easily be avoided, but when shopping for quality furnishings, it can be challenging to differentiate the good from the bad by visual assessment alone. You will frequently need to rely on the product knowledge of your salesperson, but that creates another issue... How do you know what to ask? Here is a list of 7 key points you'll want to check on:
Bed Frame Leg
1. Frame: The fame should be made of kiln-dried hardwood. Removing the moisture prevents warping and cracking over time.
2. Joinery: The corners should be joined using one of two methods:
corner-blocked, and double-dowelled (sometimes called "glued, screwed, and double-dowelled") interlocking tenons3. Legs: Built-in legs are stronger, but removable legs are frequently necessary for delivery purposes. This shouldn't be a big factor in your consideration, unless you plan on seating elephants or parking large machinery on the piece.
4. Springs: The type of spring system your piece has will somewhat depend on the style you are shopping for. Assuming you are looking for a comfy, family room type of sofa, the standard has always been the 8-way, hand-tied spring system, which provides an even, long-lasting distribution of weight. There has been an improvement on this recently, which is 8-way MACHINE-tied, with wire rather than the traditional twine. This eliminates both the inconsistency of human fatigue, as well as the stretching of the twine over time. Either method is great.
5. Cushions: Cushions should be made of high-density, high-resiliency foam, 1.8 or higher. This ensures it will hold up to a long life of ups and downs. The cushion covers should have zippers which allow you to fluff them (especially if you're buying down), or to replace the cores when they wear out.
A note about loose, scatter, and attached back cushions: The term "loose back" does not refer to a bunch of pillows tossed on the back of the sofa. That's called "scatter back." "Scatter back" is the worst type of back for a piece that will be heavily used, especially if you have young children. The pillows wear out, flatten, and generally look terrible in no time. "LOOSE back," on the other hand, refers to full-size cushions, which are tight fitting to the sofa, but not actually attached to the frame. This is the cushion that will give you the greatest longevity, because of your ability to flip and rotate them (which is necessary to get the most life from your piece), although they tend to create a deeper, more relaxed feel when sitting. The problem with semi-attached is that you are NOT able to flip and rotate them, and over time, the fill sinks to the bottom. They do, however, tend to create a more upright style of seating, which is great for those who don't want such a deep expanse. If you go with semi-attached, make sure there is a zipper in the bottom of the cushion, allowing you to have it restuffed when it starts to look droopy.
6. Upholstery: Fabric patterns should be matched (meaning they continue uninterrupted) from the frame, onto the cushions, over the seat, and down the front, as well as over the arms and down the sides. Ideally, the back will be matched also, although if your piece has any curve to the shape, this is not always possible.
7. Leather: When purchasing leather, make sure it is top-grain. This is the uppermost cut of the hide, and the only one with lasting durability. You also want that leather to be vat-dyed. This ensures that the color goes all the way through, which you will greatly appreciate when you get your first, inevitable scratch.
Now, all that said, it doesn't matter if you didn't understand a word of it - the salesperson will, or if they don't, you aren't shopping in a location that carries high-quality furnishings! If you don't want to drive around interrogating salespeople all day, you can find your perfect room at home, in your pj's, at OnlineHomeDecorating.com. Because each room is created by a decorating professional, we are able to give you all the important information on the pieces, right there on the page!