In a recent issue of "Martha Stewart Living," a sofa was peeled back to show all of the layers. The coinciding text was a great explanation as to why some furniture costs so much and why re-upholstering can be quite an undertaking. The description is better than I can handle so read a little excerpt from the article below....
"Layers of Comfort"
Text by Kathleen Hacket
Photographs by Johnny Miller
"It looks straightforward. An upholstered piece of furniture is little more than fabric stapled or tacked to a padded frame, right? In fact, there's far more to achieving the crisp perfection and deep comfort of upholstery. That's why purchasing a new sofa or chair can be so expensive, and why even re-covering a well-worn heirloom is sometimes a costly undertaking....After all, the bones of an item determine its value ad longevity. Once you understand the differences between such terms as feathers, down and foam; jute and elastic webbing; and eight-way and zigzag springs, you can decide whether it's worth the effort to restore or update a beloved piece of furniture, or whether it's time to trade it in for a new one."
Because of the complex nature of upholstery, designers take the time to learn the fundamentals and attend conferences like "Hickory Chair University" to understand what makes a piece of furniture great and what does not.
Posted on
Thu, March 17, 2011
by Cindy Aplanalp
filed under