One of the biggest financial decisions you can make is buying new furniture. There are a million considerations: What style do I like? Is it functional? Does it go with what I already have? Is it comfortable? An equally important question, but maybe one that is less fun to think about, is: How is this item constructed?

This is a deeply important point to consider and one that can affect your pocketbook for a long time. Let’s face it, furniture is expensive! When you get into upholstered furniture, especially the big items like sofas, beds, and dining sets, costs can add up very quickly, and the last thing you want is to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars only to have to replace them in a couple of years.

That $1000 sofa may seem just as good as a $3000 sofa, but if it is not constructed with high quality materials and processes, you may end up paying double or triple over the years in repairs and replacements. You want furniture that lasts!

Paying a little more upfront for quality upholstered furniture will save you hand over fist in the long run. If you know the construction buzz-words that identify well-crafted furniture, you can trust that you will be getting pieces that will last and you can focus on what’s important: creating a beautiful space to live in.

Below are some of our favorite indicators of quality upholstered furniture!

8-Way Hand Tied

Sofas are often the centerpiece of any living space and will likely see a lot of traffic. You don’t want a sofa that feels like sitting on a plank of wood, but you still want to have structure so the whole thing does not fall apart! 8-way hand tied sofas can provide a healthy medium.

This classic technique refers to the way the suspension of upholstered furniture is constructed. As the name suggests, the craftsperson will tie a system of springs eight ways, from side to side, from front to back, and diagonally, to make up the suspension that supports the cushions. These hourglass shaped coils are strapped and knotted with cord across the seat’s frame, all of which is done by hand in a labor intensive process that usually results in more expensive items.

Though this process is hundreds of years old, it is still considered a gold standard construction method for creating high quality upholstered seating. The soft twine ensures that the suspension won’t start to squeak over time, which can happen in a suspension made up of all metal, and this process of tying also keeps sofas from shifting. It is durable and flexible yet still aesthetically pleasing, and crucially, you do not sacrifice any comfort and softness for the support.

Spring Down Cushion

Of course, the suspension of a piece of furniture isn’t the only aspect that determines softness and comfortability. That also comes from the cushion, and once again, you likely want your seat to fall somewhere in between a wood board and quicksand, which is where you find spring down cushions.

It is considered to be the second softest style of cushion and is made with coiled springs encased by foam, which are then further surrounded by down fiber. Regular fluffing and rotation is recommended to keep your cushions nice and fluffy and to avoid sagging.

While there is a bit of maintenance to these pillows, it is not nearly the amount that you would have to do with down plush or blendown cushions, which are the softest cushion style but require constant fluffing and rotation for upkeep, which nobody has the time for! Alternatively, all purely foam cushions require very little upkeep and are pretty inexpensive, but the trade off is that they are very firm and do not last long. Spring down cushions give you the resilient feel from the springs and foam combination with the added softness of down in the cover.

Kiln Dried Hardwood

The frames of most high quality upholstered furniture will likely be made from wood, and for the most reliable frame, you will want to look for kiln dried hardwood.

Hardwood comes from trees such as oak, maple, cherry walnut, and other broad-leafed deciduous trees, as opposed to softwood, which comes from evergreen trees, such as pines and cedar. The former type of wood, as the name suggests, is much sturdier and better suited to furniture making, whereas the latter is more prone to bending and therefore can break more easily. You definitely do not want a sofa or a dining chair breaking out from under you, so it is wise to invest in hardwood for your furniture.

Kiln dried is a process through which wood (in this case, hardwood) is put into a large, environment-controlled oven in order to reduce moisture. Freshly harvested wood tends to hold a lot of moisture, which can lead to warping and shrinkage of a piece of wood, which can in turn destabilize the furniture piece it is made from. Any bugs and insects hiding in the wood will be killed through kiln drying, and the sturdy end result prevents squeaking in your furniture. All of this leaves you with a product that is quick and inexpensive to create and stronger in the long run.

Double Dowels and Corner Blocks

There are a couple other aspects of wood frames that are important in the construction of a high quality piece. Double dowels and corner blocks will strengthen the overall structure and provide a clean finish.

Double dowels ready to be combined into joints

A J. Redmond builder working on a chair with corner blocks

A double dowel is a type of wood joint in which two pieces of wood are attached by a dowel or wooden pin. A hole is carved into the wood, and the dowel that is connected to the other piece of wood is inserted, creating a secure and accurate joint. Many types of wood joints exist, but the double dowel is one of the strongest while also being easy to assemble or disassemble. The dowel is often stronger than any screw or nail, so there is a lesser chance of breakage, and because there is no need for screws or nails, the wood grain is not disrupted and makes a neat and attractive joint.

Corner blocks serve to further strengthen the joints of your wood furniture. They act as reinforcements to make sure typical wear and tear does not break down your dining chair or sofa completely. On a structural level, corner blocks offer rigidity to the chair rails to prevent the rails from cracking and provide a platform for the seat of the chair. These simple pieces will do wonders for the durability and longevity of your furniture.

We are always on the lookout for pieces of furniture that give you more bang for your buck, and these components all serve to make quality upholstered furniture that will fill your home for years to come! When designed with us, rest assured that we will be supplying you with products made from the best materials and with the best techniques.

Everything you need to make sure you have quality upholstered furniture!

Finding Quality Upholstered Furniture

8-Way Hand Tied

Spring Down Cushion

Kiln Dried Hardwood

Double Dowels and Corner Blocks