Upholstery Buying Guide

Any choice you are going to make will depend on the size of your room and how many people need to be seated at any one time. To benefit from the style, quality, comfort and value for money of your final selection, you need to make sure it will also fit into your room, so please take time to properly measure up. For really tight access, we have a range of sofas with bolt-on arms. In addition, for small rooms unable to take a normal sofa, we also have the option of "snuggler" sofas that compliment some of our ranges - these are the size of a 1 ½ seater sofa.

As well as the overall width of a sofa - the proportion and width of its arms have a major impact on its seating capacity. Larger arms tend to waste space if it can be ill-afforded. Slim arms will always help to maximise your seating capacity. Sofas with high-backs or in bright/bold fabrics can be very imposing in small and/or low ceilinged rooms.

If you have a small, poorly lit room we would advise a compact style in a fairly plain, light-coloured fabric. Low-back sofas, often with pillow-backs, are also very effective in rooms with lower ceilings, in bay windows or as a room-divide in an open-plan living room.

We also have a comprehensive range of modular lounge furniture, which will offer you the ultimate in flexibility. Corner groups are also very effective when trying to minimise to the space taken up by seating in any living room.

We individually specify the build and construction of our products and they are rigorously tested to ensure they surpass any industry or regulatory standards. By dealing with the leading brands, our collections are at the forefront of product design, using the latest materials and most up-to-date techniques to ensure quality and durability.

The frames used in the construction of our upholstery ranges are hardwood, and many have reinforced side and back panels to help minimise any frame movement and ensure that the risk of stretching and ripping of the fabrics used on the outside panels is minimised.

All of our upholstery ranges have sprung-suspension systems. This support is provided by either Serpentine springs, coil-sprung units or webbing - depending on the level specified. Some ranges also have sprung front-edges to help enhance comfort and the durability of the seat interiors. The level of comfort and support a sofa offers is always a combination of the springing and the interiors used. Comfort is down to personal taste, so it's important that you sit in your preferred choice before making a decision. Always sit as you would at home - don't just perch.

The interiors/fillings used in the cushions on your furniture have a great deal of influence on both its comfort and look. They also require differing degrees of maintenance - "Care of Cushions" (caring for your upholstery).

The three main types of cushions are:

• Foam - which are the most supportive and resilient, requiring the lowest maintenance. They give a uniform appearance and recover well after being sat on.
• Fibre - which gives a medium to soft level of comfort and must be plumped daily to maintain their comfort and appearance level. These are made of synthetic fibres and give a casual appearance.
• Feathers - these are the most traditional form of seat filling and require the highest maintenance. These interiors will sit a lot softer and have the lowest resilience. Because of this, they're often only used in back cushions, pillows and scatter cushions.

To help create differing levels of comfort and help minimise high levels of maintenance, a combination of the above fillings are often used in the cushions on our upholstery. We also have pocket-sprung interiors for added durability and comfort.

Leather is probably the most durable of all fabrics used to upholster furniture. Each hide is unique and different tanning techniques are used to create different looks and characteristics, all of which are displayed in-store. Our expert sales teams are trained to help explain the differences.

The different types of leathers are as follows:

Standard Corrected Grain Leather

Enables us to make the most economical use of the hide. A pigment is used to cover most of the natural imperfections which exist in every hide. The grain is then embossed onto the hide and a protective coating is applied, which gives good wear characteristics and high resistance to fading, staining and scratching. This category is particularly easy to care for and is the most durable.

Standard Antique Leather

Has similar characteristics to the aforementioned hide except that a two part dye is applied - a light base coat and a dark top coat. After the furniture has been upholstered, part of the top coat is rubbed off by hand to expose the contrast colour beneath. This creates an accelerated aged appearance with the top coat colour designed to wear away during use to give the attractive "antique" effect. This process will continue naturally and the shading will vary and increase with time.

Aniline and Sauvage Leather

This is the most expensive type of leather made from the most carefully selected hides. Dye is impregnated into the hide and the surface remains natural with no artificial finish. It is the softest and most pure looking leather with all the variations in shade and markings shown clearly. Because it does not have any surface finish it has low resistance to light and is more absorbent to staining.

Semi-Aniline Leather

This is similar to aniline but with the added advantage of a light surface finish to make it more resistant to staining. However, most natural marks and shade variations are still visible.

Nubuck Leather

After tanning and dyeing, the surface of this leather is buffed to produce a soft velvety surface. In its most natural state, nubuck leather is quite prone to soiling and staining and needs to be maintained and protected with specialist products.

Waxed or Oiled Pull-Up Leathers

These are natural hides with a protective oil or waxed coating which can be replenished with use. This finish gives a "lived-in look", highlighting the natural characteristics of the leather. It will also show a distinct colour / shade variation from panel to panel. The leather will appear paler when stretched or pulled. It is prone to scratching.

Coated or Bycast finishes

These finishes are achieved by a substantial polyeurathane coating applied to the surface. This often gives a highly glossed appearance and subsequent high durability to spillages. Due to the hardness of this leather it is not suited to soft, squashy styles of upholstery.

If leather is your preferred choice, it is important that you are aware of its natural characteristics:

Real leather remains a natural product with its own unique characteristics. It will always bear the marks of its natural

origin because it is real animal hide. These marks may appear as brand marks, healed scars, growth lines, veins, creases, bites and areas of differing fibre density and hair pore structure. These hallmarks in no way detract from the wearing qualities of the leather. In fact they enhance its appearance and distinguish it from imitations. As a result of more advanced tanning and finishing processes, leather now has a softer, glove-like suppleness which is maintained throughout the life of the furniture. Likewise, cushions and arms are much softer and the combinations of these two factors mean that stretching and creases will naturally appear in the leather during use. This is quite normal, and should cause no concern, giving a softer more inviting look, with it no way being detrimental to the durability of the leather. However, you should always try to smooth out the leather surface with your hands to minimise the formation of permanent creases. With the passage of time and normal use, these features along with subtle shade changes, lead to the appearance of your leather changing to reflect your lifestyle and to enhance the leather's natural beauty with it developing a "patina".

Shade variations of leather

It must be remembered that at least eight hides are required to produce a suite. No two hides are identical and due to variations in grain structure, the dyes and finishes penetrate to differing degrees into various parts of the hide to give attractive variations. Whilst every attempt is made to achieve uniformity, this is not always possible.

It is also important that you are aware of how to look after leather upholstery - this is comprehensively explained in our leather care guide.

It is often possible to change interiors on certain designs if you have a specific requirement.

People who prefer soft cover fabrics often do so because of their warmth and softness. Due to their various compositions, fabrics vary immensely with a massive variety of finishes, durability and comfort levels.

Fabrics can either be fixed cover or loose cover, each of which have different looks and cleaning requirements. Fixed cover upholstery has a more tailored finish, with loose-covering often having a more casual appearance.

As with leather, there are many different types of fabric, all of which have different looks, characteristics and care requirements - the main types are:

• Chenilles - which are also used in clothing and are the most tactile of soft fabrics. They can be produced to the most detailed colour, pattern and texture.
• Velvets and velours - which are often found on more formal and traditional designs, but are renowned for their durability.
• Cotton prints and linens - which have a unique finish but are the least hard-wearing fabrics and are susceptible to creasing.
• Hard-wearing microfibres
• Flatweaves
  
  

As you would expect, our vast range of lounge furniture is available in an immense choice of leathers, fabrics and colours, so it is important that you take time to consider your options carefully and utilise the help of our expert sales team.

As an extra luxury, many of our ranges have complimenting reclining sofas and chairs, with a useful power option for the ultimate in comfort.

Due to the fact that the mechanisms and individual pieces need to operate freely, it is normal to see small gaps between sections of a sofa. When considering one of these options, it is important to ensure you have enough space in your room to allow full operation and movement to walk around the furniture.

Before making your final decision, you should consider the benefits of a matching footstool. As well as acting as a footrest, they also provide an extra seat, a platform for a tray of drinks and extra storage, if this option is available. Their ease of movement makes them very flexible.

All of our ranges have complimenting footstools, which should advisably be ordered at the same time as the rest of the furniture to ensure a colour match.

We have an extensive range of sofabeds, whether you want one on an individual stand-alone basis or with a matching sofa and chairs in your living room.

A sofabed always offers extra flexibility when you have visitors with today's busy lifestyles. When selecting a sofabed you should have the same considerations as when you choose a sofa - size, space, durability, comfort and style. Several designs have removable arms, one has no arms! Some can comfortably sleep two adults, others are designed as a single bed. It's important that you recognise a sofabed will always sit firmer than a standard sofa, as you're not supported by a sprung-suspension system.

Our sofabeds have different sleeping surfaces, all of which have varying levels of comfort - so you should always try them out. Most of our mattresses are sprung, with a few being solid blocks of foam. The majority of our mattresses are supported by beech slats.

A sofabed should only be used for occasional rather than permanent sleeping.

As with buying anything, you should not select on price alone - as comfort and durability matters - especially when being used in an everyday room.

Many of our sofas have co-ordinating scatter cushions, although we also have a wider range of alternative accent cushions available in-store. These help to complete your look and can add extra comfort and luxury, as well as colour. You can afford to be more adventurous with your selection of fabric - unlike with your upholstery cover - as changing cushions to update your room's look is relatively inexpensive.

Some of our sofa ranges are also available with matching arm caps or arm covers - for added durability and practicality - please ask in-store for details.