|
On 21 Jun 2006 14:49:14 -0700, "MarkNero" <MarkNero123@yahoo.com>
wrote:
>My wife and I are interested in buying a sectional sofa. After
>spending a lot of time and effort checking out very many stores, we
>finally found one, at Ethan Allen, we like and that seems to be of good
>quality. Since we have little experience shopping for furniture, nor
>in knowing what constitutes quality furniture, we've been using a
>Consumer Reports article as a guide ("How to Buy Upholstered
>Furniture"). The problem is in getting the salesman to cooperate.
>
>CR recommends getting a "written statement of expected performance"
>from the manufacturer of the seat cushions as the best insurance
>against cushion failure. The Ethan Allen salesman (or "Interior
>Designer" as his business card states) gave us, in lieu of this
>statement, their limited warranty handout, which states a four year
>warranty for seat cushions. The problem is the warranty. Under
>"Exclusions" it states: "Warranty does not cover loss of resiliency,
>loft, crown (may compress up to 1 inch within 1st year)". This seems
>as if they're not actually covering much and is hardly a "statement of
>expected performance". First, the warranty excludes loss of
>resiliency, which I understand to mean that if, over time, the seat
>cushions stay in a compressed state after sitting on them, well, too
>bad! Also excluded from the warranty is "loss of loft" which I
>understand to be similar to the loss of resiliency issue, except that
>while resiliency refers to the foam's ability to resume its original
>shape, "loft" seems to refer to the ability of the foam to resume its
>original size. "Crown", as best as I understand it, seems to refer to
>the seams (edges) holding their "sharpness" (stay sharp as corners and
>edges).
>
>CR strongly recommends checking the foam density of the seat cushions,
>as this will be a strong factor in determining the longevity of the
>seats. They say, typically, the density ranges from 1.2 to 4.0
>lbs./cubic foot and not to accept less than 1.8 lbs./cubic foot. The
>Ethan Allen salesman, after remarking "in my 30+ years of working here
>I've never gotten questions like these", said he'd look in to this
>and give us a call back. He called a few days later, claiming "it used
>to be 1.8 lbs./cubic foot, but was recently upgraded to 2.3". I asked
>for some sort of documentation which elicited the response "but, it's
>standard, it's a given!" apparently implying that we should simply
>accept his word on this. When I continued to insist he said I would have
>to speak with his manager. Unfortunately, the manager happened not to
>be there today due to a death in the family, but he would arrange for
>him to call me. I'm awaiting that call.
>
>Finally CR recommends getting the "pure urethane" density of the foam.
>CR states that some manufacturers use fillers such as powdered barium
>sulfate or calcium carbonate to increase the weight and firm up a
>cheap, low-density foam. The salesman claimed that "we do not do things
>like that" but offered no written guarantee.
>
>I do not really expect any of these issues to be a problem as Ethan
>Allen has a reputation of making quality furniture. However, this
>sectional sofa is a major purchase for us, costing just over $4,300 for
>left and right facing 2-cushion pieces and the corner piece, and we
>intend it to last a long time, which is why we decided against
>purchasing the much cheaper (in price and perceived quality) sectionals
>we saw at Macy's and many other stores. We had hoped that by following
>CR's advice on this we would ensure getting the quality we want.
>
>On the one hand, we could assume that Ethan Allen will live up to its
>reputation as a quality furniture manufacturer and use only quality
>components in their furniture. OTOH, is it unreasonable to expect an
>establishment like Ethan Allen to provide information about the quality
>components used in their furniture? Are we being too picky or is this
>salesman simply not doing his job?
>
>What say you?
The question for me is where to start? It sounds like you're looking
for "investment grade" furniture, and that's not an easy thing to find
in upholstered furniture. Anyway the critical factors in upholstered
furniture are a well built hardwood frame,type of springs and if
they're coiled springs, how they're tied, the cushion materials and
the upholstery fabric. You should be able to get full disclosure on
all of this from the manufacturer.
One of the problems in what you've been told above is with the foam.
Urethane foam will not hold up well, not even in the highest grade.
Latex foam is far superior but "rather pricey" compared to urethane.
therefore the number of manufactuers tht use it are limited. You will
find it is more readily available in imported furniture and in
"modern[e]" styles. To the best of my knowledge, all latex sold in the
U.S.is imported from Europe. The U.S. used to manufacture latex but
the plant burned down thirty or more years ago, and the cost of
rebuilding and meeting EPA standards was prohibitive, hence the
plethora of urethane and scarcity of latex. If you can find a style
you like with latex, it is well worth the price. I've a "mid
twentieth century modern" sofa in my living room that sold new in 1960
for $3,000.00, and it still has the original latex seat cushions and
the original nylon pile on cotton backing upholstery. Looks great and
is extremely comofortable to sit on. It can be done!
Lofting is almost always a problem. Lots of factors figure in,
especially the climate where you live. In upholstered furniture, if
you want the plumped loft look, the Cadillac is down. You can get
down in cells wrapped around a foam core, or you can get solid down
cushions on a sofa or chair. In all cases, down requires "dedicated
plumping" every time you sit on it. The good thing is that it will
always plump back up. If you're lazy and your clothes dryer is large
enough (or the cushions small enough) a half hour's tumble in a cool
dryer will plump them up. With proper care (or even moderately
improper) down will keep its loft longer than the life of the
upholstery.
On the cheaper side, synthetic fibers (most notably polyester) are
used as "batting" to wrap cushions to give them loft. There are so
many variables that adversely impact on the life and performance of
this kind of lofting material that you just have to be aware of its
limitations. The good news is that seat cushions on better grade
furniture have zippers that make it easy to replace the lofting
materials.
As for upholstery fabrics, a good general rule of thumb is that
natural fibers are choice. Wool and heavy upholstery grade silk are
especially long wearing. Cotton and linen are good but stain easily.
Personally I avoid acetates and rayons at all costs because one drop
of acetone based nail polish remover will melt a hole in it, and I
figure it doesn't matter how many times you tell a teen age girl not
to do her nails on the sofa... Well, why tempt fate? Olefin is also
a fiber to avoid in furniture or anywhere, in my opinion, when it is
used in a solid weave. When woven into fabric or looped pile carpet,
it is extremely abrasive to human skin because of the nature of the
filaments. It isn't a kind surface for bare feet to walk on or bare
elbows to rest on.
For long term care, natural fibers collect less static electricity,
therefore attract less dirt. If your goal is a lifetime of wear and
comfort from your sofa, then natural fibers without a soil repellent
treatment such as Scotch Guard are the way to go. The problem with
soil repellents is that they do not hold up well with repeated
treatments and you eventually end up sealing the soil in, not out.
Hope this informaton helps. More than anything else, the syle of sofa
you like will determine the kinds of materials used in it. One thing
you might consider is talking to some of the better upholsterers in
your area about having them create a sofa for you from scratch. The
advantage of custom furniture is that you control the quality and
materials, as well as the style. And contrary to common belief,
custom furniture does not always mean the most costly.
Good luck!
CF
|
|
Re: Sectional sofa shopping advice (long)
