When out looking for a sofa, also consider how it is made so that you end up with a good quality piece of furniture:
Like a solid building, a well-built sofa is based on a sound frame. Sofas with kiln-dried hardwood frames such as oak or poplar are good options. Kiln-drying removes excess water in the wood so that it doesn’t warp or crack later. You can get cheaper-framed sofas using softwood, plywood or plastic, but expect these to last for a shorter period of time.
A good sofa will have its frame joined using a mixture of dowel, block and glue and screws. Cheaper sofas will be stapled and glued together with lighter weight braces to hold the joints together. See how solid your sofa is by wiggling it gently from side to side. A solid frame should not wiggle!
When you sit on a sofa, it’s the suspension system that gives it its bounce. The eight-way hand-tied coil system gives the firmest and most continuous ‘ride’ (how even it is across the sofa). The drop coil system gives a slightly less continuous ride so you could end up sitting in a dip. The sinuous system is often used in low slung seats and is not for those who dream of diving into a soft plump sofa!
Full down cushions give a very soft feel but need plumping up to reshape them. Semi-sprung, fabric-wrapped cushions give a firmer seat but still a soft feel, foam-filled sofas are the firmest of all. It can be used in anything from cheap sofas to very expensive sleek ones.
Keep in mind that tightly woven fabrics tend to wear the best the number of threads per square inch tends to determine the durability and woven patterns last better than prints.
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