A drawing-room does not look perfect without a few crucial pieces of furniture. Among the living-room furniture, the inclusion of a sofa is the most crucial aspect that defines the look of the living room. If you want to make your living room classy, a nice and elegant seating arrangement for the guests is essential.

In the marketplace, you may come across many kinds of sofas. So, it becomes a little confusing to pick the right sofa for the living room. Along with style and elegance, one needs to consider comfort as well. Nevertheless, the buyers have to deal with many other factors. Find some of those factors in the following section.

What Do Sofa Designers Say?

Professional sofa designers believe that a quality sofa should provide 10-20 years of comfort to the buyers. Nevertheless, a top-quality sofa designed with precision will require minimal maintenance attention. The upholstery used for making the sofa is also important; it should be of finest quality for lasting longer.

Professional sofa designers ask the buyers to consider a few crucial factors. In the following section, you can find those factors. Nevertheless, the following section also explores different types of sofas available for the buyers.

Important Factors For Buying a Top-quality Sofa

1. Frame – the Most Important Part

According to sofa designers, the frame is the most crucial part of the sofa. From durability to design, everything depends on the quality and structure of the frame. Every buyer should know the type of wood used for designing the frame. Depending on the type of the wood, durability and performance of the sofa will vary.

The cost of the sofa largely depends on the quality of the frame. Frame designed with high-quality wood will last for a long time. At the same time, the cost of such a sofa will be high. If you want more affordable options, you need to settle for a medium-quality hardwood material.

Some examples of top-quality hardwood are teak, alder, maple, walnut, poplar, and many more. All such types of hardwood materials are more durable than others. However, they are expensive too.

On the other hand, pine is an affordable option for crafting sofa frames. Pine is known as softwood, and it is fast-growing. Thus, the supply of such wooden material is not a big problem for the manufacturer. As a result, pine is more affordable than hardwoods mentioned above. Though recognized as softwood, pine offers excellent durability.

Apart from hardwood and softwood, you will find many types of wooden materials for developing sofa frames. Among those materials, plywood is popular. However, furniture-grade plywood is essential for developing top-quality sofas. Sofas developed with A-grade plywood can last for ten years easily.

Fiber-wood is another possible option, though such materials are not long-lasting. Due to moisture, such materials can change shape. As a result, the sofa frame will not have good durability. Dense woods can hold the screws and staples for a long time, and firewood cannot hold them as the density is low.

So, what is the strongest material for developing sofa frames? The most expensive sofa frames use top-quality hardwood. Moreover, they should use labor-intensive and traditional joinery, known as mortise and tendon joinery. The mid-priced sofas use screws, glue, staples, and dowels.

2. Suspension – Safety & Durability

Even with softwood, a sofa can provide 10-20 years of durability. In such cases, the suspension is the reason behind the durability of the frame. Suspension determines the structural stress that a sofa can withstand. If the suspension is good, the sofa will require minimal maintenance and repair.

On the other hand, the bad suspension will make the screws loose. Due to poor suspension, the upholstery may get flattened soon. The comfort of the sofa also depends on the stability of the design. In mid-tier sofas, sinus springs are popularly used suspension systems.

Sinus springs are made of top-quality steel wires, and thus the spring can hold the shape for a long time. Due to the use of low-quality springs, the upholstery surface may become uneven. Nevertheless, such sofas will not give you the best seating comfort. But, a top-quality sinus spring can deliver durability, comfort, and seamless performance.

The traditional sofa designers prefer using the eight-way hand-tied springs. However, such a method of developing sofa suspension is time-consuming. Since the process takes time, the final product becomes expensive. Today, buyers look for the lesser expensive options without compromising the quality and durability.

According to the modern sofa developers, eight-way springs have now become outdated. Nevertheless, they are too expensive. Thus, modern designers prefer pocket-coil spring suspension for modern sofas. The pocket-coil spring is affordable, and it is also easy to install. The manufacturers can find a ready-made grid of springs for the sofa suspension.

For inspecting the spring-based sofas, the experts suggest buyers listen to the squeaks and creaks. It should not make any uncanny noise when you sit on the sofa, as the noise is proof of poor suspension. Another crucial thing is to understand the vibration. The sofa should not vibrate after you sit on it. Vibration also suggests poor suspension of the sofa.

In mid-range or low-budget sofas, you may also find polypropylene webbing, which resembles outdoor gear straps. In vintage mid-century sofas, such suspension technique is notable. Today, such a technique has become obsolete. But, a few manufacturers use the technique to develop affordable sofas for the buyers.

3. Sofa Cushioning – Comfort Matters

Buying a sofa is not all about finding a product that pleases you visually. You need to find a product that gives you comfort. Imagine a sofa that gives you amazing comfort after an eventful day. Buyers sit on the sofa when they want to relax and watch some TV series. Sofas in guestrooms should also intend to provide comfort to the guests.

Thus, comfort is a crucial factor in determining the quality of a sofa. Before purchasing the product, you must judge the comfort through trials. When you sit on a sofa, you will find a comfort level. Apart from trial and error, checking materials is also important in such cases. The comfort depends on the quality of the sofa cushioning.

So, what is the ideal sofa cushioning? You will find many variants of sofa cushions, and some of them are listed in the following section.

• Poly-wrapped Foam: Buyers will find poly-wrapped cushioning in most sofas today. Both the seat and back cushions have been done with such material. The poly-wrapped foam is high resilience foam, which can retain the shape for a long time. The foam feels soft too, and this gives amazing comfort. At the same time, it is durable and affordable for buyers.
• Goose Down: In high-quality sofas, you will find such cushioning. The material comes with a layer of down-proofing ticking. The cushioning technology gives amazing and natural comfort to the users. At the same time, the down-proofing layer gives durability to cushioning. However, replacing the cushion will be a costly affair. The overall cost of such sofas is high.
• Innerspring core: The innerspring core cushioning is also highly comfortable for the users. However, such cushioning gives a bouncy feeling. For such cushioning, sofas need top-quality suspension. The quality of the innerspring will determine the durability of such cushioning. If you hear noise after sitting on a sofa, you can consider that innerspring quality is below average.
• Memory Foam: Since the foam can retain the original shape for a long time, it is known as memory foam. The high-density memory foam can offer top-class durability and comfort to the users. You will find a low quantity of sofa cushioning with memory, as it is an expensive material. If you want to purchase a bed-cum-sofa, you can purchase memory foam cushioning for a comfortable sleep.

So, these are some of the types of cushioning available for the buyers. Depending on the type and quality of the cushioning, the price of the sofa varies. If you want a durable sofa with amazing comfort, memory foam and poly-wrapped foam are the best options.

4. The Upholstery – Comfort and Aesthetics

Experts suggest the buyers check the quality of upholstery for purchasing a sofa. You should not choose a sofa checking the upholstery fabric. After judging the factors discussed above, you need to check the upholstery. Both natural and synthetic fibers are extensively used for crafting sofa upholstery.

Fiber is good if it feels smooth to your skin. The fiber should not cause any discomfort to the skin. While natural fibers tend to get damaged quickly, artificial fibers last longer. Apart from the comfort, you should check the color and design. Preferences on these factors vary from one person to another person.

5. The Legs – Stability and Durability

The durability of the sofas depends on the quality of the legs. If the quality of the legs is not good, durability will become poor. You will find both wooden and metallic legs for sofas. For wooden legs, hardwood is the most suitable material. For metallic sofa legs, you can choose stainless steel, iron, etc. However, stainless steel is more durable than iron.

 So, these are the most crucial tips that sofa manufacturers will suggest. Following these tips will help you to buy top-quality sofas for your living room.