Furnishings 101

Types of Wood for Furniture

If you’ve spent any time on this blog or our online shop, you know that we think how a piece of furniture is made is just as important as how it looks. We’ve already covered the best way for a piece to be constructed with our blogs on wood materials, joinery, veneers, and finishes, but we haven’t talked a lot about the different species of wood. We’re going to fix that with this blog. The type of wood doesn’t just play a big role in how something will look or what it costs, but also how well it performs as a piece of furniture: how hard or soft it is, whether it changes color, and how long it will last.

Before we go into the common types of wood, we want to do a quick “Everything You Need to Know About Wood” lesson. That way you’ll understand what we’re talking about. (more…)

Furnishings 101

How to Buy a Sofa: 15 Must-Know Tips

Want to make sure the sofa you buy is comfortable and well-made? Take a look at the 15 most important things to look for while you’re shopping: (more…)

Furnishings 101

Comfy Sofa Beds: How to Find the Right One for You

Anyone who has spent the night on a standard sleeper sofa can empathize with the character in The Princess and the Pea who tossed and turned thanks to the lump in her bed. We’ve lost hours of sleep too, trying to ignore the bars poking through a too-thin mattress. There is a solution – sleeper sofas can actually be comfortable for both sitting and sleeping – but you need to know how to find the one that meets your needs. (more…)

Furnishings 101

Best Sofa Bed That’s Actually Comfortable

Prefer to not have a whole room dedicated to a spare bed? A sleeper sofa might be the perfect answer. While it isn’t going to be quite as comfortable as an actual bed (it doesn’t have the same supportive springs underneath), it can still provide a great night’s sleep if you buy the right one. The main thing to know is that shopping for a sleeper sofa is more than just picking the right style. There are also several different types of mattresses and configurations that affect sleeping comfort, sitting surface, and space planning.

The most important thing to look for when shopping for a sleeper sofa is good quality construction. You’re buying a piece of furniture that includes a mechanism and, as we all know, anything that involves moving parts has the potential to fail. For a quality piece, buy from a manufacturer that uses best practices in their furniture construction. Solid frames, well-made cushions, and top-of-the-line suspensions in sofas and chairs are an indication that their sleepers will be of equally good quality.

Hint: Sofa manufacturers don’t make their own sleeper mechanisms. As a result, different manufacturers often have the same mattress and mechanisms. Make sure the mechanism is from a reputable manufacturer like Leggett & Platt or Hickory Springs.

Now, let’s talk about the main types of sleeper sofas and some tips on figuring out which kind is best for you (for more about that, check out the second blog in our series on sofa beds). (more…)

Furnishings 101

Stain-Resistant Upholstery Fabrics

Everybody buying a new sofa or chair worries about someone getting a little sloppy with their red wine while sitting on it. In fact, a fear of stains leads many people with kids or pets to simply put off buying new furniture completely. But there’s no need to live with a falling apart sofa just because you’re concerned about stains. That’s because there’s a whole new category of upholstery fabric that’s popped up in recent years: performance fabrics. These remarkable products can handle spills and dirt with ease. Here are the big players in the performance fabric category – all approaching stain resistance from a different angle. (more…)

Furnishings 101

Fabric for Upholstery: Cotton

Thinking of buying a new sofa or reupholstering an old one? Don’t overlook good, old-fashioned cotton. While cotton is typically considered for casual, washable slipcovers, it can also look quite formal and modern. The variations are truly endless, so here’s everything to know about cotton for upholstered furniture. (more…)