Once upon a time, almost all the interiors of ordinary Soviet apartments necessarily included upholstered furniture. As a rule, her presence was limited to a sofa and two armchairs. We have been collecting for this headset for a long time, so we were incredibly happy to purchase it. Who has already thought about the model, manufacturer or type of functionality there.
However, times are changing. The modern furniture market is full of diversity, and everything that used to be just a dream is quite common today. The color scheme, numerous variants of elements and the material used – the choice of upholstered furniture is really wide. In order not to get confused in the variety presented and harmoniously decorate the interior of your own apartment, it is recommended to know a few simple but very important nuances.
Sliding upholstered furniture
Consisting of several independent segments, the sofa is an excellent solution for small living rooms or studio apartments. Thanks to this design, a householder can easily rearrange individual parts of a soft sofa, creating a new design.
What’s inside?
In addition to the design and functional indicators of upholstered furniture, its distinctive features have always been considered: internal stuffing and external upholstery. As for the first, it is quite natural that it is necessary to give preference to natural materials. For example, feather, felt, batting or down.
However, it is quite difficult to find such furniture, especially since its cost will be very high. Meanwhile, modern manufacturers often use durable and environmentally friendly artificial materials, for example, in the production of sofas. These include foam rubber, polyurethane and sintepon. In addition, the inner packing can be made in layers, as well as with the help of spring blocks. In any case, it is vital to purchase exclusively certified furniture with guaranteed harmlessness of the materials used. Health comes first.
Leather or fabric?
Having decided on the “insides” of upholstered furniture, consider its external data. The most common materials for its upholstery are leather and fabric. The first option is certainly more prestigious. Often it is leather furniture that decorates the offices of high-ranking officials. In addition, upholstered leather furniture is quite practical and has a number of advantages, such as:
— durability;
— comparative resistance to mechanical damage;
— amazing aesthetic appearance;
— ease of care.
But its negative sides can safely be attributed to a fairly high cost and a large number of fakes or simply low-quality products. To reduce prices, negligent manufacturers use artificial materials or poorly tanned leather. It is because of this that furniture can quickly lose its decent appearance, crack and crumble. There is one piece of advice here: if you decide to buy leather furniture, do not spare money on proven manufacturers with a worldwide reputation.
A more affordable option is upholstered furniture made of fabric. Although there are such exclusive materials that their cost will be an order of magnitude higher than the same leather. However, let’s consider quite ordinary options. The leaders among furniture fabrics are still economical tapestry and relatively expensive velour. It is used in the production of upholstered furniture and velvet, but recently much less often. Apparently, the fate of the pile fabric awaits him, irrevocably gone into oblivion.
Sliding mechanisms
Folding chairs and sofas are able to save a small amount of space very significantly, performing the function of relaxing and receiving guests during the day, and sleeping at night. Such models of upholstered furniture are also suitable for cottages or summer terraces. However, where there is a mechanism, purely mechanical problems can always arise. To begin with, let’s look at the types of these very structures:
— “book”, a variant in which the seat extends only half, and the backrest reclines back;
— “clamshell”, the meaning of which is to fold the sleeping place according to the example of a clamshell. In this case, it is located under the seat;
— the “pull-out mechanism”, the most popular today, is the extension of an additional surface from under the sofa.
Whatever option is chosen, it is necessary to carefully check its performance, as well as pay attention to the material from which it is made. Mild steel will wear out much faster, disabling the entire structure. Elements of mechanisms made of durable iron, on the contrary, will be able to guarantee its long operation without problems. By the way, the average period that upholstered furniture can withstand ranges between 5 and 10 years. It all depends on the materials used in the manufacture and the correct or incorrect care of it.
