19 thoughts on “Where Can I Find Affordable 8 way Hand tied Sofas?”

1. Hi- what do you think about the “Luxe Premium” cushion option offered by Mantle? It is quite expensive at $1400 for the upgrade (v. $355 for the upgrade to the 2.55 density cushions).

   Luxe: Luxe Premium package consists of seats and backs. The Luxe Premium cushion contains a 4″ thick, high modulus, high resiliency core, which is capped on the top and bottom with a 2″ thick VX 3010 memory foam layer, the same foam used for comfort layers in mattresses. The top, front and bottom of the cushion is then wrapped with a continuous layer of ½” thick dacron fiber, all encased in fabric ticking. Density is 2.3, firmness is 1 out of 5. This cushion consists of state-of-the-art materials and engineering that provide the comfort of a very soft cushion, but also the resiliency and taut appearance of a firmer cushion. These two attributes create a cushion that is ultra-soft, but still has the bounce back, which offers slow acceleration upon sitting and prevents strong puddling. The sheer weight of this cushion confirms its overall quality. The back inserts are filled with microfiber which is less than one Denier in measurement. This microfiber fill is encased in a beautiful natural white down proof ticking with surged seams. This filling provides a luxurious, heavier feel to the backs.

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   • There is a big problem in the furniture industry at this time.

     Because of the tremendous success of the Restoration Hardware Cloud Collection, soft cushions have suddenly become extremely popular.

     The problem with that, is most soft cushions simply don’t last very long.

     Even Restoration Hardware has revised its Cloud cushion fabrication to try to reduce the number of complaints being received.

     Some of the cheap knockoffs are barely lasting one year. I doubt many will last longer than 3 years.

     Mantle appears to be attempting to create a durable “soft” cushion that will hold up for 10 years or so. I don’t know whether they have succeeded.

     In any event, it will not be as durable as the 2.55 density Qualux foam cushions. It may last only half as long.

     If you’re looking for something softer than the 2.55, have you looked into Mantle’s Spring Down cushions.

     They’re more expensive, but not nearly as costly as the “Luxe Premium” cushions you are describing.

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2. Hi Jeff,

   Would the 2.55 density Qualux foam cushion be a good choice for larger than average individuals?

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   • Yes! Qualux makes the highest quality polyurethane foam used by cushion fabricators.

     A 2.55 density Qualux foam cushion with a 5.5 inch thick core should last:

     150 lbs. – 20+ years

     200 lbs. – 15 – 20 years.

     250 lbs. – 10 – 15 years

     300 lbs. – 7 – 10 years

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3. Hi Jeff,
   Such a great article!!!! Jeff, Im a custom furniture designer and want to get some of my design made ( definitely high end construction quality). Can you please suggest some vendor who can make custom furniture for me at a good price?

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   • Sorry for the delayed response. I have been working on revising an old article I wrote on this topic.
     It’s been taking longer than expected. I hope to have it completed by the weekend.

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4. Hey Jeff,

   Just wanted to say thanks for the help. You’ve helped me narrow down my search for a new sofa to the Burke model sold by Mantle furniture. I have a question regarding the spring down cushions. If price isn’t an issue would you recommend getting both the back and seat cushions in the spring down, or just get the seat cushions in the spring down and the backs in the regular foam? Is there a noticeable difference in comfort? Lastly, I was informed that Mantle’s cushions have a 10:90 down to feather ratio, is this sufficient? I’ve read conflicting reviews saying that you want at least 25:75 down to feather ratio. What’s your experience with these claims?

   Thanks again!

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   • Spring Down is my preferred construction for seat cushions.

     Springs are used for non-removable back cushions, but I don’t think you will find them in loose back cushions. They would be far stronger than needed and probably too firm.

     Higher quality brands may offer loose back cushions with down/feathers or down/feathers combined with polyester fiber.
     Personally, I can’t tell the difference in comfort between back cushions filled with polyester fiber and those filled with 10/90 down/feathers, but I know a lot of interior design professionals who swear down/feathers are more comfortable.

     For a 3 seat sofa, each back cushion uses only 2 – 3 oz. of fill, so there isn’t that much more down in the higher percentage down/feather filling. (For a back cushion with 3 oz. of fill, the difference in the amount of down used is only 0.3 oz. vs. 0.75 oz.)

     There is even less difference in comfort between using 10/90 or 25/75 down/feathers in spring down seat cushions. There is only a very small amount of down and feathers (around 1 oz.) in each of the two jackets that are above and below the coil springs and foam border. (The difference in the total amount of down for each cushion is 0.1 oz. vs. 0.25 oz.)

     Where it does make a big difference is in seat cushions that are all down and feathers without any springs. These seat cushions use 2 – 2.5 lbs. of fill per seat. With that quantity of down/feathers, 25/75 all down/feather seat cushions will cost several hundred dollars more than 10/90 seat cushions, but the comfort difference will be significant.

     The type of down will also make a significant difference in both cost and feel. White goose down may cost several hundred dollars more than grey goose or duck down.

     I suspect that the articles you read that say 25/75 down is better are referring to seat cushions that are all down and feathers with no springs.

     Seat cushions made with all down/feathers have become unpopular over the past 20 years. One problem is the cost (hundreds of dollars more than spring down), but the bigger problem is that people don’t want to constantly fluff up the cushions every time they stand up.

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5. Great post! Strongly considering the Mantle Burke with the spring down cushion. Would that be too firm? We have a Crate and Barrel Axis ii sectional today, so that would be the baseline we can compare it too. Also, really like some of the BLH designs, do you know the price range of their sofas? Note that I am looking for something that is 120-140in.

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   • Mantle has about 10 different cushion options. (Most are not included on their website.)
     If you speak with Mantle’s customer service manager, Jess, she can probably special order a spring down cushion in whatever firmness you prefer.

     BLH (Black Label Home) is completely custom made and does not publish a price list. My guess is that they will be at least $500 more than Mantle for a similar sofa.

     Some other excellent brands that may work for you and are close to Mantle in price and quality are Medley Home and Maiden Home

     Pottery Barn is also superior to Crate & Barrel (but not as good as the other brands mentioned above.)

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6. Hello. I really appreciate your blog. Ive learned so much. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to buy a new sofa. Heres my problem…with everything Ive learned about sofa construction from your blog, Im finding that it seems really difficult to shop for what I want (such as a couch with high density or down spring cushions). Even higher end retailers like Ethan Allen or Room & Board have the inferior 1.8 density cushions (and they dont make finding out this information easy). I know there are many smaller manufacturers still making sofas in the more traditional, high quality way (Sherrill, Hickory Chair, Taylor King…to name just a very few). But these brands dont seem to be sold anywhere here. The only way to get access seems to be to go to a designer or design firm..and then were talking huge bucks. Further, since I cant find anywhere that displays brands like this in a showroom, I would just be guessing that I would like the sofa – I wouldnt actually be able to sit on it. Am I missing something? How does one buy traditional quality if you dont live in North Carolina? Thank you for any information you can share.

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   • Joel,
     If you like modern casual styling, you can check out MedleyHome.

     They make eco-friendly, highly durable seating with 2.5 density foam cushions standard.
     Also, they sell direct to the public. There is no retailer or interior designer markup in the middle, so prices are more reasonable (probably in the $2500 – $3500 price range in fabric.)

     In addition, they offer a 10% discount to readers of this blog if you use the coupon code InsidersGuide.
     (This discount is normally offered to interior designers who refer customers to them. The InsidersGuideToFurniture.com does not accept payment from manufacturers, so they have agreed to give the discount to our readers instead.)

     I will be writing a review of the company later this week.

     MedleyHome has factories in the Los Angeles area and also Oregon. I have emailed the customer service manager to see whether they have a showroom at either location. I also asked whether they had any recent customers in the San Francisco area who would be willing to show off Medley’s furniture in their home.

     Also, there is a custom manufacturer in Los Angeles with a showroom. They are more expensive than MedleyHome, but offers a greater range of styles.
     BLH (Black Label Home) sells only through retailers and interior designers, but I spoke with them a couple of months ago and they seemed interested in having me refer potential customers to them.

     They can make almost anything, at the highest quality level, but you would need to have a good idea of what you wanted. If there are extensive custom modifications, you would need to go through an interior designer.
     Please let me know if you want me to set up an appointment for you at their Vernon, California showroom.

     There is a Sherrill dealership in Menlo Park.
     Selby House
     1616 E1 Camino Real
     Menlo Park, CA 94025
     650.561.4444
     fax: 650.326.5194

     Taylor King has a dealer at:

     GIORGI BROTHERS
     211 BADEN AVENUE,SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94080-
     (650)588-4621

     Bradington Young can be seen at:

     Loggia Showroom
     101 Henry Adams, Suite 430
     San Francisco, CA 94103
     phone: 415-863-2101

     Noriega Furniture
     1455 Taraval Street
     San Francisco, CA 94116
     phone: 415-564-4110

     Century Furniture can be seen at:

     BERNHARDT CENTURY @ MACQUEEN HOME (SAN FRANCISCO )
     101 HENRY ADAMS ST STE 425
     SAN FRANCISCO ,CA 94103
     p. 415-621-2326
     INFO@BERNHARDTCENTURYSF.COM

     Ruby Living (San Francisco)
     1525 Union Street
     San Francisco ,CA 94123
     p. 415-922-2500
     unionstaff@rubyliving.com

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   • I just heard back from Medleyhome. They do not have a showroom where you can try out their furniture, but they do have a 30 day in-home trial.
     If you are not completely satisfied, the furniture can be returned to them.

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7. I have been looking to get the answer to whether Century Furniture still makes a quality sofa with 8 way hand tied and on their “build” an Essex sofa specifically. Your column is so helpful to us consumers so thank you very much!

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   • Century still makes excellent quality 8 way hand-tied furniture.
     You can see several YouTube videos about how Century makes its furniture at Century Furniture Construction Videos

     You can see a list of several high end furniture manufacturers in my blog article, Who Still Makes High Quality Sofas and Sectionals?

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8. Mantle furniture is owned by Temple Furniture

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   • Mantle Furniture is owned by the same family that has owned Temple Furniture for over 60 years.
     One of Mantle’s owners, Adrian Parker, is also CEO of Temple Furniture, but he is not part of Mantle’s daily operations.

     Mr. Parker’s sister is also a co-owner of Mantle and works there full time.
     As far as I know, she is not associated with Temple Furniture.

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   • Hi Jeff,

     Thank you for your thoughtful work and for sharing your expertise. I have a question about Mantle’s standard cushions. In your other articles, I’ve seen that 2.0 density foam cushions can have a life span of 4-6 years. Here, you say that Mantle’s standard 2.05 density foam cushions can last 10+ years. Where does Mantle’s extra cushion longevity come from? Is it the Qualux brand, thicker foam cores, slightly higher density, all of the above? Strongly considering going with Mantle for my next couch – just trying to decide if I should upgrade the cushions to higher density foam.

     Thanks!

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     • The lifespan of foam cushions is based on several different factors:

       Foam density & thickness;

       Surface area of the cushions; (Larger cushions spread out the weight so that the lbs. per sq. inch can be greatly reduced when changing from a three cushion sofa to one with two or one cushion.)

       The weight of the people using the cushions; (A 250 lb. person can wear out most small 2.0 density cushions within 1 – 2 years.)

       I don’t usually mention the quality of the foam as a factor for determining cushion lifespan, but it can be.
       Cheap Asian foams can wear out even faster than most U.S. made foams.

       Non-HR (High Resiliency) foams lose their ability to bounce back faster than HR foams.
       The problem with this is that the terms “High Resiliency” and “High Density” are often used interchangeably whether or not foam is actually HR.

       Most U.S. High Density foams are also High Resiliency (and most imported foams used for mid-priced Asian furniture are also HR.) The process used to make the foam HR doesn’t cost very much so it doesn’t make much sense not to make a cushion HR if the process is available.)

       A very few polyurethane foam brands also last longer than most generic foam brands.
       Qualux is at the very top of the list. The reason Qualux foam is 2.05 density where all other foams would be labelled 2.0 is that only Qualux is able to control the density of a foam slab to that close a specification.

       When a factory purchases foam for cushions, the foam supplier will usually notify them that foam density tolerances are within 0.1. In other words, if you are purchasing 2.0 density foam, you should expect it to vary between 1.9 and 2.1 density.

       I have found (through painful experience) that foam is far more likely to vary on the downside, and frequently it will vary by more than 0.1.

       Several years ago, I suspected a cushion supplier of providing cushions with foam that was less than the 2.5 density specified.
       I sent a dozen cushions to an independent testing laboratory to be cut up to have the foam density tested.

       The test results indicated that only half the cushions tested were actually 2.4 or 2.5 density.
       The other 6 ranged from 1.7 to 2.1.

       I sued the cushion supplier, but the case got thrown out of court when the supplier was able to show, to the judge’s satisfaction, that they had purchased the foam in good faith from their supplier and also that there were no actual legal limits on the variation permitted in foam density. (The 0.1 variation was widely accepted, but was not universal.)

       After that, I bought (and tested) my own foam and made my own cushions.

       In summary, Qualux is a superior quality foam, that is highly consistent, but I still would not advise 2.05 density Qualux cushions for someone weighing 250 lbs. or more.

       Density is not the same as firmness. It is possible to get extra firm 2.0 density cushions or medium soft 2.5 density cushions. Large foam suppliers often carry several different firmnesses (ILD ratings) for each different density.