Question:
I have searched your website, but I can’t find what I’m looking for.
I’m replacing a 20-year-old 8-way hand tied sofa with spring down cushions that has been great.
I know they don’t make them like they used to, but is it possible to get a really good quality 8-way-hand-tied-sofa at a reasonable price these days?
Answer:
If you have enjoyed your current sofa for 20 years, reupholstering is probably a good option.
Reupholstery costs can be minimized by selecting one of the thousands of discontinued, heavily discounted fabrics that are available.
Fabric can add up to $1000 to the cost of reupholstery.
If you are working with an interior design professional, they will probably recommend a “designer fabric” priced at $30 – $50 per yard (or more.)
They may not tell you about the huge selection of high quality “discontinued” designer fabrics available for $10 – $20 per yard.
Finding the perfect discount fabric may take time and effort, but you can save hundreds of dollars.
Online fabric sellers will mail swatches to your home. A small amount may be charged for each swatch.
For more information about discounted fabrics, see my article, Do Discount Fabric Stores & Websites Really Sell Quality Fabrics at 50% Off?
If you prefer a new couch, high-quality 8 way hand tied seating is still widely available and still holds up for 20+ years.
Prices usually begin around $3000 in fabric or $5000 in leather.
Depending on the fabric or leather grade and custom options selected, prices can go much higher.
If you shop carefully, you may be able to find 8 way hand-tied sofas priced under $2500.
Mantle Furniture makes 8 way hand tied sofas beginning under $2500.
The company is owned by the 3rd generation of a family that has been making high end couches and other upholstered seating in North Carolina for over 60 years.
Quality is similar to well-known brands such as C.R. Laine, Bradington Young, Sherrill, Lee Industries, Huntington House, Temple Furniture and Taylor King.
Before getting further into this review, it is important to note that I have no financial relationship with Mantle Furniture.
I do not receive any payment or compensation if any of my readers purchase this furniture.
Mantle has two unique advantages over the other high quality 8 way hand tied brands listed above.
Mantle sells direct to the public, bypassing retailers’ delays and pricing markups.
Mantle builds and ships its 8 way hand tied upholstery in only 4 – 8 weeks. (Custom options can increase the production time.)
All the other 8 way hand tied brands listed above sell only through retail dealers. Most require 12 – 24 weeks for manufacturing and shipping.
Mantle offers quick-ship high end custom furniture at affordable prices.
To keep prices down and ship quickly, only 3 styles are offered.
The limited fabric selection includes 64 fabrics and 7 leathers at this time.
4 wood finishes are offered.
Each style is available in numerous sizes and configurations.
Style groups include 1 chair size, 2 loveseat sizes, 4 sofa sizes and 7 sectional configurations.
Additional custom sizes can be ordered.
Special lengths and seat depths are available upon request.
Modified arm and back heights are also available.
Frames are 7/8″ hardwood plywood with 13 plies.
They will last 20+ years and are backed by a lifetime warranty.
Spring systems (foundations) are all 8 way hand tied.
Multiple cushion options are offered.
Standard cushions are 2.05 density Qualux® foam with a 21 firmness rating*.
This cushion should last 10+ years (for average size people.) It is a plush “soft” cushion.
Optional extra-firm 2.55 density Qualux® foam cushions with a 31 firmness rating*.
This is an extra firm cushion that should last 15 years (for average size people.)
Spring down cushions are not currently on the Mantle website, but are available upon request.
Spring down cushions should last 15+ years with little or no loss of shape or firmness.
The Spring down cushions are firmer than the standard 2.05 density foam cushions, but softer than the 2.55 density extra-firm cushions.
Other cushion options are also available.
* The foam’s firmness rating does not affect cushion lifespan.
Foam density does affect lifespan. Higher density foams last longer.Most sofa seat cushions use 1.8 density foam.
Qualux® is widely considered the highest quality polyurethane foam brand.
Learn more about foam in my blog article What is the difference between a sofa cushion’s foam density and firmness?
8-way-hand-tied couches usually have starting prices above $3000.
Mantle’s 8-way-hand-tied sofas start around $2000.
Although Mantle’s price list does not show a Spring Down option, that should not be a problem if you contact Mantle’s customer service.
Mantle customer service is amazingly efficient and helpful compared with most furniture retailers.
For more information about Mantle Furniture, contact:
Jess Brasswell, Customer Service Manager
833-622-1848
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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?
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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
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.
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!
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?
Mantle furniture is owned by Temple Furniture
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.