Sofa upholstery: the secrets of a top sofa seat

There are many things to take into consideration when buying furniture for your living room, with sofa upholstery certainly being one of the most important. Though it’s true that the aesthetics need to match the rest of your furniture, above everything else, a sofa must be comfortable – both for sitting on and relaxing on. This is why it is important to know the materials that make up your sofa, from the frame to the upholstery and including the padding. Indeed it’s the padding on which the softness of the seat depends, as well as its ability to feel welcoming or provide the right comfort for all parts of the body with things like headrests. So what should sofa padding look like? Here are all the secrets to get the best result in terms of comfort.

Sofa upholstery quality

One of the best sensations is when we sit on our furniture and feel welcomed with a warm embrace without sinking or becoming excessively stiff. It is the sofa upholstery that plays a decisive role in achieving this positive, comfortable effect and it involves all the most sensitive anatomical parts, from the neck to the back passing through the upper and lower limbs. A company like Calia Italia boasts a manufacturing process that is divided into stages, from conception to the creation of the semi-finished products, from belting and blanking to cutting and sewing and from assembly to final quality control.

How upholstery affects the overall quality of your sofa?

An important element in the construction of your sofa is the density of the padding. The higher this index, the greater the solidity over time. Although it is not usually taken into much consideration during the purchase phase, density does indeed determine the softness and longevity of the furnishing accessory and it is for this reason that the best products on the market (those in the medium-high range) have a high density of sofa padding. This guarantees durability and doesn’t compromise the sensation of relaxation and comfort that every user desires when making their final product choice.

When we want to assess how comfortable a sofa really is, we must pay particular attention to the cushions, which characterise both the backrest and the seat. Through the combination of depth and padding of each cushion we can find that magical sensation that we chase every time we ‘test’ a sofa. Furthermore, since we are not all the same, it is a good idea to spend as much time as necessary on these tests in order to find the ideal combination of softness, cosiness and elasticity, whether sitting or lying down. Like this, we’ll have the perfect sofa for our needs.

The main characteristics of foam rubber

Sofa upholstery today is basically made of polyurethane/rubber foam or alternatively we have goose feathers or acrylic wadding. Foam is generally preferred for the seat, while feathers or wadding are mainly used for the armrests or backrest. All these materials are comfortable and suitable for top quality, but it is the method of manufacture and assembly that makes the difference.

Why is foam rubber the material of choice for cushion padding? There is one fundamental characteristic that makes polyurethane really valuable, namely its ability to return to its original position once we get up from the seat. In all other materials our ‘footprint’ remains. As we have already mentioned, it is the density index that provides greater or lesser deformability, regardless of the thickness of the material.

Another special feature of foam rubber is that it doesn’t require much maintenance. This isn’t true, for example, with goose down where it is advisable to rotate the cushions from time to time to even out the wear and tear and to allow them to regain their original shape whilst also airing them out.