The Gold Standard has always been, and will continue to be, the labor-intensive, 8-way hand-tied spring system. It's expensive to do it right, and few companies do. When done correctly each spring is set into the deck webbing and attached, with various spring rates depending on what portion of the seat deck its located. They are then tied together (8 strings per piece) and knotted at each juncture (not looped! - only knotting keeps the spring deck together if a string breaks).

I would not say that the use of sinuous springs should be a deal-breaker for you, because they can be OK, but they will never perform as well or last as long as a proper 8-way-tied deck.

Sinuous springs can be used in both good furniture and bad. I was a buyer for a furniture chain for 8 years, and bought many items with both sinuous springs and 8 way hand tied. Sinuous springs can last just as long or longer than 8 way hand tied. Most people, however, find the 8 way hand tied to be generally more comfortable. In expensive upholstery the type of spring unit is often dictated by the style. On a style with a narrow profile (particularly on modern or contemporary styles) the 8 way hand tied may simply not fit. Also, European made furniture rarely uses 8 way hand tied springs any longer. In summary, sinuous springs are not a reason for disqualifying a piece of upholstery, regardless of the price.

Sinuous springs in a $1,000 - $1,500 sofa are one thing but $9,000? Sinuous springs are a quality compromise. If they were truly "just as good" as coils, top upholstery companies would use them. What is the discounted price?

Sinuous springs are a sign of lesser quality furniture. If the thing weighs a ton it is probably because there is a lot of MDF in there, which is very heavy. We have had this exact same experience with "heavy" furniture -- thinking it was a sign of quality, when it was just the opposite. I would stay away from that place.

We had chairs made that the manufacturer (also in CA) said had solid wood. I found out by a fluke that they contained a lot of MDF and when I confronted the maker of them a couple years later, they told me that by law they can say solid wood if a percentage of it is solid wood.

Thanks for the replies so far. The discounted price is 35% off - in the mid 5s. I spoke with a rep from the company and he told me it's kiln dried 5/4 Alderwood (because the cost of shipping woods like maple or oak from the eastern US to their facory in CA would be prohibitive and that there's nothing wrong with Alderwood or they wouldn't use it - I didn't find out if it's solid or ply), some places are dowelled and some are glued and stapled, the legs are screwed in (they use attached legs on their exposed leg chairs), the sinuous springs are 8 gauge and spaced four inches apart with two additional springs close to the arms for additional support and they looked at using individual coils but found them not to be any better (whatever that means). They use 2.0 foam surrounded by a 10/90 down/feather mix ("more luxurious than the 5/95 ratio many others use") and the fill has a five year warranty and the frame and springs are lifetime.

Is all that worth the price they're asking? Perhaps not, if all you're looking at is what I just listed. But since the fabric (one of hundreds from which to select) had a nice hand, the "ride" was very cushy yet supportive, the style was appealing, and we weren't going to fly to N. Carolina or sit on a gazillion other sectionals (I like to comparison shop, my wife - not so much), we decided to get it. It looks better and sits better than the EA sectionals costing a thousand less so we're at a good balance point. I was (and am still a little bit) trying to reconcile a medium-high priced product that is touted by those who stock it as "high quality" but doesn't conform to the usual (see Furniture 101) standards of "high quality".

If it fails in two or five years, I'll post here but I suspect it will last a good long time because it sounds well designed (enough) despite the reputation sinuous springs and Alderwood and screwed in legs have to many.

Finally, one other "review" I got was from one of their retailers who considers RC "entry level" in their store. The gentleman said it is a little overpriced for what you get (about the equivalent in quality to Drexel and below Century, which is below Baker, according to him). He said for the same price (full retail of 9K), Hickory Chair and Hickory White are better and Baker stuff on sale could maybe be had as well. But he still recommended it because it's an entry point to the quality of the rest of his lines with some more modern designs.

So, on sliding scale of "value", perhaps we did OK but not great. On the "married couple chose something they're both happy to look at and sit on" scale, I think we did a lot better :-)

IF you are going to spend that kind of money, why don't you get a Hancock and Moore sofa. It is truly the best you and buy.

for $5K you can wait until august, when stanford goes on sale again. that's my plan!

I hate to tell you, but that lifetime warranty means it's warranted for about seven years. That's what the lifetime of a sofa is according to the courts. Anyway, from experience stay as far away from sensuous springs as you can. Actually run from them. 8 way hand tied springs are not only more comfortable, but they are more durable. Buy quality and you will never be sorry.

You should not purchase a sofa based entirely on the seat springs, coil springs that are tied 8 way or sinuous wire springs. Currently the majority of higher end major brand names 8-way tied coil springs are nothing close to what used to be a mark of quality. A well designed 8 gauge sinuous wire spring will sit better and last longer than the majority of todays 8-way tied coil springs. I base that on more than 40 years of on-the-floor upholstery manufacturing experience and over 20 years of re-upholstery experience where you see exactly what makes a spring unit= 8-way tied coil springs or sinuous; last or fail over time.

I have an old French provincial couch with sinous springs and its my favorite couch to lay on, sleep on, and watch tv on. So I think it depends on what you like - get that butt of yours couch sitting! :)

Thankyou ICustomSofa. Can you tell me what makes for a well designed sinuous spring. The only thing i can gleem from your comment is that 8 gauge is good. Can you tell me what else to look for in the sinuous? Can you guide me on what to look for in the seat cusions? I don't want down and don't want a hard cushion. It's just me here, no kids jumping on it or any big man using it every day.

Nancy, a solid hardwood seat frame to attach and support the springs and no less than 2 silent tie-wires running across and clipped to each spring.

I recommend a foam core over a coil spring unit. Either a Ultra-cell or HR foam with no less than 4" thick and 1.8 lb density, the higher the density the longer it will last, but the costs of the cushion goes up substantially as well. The density has nothing to do with how soft or firm it sits, thats in the next number= the ULD or ILD. A medium soft is around 22 - 24 ULD, a medium is around 26 - 28 ULD and a medium firm is 30 - 32 ULD. The manufacturer should be able to provide those specs. This foam core should have also a soft foam wrap (topper) over the core to add comfort/soft touch and fill out the cover. This soft wrap should be no less than 1" and be also the same Ultra-cell or HR foam, just a softer ULD around 18 ULD. If you want a cushion that will last and hold its shape, then avoid any polyester wrap or feather envelope. The reason I don't recommend a coil spring unit is not the spring unit that don't last its how it constructed as the wrap around the unit if not done correctly will break down in a short time and will loose its shape and support.