Whether custom or retail (I probably would avoid RH, but PB I think is good), the you want a sofa that is made from klin-dried HARD WOOD, that is blocked on the corners, eight-way hand tied. Ideally the legs will be part of the frame and not attached.

A sofa made like that will be much more expensiveâ¦but worth it.

A couple of brands I'd look at would be Lee Industries and Sherrill. PB's sofas are Lee, I believe.

I bought a custom-made sofa, chair and ottoman and it was the worst furniture purchase I hade ever made. Kept them for two years and then dumped them on CL for $200, less than 10% of my purchase price. The examples they had on the floor looked so I thought I was getting a good deal. Instead I have nothing good to say about my experience, except when something looks too good to be true......

The real challenge, for me, was the cushion. Cannot seem to get a good cushion. GREAT frame (Hickory Chair), cost a FORTUNE, went into a store to try out HC sofas, GREAT cushions, didn't sink into the sofa, perfect density, spoke at length with the salespeople about how important the cushions was to meâ¦I was so psyched, had finally found my perfect sofa, height between floor and seat of 21 inches - hard to findâ¦sofa came . The frame is amazing, fantastic, etcâ¦..cushion is a POC, sank into the sofa, not comfortableâ¦I had to fortify it with all kinds of stuff. I was furious.

The frame is easy to get right. Just make sure it's made from kiln-dried hardwood - ALL of it, has blocks on the corners, is eight-way hand-tiedâ¦but I am completely stumped as to what a person has to do to get a decent sofa cushion.

Lee industries will allow you to change the dimensions on any piece. Plus you can do COM but they really have a huge range of fabrics. My SIL had a custom piece done by room and board. I would look at retail first.

Google gardenweb furniture forum + Carolina Chair. The few GW folks who have ordered from them have been quite pleased with the workmanship, comfort, and price. They are internet only (carolinachair.com) and are direct order. Pieces can be custom designed for your space. They are a serious consideration for my sofa purchase.

?? You can custom order to your specs from many manufacturers. I am confused by who your designer might be suggesting as the custom-builder?

ML

Tibbrix, your experience with HChair cushions surprised me, but perhaps nothing is what it once was? We have a 30 year old HChair breakfast room table and chairs...very well made, but have not purchased new upholstery in over 20 years. In most cases my old foam has been fine and only needed afresh down type wrap. More recently, I've reupholstered "finds" from scratch, and found the worker's cushions to be subpar. Good quality cushion foam is expensive, I've heard , and guess he's cutting corners. Didn't the better makers offer examples and choices of the cushions? Ones you could see and feel? I'm out of the loop, and needing a new sofa before long. Drat!

martin, it surprised me as well. The whole story is that I actually first bought a custom CR Laine Sofa through Hickory Furniture (a retail outlet, NOT HC) in NC. What an utter disaster that was. Sofa looked completely different than its official CR Laine Photo, back was slanted WAY back (again, not seen in the photo), it looked like Dracula's cape (again, not seen int he photo), and the cushion was terrible. Naturally no one took responsibility, even though CR Laine told me they'd sold me the wrong cushion if I had asked for what I was describing and agreed that the sofa doesn't look like the photo and that it's a bizarre shape and in fact was being discontinued. The only person who did nothing wrong here ate the full cost!

So I really set about doing my homework on sofa, cushions, foam, density, all the ratiosâ¦best foam is made by Bayer, the aspirin company, requested that, got an okay from HC, went INTO a brick and mortar HC seller in Wellesley, MA, to actually test out the sofa cushions. They're GREAT in the store, as I said. I really emphasized with the salespeople that this is what I wanted, told them about the CR Laine horrible cushionâ¦I really did everything I possible could other than make the dang cushion myself.

So when the sofa arrived, I was SHOCKED (and furious. This is one EXPENSIVE sofa) by the cushion. Nothing like the cushions in the store. It sank into the back of the sofa frame, a point I had distinctly made in the store, it was much less denseâ¦I was PISSED. And once again, no one took responsibility. The retail outlet offered to pay 1/2 of a the HC standard cushion, so I went ahead and did that. That thing is even worse and sits in a closet. I got some camping flooring and put it on the frame under the cushion. That took care of the sinking. Then I bought a one-inch piece of foam and added it in, and then I wrapped a fleece blanket around the cushion, then managed to get the cover back on. So now it's a WHOLE lot better.

But the bottom line is, after physically trying out cushions, saying, "I love THIS cushion, THIS is what I want", expressing real anxiety over the cushion..and STILL getting a POC, I have absolutely NO idea what a person has to do to get a decent sofa cushion now.

However, the HC frame is fantastic, and this particular style, the Olivier by Alexa Hampton, has the most comfortable BACK I have ever leaned on in my life. If the cushion had been right, this would have been the perfect sofa for me.

Good Lord, Tibrix!! You got stuck with the Dracula sofa?' Then, the second tale re the HC cushion is truly worrisome.
Aztec, perhaps you can, somehow, gain better assurance/ gaurentee from your designer. I am stumped.
Upholstery is frustrating, as you're paying for a "pig in a poke", as my grandaddy would say. :)
Marti

Thanks for all the replies. I need to find out more about who she is recommending, and try and do some reference checks from previous buyers. Am still undecided as to which route to go, though after doing more research Lee Industries seems to have mostly good reviews and lots of customization options. It would take longer, but I feel getting the sofa right is pretty key to getting the while thing right!

Thanks again!

Aztec, you also have to do the math. For example, if you buy a Lee sofa for, say, $3500, but it is made with hardwood, eight-way, blah, blah, blahâ¦versus a sofa for $1500, or even $1,000 that is not, the cheap sofa will be a piece of junk, broken, out of shape, pillows and cushions broken downâ¦in 3 to 5 years, while the properly made sofa will last you 20, 30 plus years. So the $3500 sofa is actually a lot less expensive. Just be sure to get fabric that is fairly conservative so that it will look good in 20 years!