The Internet is replete with advice about how to make a sofa softer
: take it out into the sun for a couple of weeks, jump on it, wet it with water... Following such dubious recommendations, you risk losing your upholstered furniture or hopelessly damaging the upholstery. Trust the experts: it is impossible to make a sofa less rigid using numerous traditional methods. There are only three effective ways, the secrets of which will be shared with you by the team of the upholstered furniture studio “Vitalia-furniture”.
So, furniture should have the following qualities:
- Being comfortable is the first item on the list when we talk about sleep and daily use. Otherwise, you will have to “say goodbye” to a healthy back, neck and, as a result, good health.
- To serve for a long time - for this, choose a model with a reliable and high-quality wooden frame. And professional assembly. Then it will unfold freely throughout its entire service life, and will not “squeeze” or become deformed in any other way.
- Easily unfold. Imagine that every day you will have to make Herculean efforts to decompose the structure. Not much pleasant.
- Functionality, or the presence of additional options. For example, laundry boxes or storage systems. Sometimes drawers are made in the sides, for example, for a bar. Or shelves - for books or accessories.
Don't skimp on quality
The sofa is used daily for sleeping. This imposes certain obligations on him. A low-quality product may not withstand intense loads and quickly fail.
A frame made of undried wood or low-grade chipboard after a while begins to wobble and creak, the filling is pressed through, and cheap upholstery causes unpleasant sensations. It is unlikely that you will like sleeping on such a sofa.
Don’t skimp on quality – choose furniture from trusted manufacturers!
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How to make a sofa softer with your own hands
Upholstered furniture is an indispensable attribute of everyday life. Each family member spends his free time there. Sleep, relaxation, communication, children's games - the sofa takes on an impressive load, which affects its performance characteristics. While it is new, it can withstand the tests with dignity, but well-worn furniture gives alarm bells to the owners. They manifest themselves in the form of squeaks, malfunctions of the transformation mechanism, or deterioration in the softness of the seat. The last problem is typical for furniture with an average service life. Usually, it works well and looks good, but the seat is not as comfortable as at the beginning.
Independent spring block (orthopedic mattress)
When buying upholstered furniture, most people, unfortunately, do not delve into the essence of the issue, the main criterion is, first of all, the cost, and then everything else, thereby making a big mistake, so the difference in price between an orthopedic mattress and a regular spring one is not so significant, especially if you take Taking into account the total service life of furniture is 7-10 years, and if we take into account the fact that a person spends a third of his life sleeping, the issue of comfort and, above all, one’s own health becomes very serious.
Filling
Before you start making a sofa with your own hands, you need to know its components. It’s easy to guess what the sofa consists of:
Read also: How to make a niche in the wall (+photo)
- wooden frame
- foam rubber of various thicknesses
- springs (optional)
- special furniture fabric
- accessories (legs, fastenings, mechanisms)
What the sofa will be made of when assembling it yourself can be decided based on your budget. Valuable wood and carvings are not affordable for everyone, so it’s worth paying attention to more affordable options. For example, for the remains of various building materials, from which you can build a new piece of furniture and get rid of an old sofa.
Leather or not? Determining the type of material
Speaking about how to care for leather products, it is worth giving a few tips with which you can distinguish natural from artificial upholstery :
- natural material, if you put your palm on it, immediately heats up, artificial material does not;
- natural quickly restores its shape and does not change color when deformed;
- natural material has a very dense structure, as well as a rough edge;
- artificial upholstery does not absorb moisture, emits a strong chemical aroma, and has a fabric base.
If you don’t know how to identify a leather product, then simply look at the manufacturer’s instructions, which indicate the type of material that was used in the production of the upholstery. By the way, in the instructions or on the sticker (located on the bottom of the furniture) you will find recommendations for caring for the product; let’s look at some of them:
- W – cleaning with a special water-based product;
- S, P – cleaning using solvent (dry cleaning);
- SW, WS – cleaning with water-based agents, solvents (dry cleaning), steam cleaner;
- X - only dry cleaning performed by professionals is acceptable.
Also, the manufacturer can apply manipulation (vector) signs to the label, for example, “Keep away from moisture,” “Keep away from the sun,” and others. They pay attention both when packing and transporting goods, and during direct operation!
Purpose of the sofa: for sleeping, relaxing or guest
When buying a sofa, it is important to decide whether it is purchased for daily sleep, regular rest, in the kitchen for gatherings with guests, single or double, etc., low or higher is worth choosing. The product model, casing material, and further service life depend on this. Knowing the structure of the sofa will also help in making the right decision.
Four important elements of a sofa:
- frame - bears the main load, determines the shape and appearance of the sofa;
- sofa transformation mechanism - helps to roll out, unfold, roll out, turning the product into a full-fledged sleeping place on which you can lie along or across the sofa, and for storing a bed;
- filler is the internal contents of the sofa on which a person lies or sits (polyurethane foam, polyurethane foam, spring blocks and snakes, wooden slats, padding polyester and other high-quality materials);
- finishing fabric – furniture upholstery.
Soft fillers for toppers
Before purchasing, be sure to ask what is inside the topper: its orthopedic qualities depend on the filler. What are they?
Be careful with coir!
Coconut fiber is a 100% natural, hypoallergenic and hygienic material, but the filler is made from lignified fibers! Let the word “coir” on the packaging alert you: it’s a hard thing, but your goal is the opposite: to make the mattress softer. Coir is made more elastic by mixing with other fillers:
- latex,
- synthetic non-woven fibers: struttofiber or holofiber - this filler has a funny name: bicoconut.
Important! The ideal ratio of coir and latex is 50 to 50, but domestic manufacturers add only 30% latex.
Latexed coir smells like rubber. And about coconut, even if the price of a mattress with it is temptingly low, forget completely: it is stiffer than latex coir, but it will not last long: it is fragile and short-lived. In dry rooms it generally lasts 2-3 years, then it cracks and crumbles. You are not Pinocchio and you are not sleeping in a swamp.
Two-faced latex
Natural rubber is much softer than artificial rubber and is more expensive. The firmness of both can be described as “medium” - that is, compared to your base mattress, latex may be more comfortable. A common disadvantage of both species is that they cannot tolerate high and low temperatures. When heated they “shrink” and in the cold they break like plastic.
Important! Artificial latex lasts less and has an unpleasant chemical smell.
Review from a user of the Roll Up Air model topper from Dormeo. The woman claims that after purchasing this thin mattress, her back problems disappeared.
Polyurethane foam
PPU is popular due to its low price. Very soft, but that is why its orthopedic qualities leave much to be desired. It doesn't hold its shape for long - it cakes. It evaporates moisture worse than other fillers. You can buy it if you often have guests who have nowhere to sleep, or if your baby likes to play on the floor and the floor is cold. “Guest” use will not soon “kill” a thin mattress, and the child will grow out of toddler games before it becomes unusable.
Foam will remember you
Memoryform or Memory foam is a polyurethane with special components, its name because of its ability to “remember” the shape and weight of your body. The filler is soft and comfortable, but does not conduct air well and is heated by human heat (many people even like it).
Review of the topper model Avelanto Memory Bio Aloe. The expert talks about the advantages of the product and its care. The topper is filled with “memory foam” and has a very aesthetic appearance.
Combined options
Look carefully at what is combined with what - but, in any case, it’s a lottery.
Interesting article about choosing mattress fillers https://matrasium.ru/matrasy/kak-vybrat/vybiraem-napolnitel-dlya-matrasa/
Reader's question
“I love sleeping on a soft bed. They say it's harmful, but I feel cozy and comfortable. Am I doing the right thing by listening to my body?” YES “If everything suits you, sleep well! – our expert Sergei Neborsky is encouraging. – Then, the concept of “soft/hard” is very relative. All people are different. What is harmful to one may be useful to another. The cliché “sleeping on hard” comes from the days when all beds in hospitals had armored meshes, which also sagged. To make them even, wooden panels were laid on top. Considering the thin cotton mattresses, the structure turned out to be quite solid.” But we live in different times. And it’s time to admit that sleeping on a hard floor is uncomfortable for many - and there is no point in suffering.
What are toppers and what types are they?
These products are essentially orthopedic covers that are placed directly on the surface of the base mattress. Multifunctional and comfortable, they can also serve as a full-fledged independent place to sleep.
There are various options for toppers on sale, but they are similar in one thing - they are characterized by elasticity and elasticity of the structure. It helps support the spine, ensures its natural position during sleep and promotes complete muscle relaxation.
What to do if you get a harder sofa than you would like?
Firstly
, immediately understand that there are no “folk ways”
to make a sofa softer
. Don't hit it with a mop, sit and lie down and pour water on it - this won't help. It also makes no sense to expose the mattress to the sun. Ten days are enough for the upholstery to burn out, but it takes months for the sun to affect the properties of modern fillers. There is only one way to soften a sofa - add an additional layer of foam rubber or soft polyurethane foam.
Secondly
, you need to decide how serious
a sofa repair
you are willing to undertake. There are two ways to add a new layer of foam to the seat or berth of a sofa - internal and external.
1. To increase the thickness of foam rubber or polyurethane foam directly in the mattress
The sofa will most likely have to be reupholstered. Sometimes you can do this yourself, but it is safer to contact a specialized repair company. This will definitely save you time and maybe even money. It is difficult to carefully pull over a large and, moreover, soft sofa. However, if you decide to do this, the procedure is as follows:
- remove all old upholstery
- prepare new upholstery according to the old pattern, but taking into account the addition of foam rubber
- Apply a new layer of foam using foam spray adhesive and let it dry completely
- stretch and secure the new upholstery in the same way as the old one was secured - with glue, staples, etc.
Method two. Simple
An easier way to make a sofa softer is to make a small mattress , which is fixed on top of the upholstery. However, there are certain nuances here too. If you plan to fold and unfold your bed, the mattress should not contain filler in the folds, and should also be additionally stitched in these areas. Otherwise, such an overlay will not be able to hold its shape when the furniture is folded.
There is an opinion that you can increase the softness of a sofa with removable covers by simply slipping some foam rubber inside these same covers. However, not everything is so simple : unsecured foam rubber will constantly slide, crumple and create all sorts of inconvenience for those who decide to use the “improved” piece of furniture.
How to properly care for a leather chair and other types of furniture?
We'll cover some basic tips to help you make your leather look new, but check the label before you start cleaning!
- You need to vacuum using the softest attachment. Collect dust from upholstery carefully, minimizing contact of the brush with the material.
- Remove any remaining dust with a soft, damp cloth, and then be sure to wipe it dry to prevent moisture absorption. For this cleaning stage, use distilled water, which does not contain harmful impurities and salts.
Twice a year it is necessary to treat the upholstery with leather conditioner , which will slow down the wear process, prevent deformation, drying out and the subsequent formation of cracks in the material. Air conditioners are produced in the form of aerosols; during use, they are sprayed onto a sponge, and then rubbed into the upholstery, left for 2-3 minutes, and then polished using a cloth. Before use, be sure to test the composition on a small area of skin!
