9-14 Deptford Broadway, London SE8 4PA
Tel. (44) (0)181 691 3062: Facsimile (44) (0)181 469 0295
email: martin@antiquewarehouse.co.uk

Buying a sofa from Stylish Living at the Antique Warehouse.

Is there a difference between sofas, settees and couches?

All are the names for elongated chairs, seating more than one, through the word "settee", a corruption of "settle", applies to a smaller piece of furniture, generally a two seater. "Couch"; is perhaps less widely used and tends to signify more of a day bed. "Sofa", from the Arabian "suffah", tends to suffice.

There are classic English sofa styles, the most famous being the Chesterfield, with its leather upholstery, deep buttons and rolled arms that so invokes the "gentleman's club" look.Then there is the Knole, named after the famous Sevenoaks stately home, which has ends that drop down. The love seat is a more formal old fashioned two seater sofa, perhaps with a "show of wood" frame displaying elegant turned and carved wood parts. But the best selling sofa is still the well upholstered, high backed, scroll armed English classic.

Unfortunately, restoring an old sofa is expensive as it usually involves major surgery. In the past upholsterers were rightly acknowledged as senior craftsmen, because repairing a sofa is a skilled task, that may require stripping back to the original frame, replacing any rotten webbing, re-turning the wooden feet and restuffing. This may not be cheap, but it can be worth doing if the frame is decorative and an important part of the design.

In most modern homes, the sofa inevitably faces a television, but there is also a trend to two identical sofas facing each other, perhaps with a coffee table in between. This is fitting, as the sofa has long mirrored our way of life and the three piece suite, which symbolises the nuclear family, has begun to give way to more neutral configurations.

Seats became deeper with the invention of bouncy coil wire springs in the 19th century, which led to a fashion for opulent, over stuffed sofas. Many now prefer a sofa with a bit of resistance, as very soft deep sofas give scant support to the spine. Not good for confirmed couch potatoes! Firmer cushions are made with feather and polyester fibre mix or combustion-modified foam wrapped in fibre.

With our knowledge of furnishing homes, we have added new sofas and armchairs to complement our ranges of furniture. We offer good quality fabrics for upholstery and soft furnishings. We have a varied selection of top quality branded models, some available in either loose or fixed covering, giving you the choice of either a casual machine washable appearance or the more formal tailored look. Each model is available in a variety of sizes.

Loose covered furniture provides a perfect combination for those that require style flexibility and practicality. You can also buy additional covers. Sofa beds are also available in fixed or loose covering. All surrounded in antique settings to show and enhance and give the feeling of grandeur.