Why a Chesterfield sofa?

With so much variety of furniture on the market from ultra modern to classic and traditional, from bargain buys to absolute extravagance, from super funky to plain and simple it’s difficult to know what to choose or where to begin. With Chesterfield you get a classic piece which is timeless, will never age nor go out of fashion and will always be the epitome of class and elegance.

So- What makes a Chesterfield sofa or chair different from any other?

Basic Characteristics

Look for the basic characteristics. We know that Chesterfield sofas are made from tufted leather with scrolled arms and brass-covered nails. You can easily tell if a chesterfield sofa is real by determining if it is hand-crafted.

Materials

You can try sitting on the sofa. A real chesterfield sofa will have a several layers of fine padding. They wrap them in horsehair. The use of horse hair for sofa padding has been around for centuries after being introduced in Germany by some innovative furniture makers. A real chesterfield sofa should be very soft and comfortable for seating.

The leather should be of top notch quality. The real chesterfield sofa is made from hides of aniline leather, which is immersed in a dye bath. Brown leather Chesterfield sofas are the most popular but Chesterfield sofas are being made increasingly in a large variety of colours including red and white. The manufacturers of knockoff chesterfield sofas use split hides or other artificial alternatives. The leather of a real chesterfield sofa will have colour in every part but will retain the natural flaws of leather, especially in the hand dyed leather process. You should not expect a true chesterfield sofa to be free from natural leather markings. The markings and unequal colours are actually a good sign that you are looking at a genuine chesterfield sofa. The sofa’s feet or legs will also tell if it is authentic or not. Normally, they are made from wood. A genuine chesterfield sofa will have feet that are shaped like buns. The material? Mahogany. You should also inspect the frames. They should be made from dried hard woods like birch and beech. You may also get some clues if they are hand-crafted or not. The real chesterfield sofa furniture has hand-carved frames.

Craftsmanship

You should also take a look at the details especially of the scrolled arms and rolled backs. The real chesterfield sofa will have a leather fold up to the tufted wells. There will be leather clad buttoning, too. The authentic ones will also have brass buttons and tacks that are well polished.