Upholstery Guide

Upholstery Guide

The goal of this guide is to teach you about the practical elements of upholstery. You are able to have much more fun with style, shape, color, pattern as soon as you are better acquainted with key terms and concepts. 

Upholstery: Sofas

Sister loved beautiful upholstery. She worked with the most talented and coveted workrooms in New York City. I also had the luxury of working with some of the same workrooms, so here are some takeaways that you can easily apply and that are pulled from the best of the best. 


Whether you are working with a designer or doing it on your own, here are some questions to ask yourself and the vendor and or designer before placing the order. These are all factors that contribute to making a beautiful and comfortable sofa that is right for your space.


  • How deep is the inside seat of the sofa? I personally love a deep sofa no matter if in a living room or in front of the TV, so this is something I take seriously when determining the right piece for the space.
  • Does the sofa fit my space? It's important that you buy a sofa that allows for side tables on either side and a coffee table in front. This might seem obvious, but often I see friends and customers buy sofas that are either too big or too small for the space. The furniture plan of the room is just as important as the individual pieces that encompass it. A furniture plan is something that a designer will automatically do for you. If you are decorating yourself, I similarly recommend making a furniture plan. It will make it so you order the correct sized furniture for the space. 
  • Consider the needs of all family members before purchasing a sofa. We are all different shapes and sizes and what might be comfortable for one person might be totally uncomfortable for the next. 
  • Is the sofa shape timeless? A nice sofa shape isn't something that needs to be messed with and it is an investment that you will hopefully have for years and years. I recommend avoiding trends and to make it unique with the textiles that you cover it in. Below are some key sofa terms and styles to help you better communicate what you are looking for with a designer or manufacturer.


Sofa Styles & Terms

BRIDGEWATER SOFA: Loose Seat & Tight Back

This means that a sofa has a firm seat back with loose seat cushions. In this case, there are three (3) loose seat cushions. This same terminology applies to chairs as well. A bridgewater sofa or a bridgewater chair will add timeless comfort to any space. Note that a bridgewater sofa or chair can also have a loose seat back.

ST. THOMAS STYLE SOFA:

Loose Seat &

Loose Back

This means that a sofa has loose back cushions and seat cushions. In this case, there is one (1) long seat cushion. One long seat cushion is the appropriate cushion style for a St. Thomas style sofa. A  St. Thomas style sofa has modern clean lines and is excellent to sleep on because of the one long seat cushion.

CHESTERFIELD SOFA: Tufted

This means that the back upholstery is tufted. Tufting is very Sister Parish!  You will see a lot of tufted furniture in Sister’s projects. The designer Jacques Grange also makes beautiful tufted sofas. The sofa pictured above is a Chesterfield style. Tufting can completely transform a textile. I love to tuft all over fabrics with lots of color. Our Rees fabric would look excellent tufted for example. I also love to add contrasting buttons in between the tufts. Lots to play around with when it comes to tufting!

INVERTED CORNER PLEAT

This is a tailored and handsome skirt style. I love to add a trim to the bottom of the skirt. Either a strip of a textile or a ribbon works well.

RUFFLED or SHIRRED SKIRT

A ruffled or a shirred skirt is appropriate when one wants to add a bit of romance and femininity. A ruffled skirt is more full and flouncy then a shirred skirt.

NO SKIRT


We recommend no skirt if the furniture legs are interesting, or as a contrast, in a room where a lot of the furniture is skirted.

Sofa Inspiration

Brother Performance Fabric

Mahalo Performance Fabric

Sintra Fabric

Dot Fabric

Upholstery: Beds

Whether you are working with a designer or doing it on your own, here are some questions to ask yourself and the vendor and / or designer before placing an order for the perfect bed for your space.

  • Consider the correct wall for the bed. Sometimes this is obvious, but it can also take some thought. For example, sometimes the best location is in front of a window. If this is the case, you might want to consider a four poster bed with a low headboard. If you are working with a designer, he or she will create a furniture plan for you. If you are decorating for yourself, I similarly recommend making a furniture plan. It will force you to carefully consider the bed placement and size. 
  • After you have selected the bed placement and size, you can move onto the headboard height. This is the moment to consider whether or not you want to hang art above the bed or if you want the headboard itself to be the main feature? Another consideration when selecting headboard height is the ceiling high in the room. Perhaps the ceilings in your room are very high. In this case, it might be interesting to create a super tall headboard upholstered in a fabric with a large scale. 
  • It is now time to consider what type of bed makes most sense for your space. Below, I have listed terms associated with headboard styles and dust skirts. A headboard and dust skirt combination is always an option, but please note that this is one way to proceed. I also love a beautiful Sister Parish style canopy bed with bed hangings or a Syrie Maugham style sleigh bed. A four poster bed with an upholstered headboard is also fantastic. This is the moment to work with your designer on a bed style or to find your favorite bed inspiration. 
  • Now it’s time for the fun part. It’s time to play with textiles! Consider what you are making and how the textile will look in the style you want the workroom to make. Order samples off of our site and play around with them. We offer samples of all of our patterns. This fabric has to ultimately play off the other patterns in the room, so create a little scheme for yourself. Our sales team is a resource you can always email or call for help.They know our collection backwards and forwards. We also sell swatch sets that are categorized by color and even some of my favorite schemes in the collection. If you are working with a designer, they will create a scheme for you that includes the upholstery fabric. Enjoy this step! This is the time to let your creativity flow or where your designer can show off their creativity and create something truly unique for you. 


These next two steps are only important if you are doing it yourself. 


  1. After you’ve made your decision, check stock on our website. If we have the textile in stock, you can place the order directly off the site. If there is no stock, email us and we will tell you the lead time on the textile and you will place the order directly through a sales person. 
  2. If you ship directly to the workroom, make sure to track your fabric and ensure the workroom receives it. Once they have received it, confirm a completion date with the workroom. Typically a workroom won’t give you a completion date until they receive the fabric. 

Headboard and Dust Skirt Style & Terms

RECTANGLE

I love a simple rectangular-shaped headboard when I either want to experiment with multiple fabrics or if I want to showcase a piece of art above the bed. 


NOTCHED

I love a notched headboard for when I have sconces I want to hang on either side of the bed. I also think it’s a classic shape for a headboard. You can play with tufting or keep the headboard tightly upholstered when it’s notched.

SHAPED

An interestingly shaped headboard can add luxury and automatic impact to any space. It is most fun to play with pattern and shape to create something totally unique.

CORNER PLEAT

RUFFLED

Bed Skirt Styles

Inverted Corner Pleat: This is a tailored and handsome skirt style. I love to add a trim to the bottom of the skirt. Either a strip of a textile or a ribbon works well.


Ruffled or Shirred Skirt: A ruffled or a shirred skirt is appropriate when one wants to add a bit of romance and femininity. A ruffled skirt is more full and flouncy than a shirred skirt.

Tip from the Workroom: How to Determine Headboard Height

To figure out the height of your headboard, take the measurement of the height of the mattress off the floor (frame + box spring + mattress]. After you’ve taken this measurement, blue tape the mattress height on your wall. This will allow you to better envision how much farther up you want the headboard to hit.

Bed Inspiration

Rees Fabric

Auchincloss Fabric

Sintra Fabric

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Pocantico fabric

Playing with Textiles

Sister was known for her ability to creatively and gracefully mix and match textiles on upholstered pieces. As soon as you grasp these upholstery fundamentals, you can begin to play with pattern and upholstery will become a creative outlet that will bring your house infinite character and depth.

Mix and Match our

Performance

Fabrics

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Add subtle pattern through our soft Hudson Woven Fabric

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Shop our furniture in the Litchfield Shop

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