At Britt Carter, we believe that when you learn to truly recognize what goes into fine furniture, you´ll be a more satisfied customer, and will be able to make a truly informed decision.

Why Fine Furniture?
It is easy to make an impulsive decision that you will later regret, especially when it comes to a long term investment. Often, when it comes to furniture shopping, in attempt to "get it done", shortcuts are taken. The ability to get it within a few days is traded for quality.

To be sure, the mistake we in the home furnishings industry see time and again is the impulsive decision to buy something people don´t love and isn´t necessarily the best just so they can have it immediately. Interestingly, this is not typically a strategy that is used when we shop for a home, yet it is surprisingly common when shopping for what we are actually going to be living with.

So, sadly, people often fill their exceedingly beautiful and expensive homes with shoddy, second rate, low quality furniture.

Here are some things you´ll want to look for and ask your salesperson/designer about when you are considering buying high-quality furniture and upholstery:

THE MARKS OF FINE UPHOLSTERY

Shape
Curves and shaped arms and backs are the trademarks of great craftsmanship. It is important to remember that quality upholstery will get its shape from the frame and not the padding. All padding will eventually pack and shift. Since BC wooden frames are shaped (as opposed to shaping with the padding), it will hold its look for as long as you own it.

Flow Matching
A truly fine upholstered piece will be distinguished by the uninterrupted flow of fabric through the piece. You should be able to float a sofa in the center of a room and see that the fabric pattern matches on all sides, all the way down to the skirt or base.

Tailoring
Quality tailoring should include fully lined skirts that hang straight and flat, smooth welting treatments, matched stripes and patterns, and zippered cushions that provide a neat cushion closure.

8-Way Hand-Tied Springs
This is what gives an upholstered product a uniform, bottomless ride. Rows of double hour glass cone coils are used and are eight way hand-tied to stay in position, which provides exceptional durability and comfort. Spiral-shaped coil springs are stitched to the webbing, then hand-knotted in eight different places along the coil with heavy twine. Eight-way hand tied springs in the deck of your sofa or chair are considered to be a quintessential a sign of quality and durability.

Cushion & Crown
In truly quality upholstery, there are numerous layers of down feathers and/or premium polyurethane foam and fiber for loft and contoured comfort. All arms, backs, seats and sides are well padded for luxurious comfort, shape and long life. Also, most all of our upholstery lines offer different cushion options in terms of the softness or firmness you desire.

Quality Throw Pillows - Your throw pillows should feel a little heavy. If the pillows feel too light, it means they are probably filled with mostly Dacron. This is going to translate into flat-looking pillows after only a few months.

A heavier pillow means there is something of substance inside: such as goose down. This is standard with most Britt Carter furniture. Throw pillows are individually encased in down-proof ticking for to keep the feathers in.

FINE FURNITURE WOOD

Despite numerous and innovative improvements, furniture making still requires hand craftsmanship, especially when assembling the pieces together.

Kiln-dried
Kiln drying reduces the moisture content of the lumber, a process which inhibits tiny cracking (checking) and splitting, and strengthens the finished product. This also prevents the frame from warping.

Dowels
The use of and number of Dowels used in building the frame have the power to keep the joints of the frame from loosening over the years. Britt Carter furniture lines tend you use 3-4 per joint.

Veneers?
When dealing with ´fine´ furniture, veneering can add tremendous value to a piece of fine furniture. Veneering in furniture construction has been done since Egyptian times. Using this method, several pieces and different species of woods can be combined on the same surface to create beautiful and intricate designs. However, the only way to achieve this look is through the process of veneering.

Today´s glues are so strong that it is rare any pieces of wood would pop off, unless of course the piece is ill-treated, or exposed to extremes of heat and humidity. The process of veneering actually creates more stability in a piece of furniture. Veneered wood will not expand and contract as readily as solid wood construction.

Veneering is only a bad idea when dealing with low-quality furniture companies who use paper veneers to give the look of wood. Obviously, if this paper is allowed to get wet or scratched too much, the paper veneer is going to come off, showing the engineered wood or plastic underneath.