The Story of your Sofa

Have you ever wondered how your Collins & Hayes Sofa was made, the journey it went through before it reached your home? Then look no further. For some people, the look and feel of a Sofa isn’t the only important factor in your furniture, where it comes from is just as important.

Your Sofa’s journey begins nestled in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside, where your Sofa is crafted and upholstered by our talented team. At Collins & Hayes, all of our Sofas are made bespoke. Once you place an order, we will handcraft your Furniture specifically for you. The process is long, but it’s worth it for the beautiful Furniture you’ll end up with.

Making your Collins & Hayes Sofa is a delicate process. Your Sofa’s journey starts in our Wood Mill, where it is crafted in separate pieces. This not only benefits our Upholstery Team, but for bigger Furniture pieces, it also allows us to transport your Sofa into your home more easily. Once the frame is transported to our Upholstery Line, this is when you really start to see your Sofa coming to life.

Our Upholsterers work in a line structure, with usually two Upholsterers working on each piece of Furniture. One will work on the main body of the Sofa, while the other works on the arms. The first piece that the process starts with is the arms.

The first stage of upholstery is attaching the baselining to the frame. This is done very precisely using staples. This helps bring shape to your Sofa and acts as another layer between you and the frame. Foam can wear away quickly if it’s attached directly to wood, so this layer also adds some resistance, which helps with the longevity of your Sofa.

The next layer to be added to your Sofa is the card. You may not initially think that card goes into the making of a Sofa, but it plays an important role in building out the shape of your Sofa. It’s important that our furniture has clean lines and as much support as possible. The card also helps to keep your Sofa from slouching as time goes on. The card is attached using air pressure tools and upholstery glue. The safety of our Upholsterers is very important, so they are required to wear additional PPE when working with these tools.

The next stage for the body of your Sofa is adding the springs. This is done to the back of your Sofa and the seats, to create the cosiest lounging experience. Collins & Hayes have a unique type of spring, which is one of the reasons for our signature sit. Each spring is attached individually using metal clasps that run along the frame. To keep our lines as crisp as possible, a row of foam is also attached to the edge of the frame, just on top of the springs. This foam is thicker than the Sofa foam we will use later and is much firmer to the touch. The Upholsterer working on the arms will also add this foam to the edges of the frame structure, helping to maintain those crisp, beautiful Collins & Hayes lines.

Now it’s time to add webbing. Webbing is wrapped around the springs to add structure and support. Without our super strong webbing, there would be a lot of bowing when the Sofa is sat on, which could worsen over time. The webbing keeps the integrity of the springs and frame structure intact.

For the arms, it’s time for foam! Our premium foam cushions your Sofa, so it feels comfortable and soft to rest your arms on. Our foam is of the best quality, ensuring your Sofa stays soft and squishy for as long as possible. Because of the previous layers of card and Fabric, the wear against the wooden frame will be minimised as well.

At this stage, both the body and the arms will begin to be covered with the Fabric of your choice. Made by our talented Sewing Machinists, the Fabric is carefully fitted onto the frame in pieces, making the overall result more polished. This step might sound simple, but the resistance of the foam against the Fabric can be quite temperamental. To help, our Upholsterers use a special silicone spray to make the Fabric easier to slide on over the foam.

Once both the arms and body are covered, it’s time for the exciting part – attaching everything together! This is the stage where your Sofa truly comes to life. Using screws and expert design knowledge, one of our team members will attach the arms to the body. Then, they will ensure that the Fabric is coherent and seamless between the parts. With staples, our upholsterer will make sure the Fabric is perfectly attached to the bottom of your Sofa, too.

While the Sofa is flipped and the bottom is exposed, it’s time to add the legs and glides. First, any necessary glides are attached. A lot of our models have a middle glide to help spread the tension more evenly across your Sofa when it’s in use. Now, the legs of your choice – in your preferred wood finish – are screwed on. This takes impressive knowledge of the Sofa design, ensuring the legs are perfectly placed every time.

Now, the pièce de résistance… The Cushions! Our Upholsterers will slip your cushion filling of choice into your beautiful Collins & Hayes Fabric. After a few plumps and spruces, they’re added to your nearly complete Sofa. This is its final form!

The last stage in the process is inspection. We take quality very seriously and want to make sure your Sofa is flawless before it’s sent to you. Our designated and highly trained inspectors check the entire piece to ensure it is perfect. For our velvet-like Fabric Sofas, they will also take the time to brush and preen your Fabric to ensure it is looking its best. Once our inspectors are happy, your Sofa is placed on a trolley and bagged up, ready to reach you! Throughout this whole process, your Sofa hasn’t touched the floor once – the first time it will is during delivery.

And there you have it – the journey of your Collins & Hayes Sofa. From the initial stages in our Wood Mill to the final inspection, every step is carefully executed by our talented team to create a beautiful, bespoke piece of Furniture for your home. Not only will you love your Sofa, but we will love making it!