Chesterfield Buyers Guide

March 24th, 2010

So, you’re interested in buying a chesterfield sofa… but what exactly does that mean?

There are many examples of a chesterfield style sofa which outwardly carries many of the traits of an original chesterfield, however at this point I’d like you to ask you self one question “why am I buying a chesterfield?”. Nine times out of ten, you’re looking for a hard wearing sofa that, although may cost more than a more commercial ‘fashion’ lead sofa, is expected to last and provide a comfortable seat for years to come.

So, what exactly makes a great value Chesterfield?

There are some easy to ask questions that can help you identify a real chesterfield from the many fakes and reproductions available today:

Made to Order

The very nature of a chesterfield is of a piece of furniture that has been created bespoke for a customer. This stems back to the late 17th Century when a chesterfield was a high status items of furniture created by skilled artisans for the social elite. Off-the-shelf chesterfields, whilst being visually attractive, don’t take advantage of the made-to-order process with which you can tailor almost every aspect of a chesterfield. Changing the buttoning detail, leather colour or material, leather finish, foot details, seat width and height (depth is problematic and can be costly), enable you to customise a chesterfield resulting in a truly original piece of furniture.

Chesterfield Frames

Many reproduction chesterfields are created using low quality components, one of the easiest to conceal is the frame, this invisible but vital component to the sofa provides the durability and is key in ensuring that your sofa lasts. Ask “Is this chesterfield made with a solid beech hardwood frame?”. If the answer is anything other than yes then its not an original. Other questions to ask is “how has the chesterfield frame been constructed?”, A good retailer will intimately know how each piece is put together, the keywords to watch for include All Dowelled, Screwed and Glued Joints and Three Additional Support Rails as opposed to lesser quality frames which use ‘Brad’ nails, Chip Board and MDF in their construction.

Chesterfield Nail Details

Probably one of the easiest measures of the quality of a chesterfield is the Nail detail. Polished nail heads are a distinctive part of the chesterfield look and on a genuine chesterfield are used in the construction process, holding key details, fascias and panels to the frame. On reproduction chesterfields this detail has been replicated through the use of a tacked on strip of nail heads, these are a cheap alternative usually placed to hide leather stapling. Check the polished Nail Detail of a chesterfield and check that the nail heads aren’t joined together.

Chesterfield Leathers

Genuine chesterfield sofas are created from a full-hide. Cheaper reproduction chesterfields are created from a patchwork of leather scraps also called a ‘Demic’ hide. To check that your chesterfield sofa is full-hide construction simply run your fingers down any seam of the sofa. If you can feel any stitching at the base of the pleat then the sofa has been created using a Demic hide. This is important as a full-hide chesterfield will wear evenly, the hide is usually of a uniform thickness resulting in great colour retention and more importantly is less prone to problems with the loosening of stitching. Demic chesterfields can sag as the seams become loose over time and in the worst case scenario may ‘pop’ resulting in an unsightly bulge.  In addition due to the varying density of leathers used in a Demic chesterfield, the colour may fade unevenly resulting in a checker-board finish.

This document is a work in progress. Please check back frequently for updates.

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