Upholstery | vanthiel

Upholstery revealed

Is the basis for the VAN THIEL & CO.‘s Artisanal Upholstery luxurious deep seated comfort.
Hourglass shaped coil springs are secured to a base of interwoven webbing. The springs for each chair or sofa are chosen based on their gauge and height, then strategically positioned and secured to the webbing for an ultimate ride.
Next, the springs are tied together across the top utilizing strong synthetic twine and pulled flat to create a level platform. The end result is each coil spring having eight knots holding it in place. An almost forgotten craft called “Eight Way Hand Tied”.

Construction

All frames are constructed from premium grade kiln dried solid hard woods. Wood types are selected specific to a design to achieve the desired aesthetic and construction details required.
Drying rooms are used at every stage of the manufacturing process from the moment lumber is received to moment cartons are loaded into a container. Desiccants are placed in every carton. This ensures moisture content in the wood is stable for the life of the piece in most North American North American climates.
Joints are secured with glue and wood dowels or tenon. Screws and nails are never used as primary joint fasteners.

All frames are built set up with no KD parts. Legs use spline construction when needed to prevent cracking under high pressure and weight.
Corner blocks are glued and screwed in place to secure the joints between seat rails and legs. Whenever possible, corner blocks have interlocking finger joints that connect with the seat rails.
Seat rails are 20-30% thicker than industry standards to stand up to the force of our first in class 8-way hand tied spring suspension.

Foam and Feathers

VAN THIEL & CO. uses only premium grade foams and regularly test to make sure all foams are free of any unwanted additives or fillers. Our foam passes CA-117 and Prop 65 requirements.

All VAN THIEL & CO. seating foams are high density, ranging from the minimum required density for seating applications to 40% higher than industry standards. This ensures the foam will maintain its properties for years and not break down prematurely.

High Density foams provide more cradling than normal density foam, resulting in less sit fatigue for a person over longer periods of time.
VAN THIEL & CO.'s cushioning uses high density/high resilience foam. HR foam has a higher support factor than normal polyurethane foam. HR foams offer a softer surface feeling without sacrificing support and cradling as a person sinks deeper into the cushion.
With a broad range of available materials and a wealth of experience, we can tailor the hardness of any seat from extra firm to soft regardless of the suspension, or design of the seat.
We use sterilized 90/10 white duck feather/down fills in all VAN THIEL & CO. seat cushions and back pillows. Cushions use a sewn channel construction to keep feather fills distributed evenly.

Suspension

VAN THIEL & CO. uses spring seat suspension in virtually every piece of furniture we produce. Spring suspension requires more expensive materials and is more time intensive to install, however their benefits are unparalleled. Spring decks have naturally gracious crowns, prevent the feeling of “bottoming out” and maintain the shape and comfort of the seat for the life of the frame.

VAN THIEL & CO. uses 8-way hand tied spring suspension in most designs. Individual coil and lip springs are fastened to a tightly woven grid of high tensile non-stretch webbing. Springs are then tied off to one another and the frame and secured with paper coated edge wire to create the most comfortable, supportive and enduring suspension system available.
When 8-way hand tied spring suspension is not appropriate, we use sinuous wire springs. OKE brand plastic spring clips are used to secure the springs to the frame and prevent any squeaking when the springs move. The clips will not rust or corrode over time. Springs are connected using paper coated wire and tied off to seat rails to prevent any lateral motion.

VAN THIEL & CO. springs are all custom made to match our exacting standards for wire gauge and coil size. Springs are coated with an electroplated oven cured rust proof finish to ensure a long life of the seat.
Springs are covered with a non-stretch woven material to sound proof and prevent springs from indenting into the foam. This helps to maintain the integrity of the foam over the life of the frame.
When a design won’t allow for upholstering directly to the frame, we use a seat board construction. The center of a seat board is cut out and covered with a woven grid of elastic webbing to allow for comfort and travel in the seat. VAN THIEL & CO.’s elastic webbing is 2 times the thickness of industry standard. This is more supportive and prevents the feeling of “bottoming out”. We add tapered foam riser to board to create a generous crown when desired for look and/or support.

Tailoring

All tailoring is concurrent with time honored bench made techniques and consistent with VAN THIEL & CO. upholstery standards.
Pleats and tufts are hand folded and applied directly to the frame one by one. They are never pre-sewed or seamed.
Whip stitching is done by hand the fabric and foam has been applied to the frame after. Careful attention is given to uniformity without eliminating an overall artisanal feeling.
Fabrics are applied methodically in opposing directions at the same time to ensure the grain is always runs true
Upholstery edges are finished with antiqued spit tacks, hand nailed with precision to ensure consistency on every piece.
Burlap is used to cover the bottom of all items and hand nailed with antiqued spit tacks.
We strive to treat upholstery of a well-built frame with the same love and precision an experienced and artful tailor crafts a custom-made suit.