Furniture that's Cozy, Comfortable, and Home-like, yet Practical and Heavy Duty

This page deals only with our furniture in applications where extra-sturdy furniture is especially needed. For pictures and information about our furniture in general, including sofas, loveseats and sectionals in which design features, custom dimensions and/or maximum comfort are more important, please see our home page (if you haven't already) by clicking here.

If you need furniture for heavy use, you don't need furniture with frames made of "engineered wood", stapled together, which is most of what you'll find in stores.

Shown here: 31" Custom 05 chair, 55" loveseat, and 79" sofa, in a microsuede from Charlotte fabrics, part of a large order in the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity house at Lehigh University.

For details about how our furniture is constructed so as to withstand heavy use, please go to the link just above the bottom of this page (third link above the bottom).

Please note: Just because our furniture is suited for heavy use, don't think that there is any sacrifice in comfort. Most people who come to our showroom say that our furniture is more comfortable than the furniture that they find in normal stores. We offer soft options in our cushioning and support, but most people say they like the greater firmness and the medium seat depth of our standard cushioning and suspension, in comparison with the too-soft feel, excessively-deep seats and poor back support in furniture that they find in typical stores.

This furniture is in the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, and includes an 85" sofa and two 28" chairs in our California model, as well as a 24" x 48" coffee table, a 30" x 30" corner table, and an 18" x 24" end table (concealed).

The furniture shown here is in the waiting room of the District of Columbia Birth Center. Shown are 58" loveseats (becoming 62" including the optional padded arm wraps) and 28" chairs in the California model. Our most heavy-duty fabrics (such as the one shown) are solids or tweeds; but we also have moderately-heavy-duty fabrics in many decorative patterns. The fabrics section of this web site shows many of our heavy-duty fabrics. Swatches of any of those are available on request, as well as swatches of fabrics in many colors other than the ones shown.

The California model, shown here, is one of our two most practical models when you need to change the fabric (the Florida model is equally practical). Without the padded arm wraps, and with the optional all-wood backs, there is nothing to re-cover but the cushions, which are zippered. If you do choose the padded arm wraps, new covers can be applied to those fairly quickly, merely pulling off the old and tugging on the new, and fastening the velcro tabs. Of course we also sell complete replacement cushions, but usually the inner cushions (made of unusually high-quality filling) are good for at least fifteen years.

Our models with the completely-covered arms (the Virginia model) or covered frames can be re-covered much more easily than typical upholstered furniture, but obviously not as easily as the ones with the exposed-wood frames.

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The 85" sofa and 54" loveseat here are in a residence managed by Supportive Concepts for Families, of Lewistown, PA, and are covered with one of our extra-heavy-duty tweeds. Almost three years after receiving this order, they called back to order a set for a second residence, mentioning that the earlier furniture had held up well under heavy use.

Another customer said that they had previously been going through a new sofa every few months with her very active, mentally-challenged adult son. Five years after purchasing a California model sofa from us for use by this same man, they reported that they had had essentially no problems with it.

What could be harder on furniture than one family's active kids plus their visitors? How about a hundred teenagers a day? After almost 1-1/2 years of exposure to this kind of activity, our furniture is doing fine, according to the director of this teen center.

Shown here: Our Custom 05 model in the 97", 61", and 34" sizes, at Passaic Valley high school in New Jersey (purchased by the New Jersey Community Development Corporation). The sofa and chair are covered with an extra-heavy-duty 100% olefin fabric that is available in a wide array of colors. All of our models are available in a range of other lengths.

Note to people seeking furniture for human services, charitable or educational organizations: We can normally offer significant discounts off the regular prices, especially if you can order well in advance of when you need the furniture.

Special Needs: If any intended occupants weigh over 350 pounds or have been wearing out normal furniture at a rapid rate, we should do some extra reinforcement below the seats; add $30 for that reinforcement for a sofa, $25 for a loveseat, or $18 for a chair. If any intended occupants are autistic and/or have the syndrome of "rocking" backward, please let us know so that we can provide extra reinforcement to prevent problems that could otherwise result ($25 charge per piece of furniture). If incontinence is a problem: We offer a wide selection of heavy-duty, attractive vinyl fabrics. And for $10 extra per seat, we can make the support pieces below the cushions waterproof. Semi-attachment of cushions: If kids' taking the loose cushions off the furniture is a problem, we can fasten them down ($12 per cushion) in a way that still allows an informed adult to remove and turn them, for good utilization of both sides of the covers and cushions, as well as for changing the covers years later. Also see about vinyl inner covers below, next to the picture of a blue-covered sofa.

Notice that all exposed edges and corners of our furniture are well rounded. Also notice that the arm tops of our California and Florida models have overhanging edges, making them easy to grasp by somebody who needs a good grip when getting up. Also, with our firmer-than average support (in our standard cushioning), people find it easier to get up from our furniture than from typical furniture.

The 240-pound autistic teenager here had the "rocking" syndrome, which we hadn't heard about until a year or two after delivering this sectional. At that time we found that there was a place on our frames that is vulnerable to that kind of activity on the part of a heavy, active occupant who sits in the same place all the time. The problem was taken care of with use of a repair kit we sent his parents (at no charge), but we appreciate it if customers tell us beforehand about likely exposure to that kind of behavior and order the extra reinforcement to prevent expected problems.

Practicality suited for hard use and liquid spills by a rowdy bunch, yet with cloth covers, on its way west

Please excuse this quickie snapshot of part of an order for the Delta Chi fraternity house at the University of Southern California, taken in our workshop just before packing it to be shipped out. Shown: 76" Florida model, with extra-heavy duty olefiin fabric (available in a wide selection of colors). The customer ordered vinyl inner covers to prevent spilled beverages from seeping into the cushioning material inside. This was done with some concern that the vinyl inner covers might detract from the comfort or appearance, but the advisor who ordered it said several months later that the fraternity members hadn't even noticed anything unusual about the sofas. This appears to be a good way to get much of the practicality of vinyl covers together with most of the appearance and feel of cloth covers, as well as providing the super durability of some of the woven fabrics we offer. Add $15 per cushion for this option.

Other kinds of practicality for use by the handicapped, on its way north
The New York State organization (Mary Cariola Children's Center) that ordered this and other furniture was founded to take care of handicapped children with challenges so severe that other residences couldn't be found that would admit them. They tried out our semi-attachment option for the cushions and found the results with the test piece to be "great" after two weeks. They then finalized an order for additional pieces done that same way as well as with all of the extra reinforcements for special needs.

The Maryland model, shown here, is a little more difficult to re-cover because of the side panels that you can see crossing the opening in the side. But even those are not difficult. Merely undo two screws to remove a panel from the inside, put new fabric around, staple or tack it down neatly, and re-attach it.

The fabric-covered back takes more time to re-cover, requiring unbolting the back as well as stapling on the new fabric. For a typical sofa it should take 45 minutes or so, and for a sectional it could take 2-1/2 hours or more. To save the need for this, we offer an all-wood back (not available on the corner units of sectionals) at a surcharge, and also a neutral vinyl-covered back (that blends with the color of the frame) which is included at the base price.

To see details of how this furniture is made, with pictures and specifications of materials and construction, click here.

To see some of the heavy-duty fabrics and other fabrics that are available with our furniture, click here.

To return to the Comfy 1 home page, with access to pages for our individual models and pricing (bearing in mind that discounts are often available for larger orders from organizations), click here.