Hi, all.
I’ve come to realize that I actually prefer sleeping on my sofa (an actual sofa, not a sofa bed) than to my own mattress.
I am thinking about trying to build a mattress that recreates this feeling. It is a Crate & Barrel sectional, and it says the cushions are made from (no surprise) polyurethane foam, and it seems like they are encased in batting made from polyester fiber and “waterfowl feathers”. Any suggestions for how to re-create this feel? Thank you.
Hi susu123.
Attempting to recreate the feel of a sectional sofa can prove very challenging even for the most experienced mattress manufacturers and furniture retailers. A sofa-mattress feel matching is even more difficult than a mattress-mattress matching (which more often than not proves to be a futile exercise). You might find it helpful to peruse post #9 here which describes several ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one.
Crate and Barrel has 35+ collections and many models each with different configurations, materials, and components. Every individual layer, component, construction/design (depth, length of the chaise, thickness, firmness, cushion number, etc) in your sofa (including the cover, FR barrier, any quilting material, and of course all foam layers and support) affects the feel and response of every other layer and component and how it “responds as a whole” to each individual sleeper. This is to say that you’d need to study your sofa, carefully assess the design, and find the specs of each component in order to determine if you can create a mattress that approximates its feel and be a good “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP(Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences)
I’d keep in mind that any slight change or deviation from the “model sofa” will be amplified by any other unmatched component or specification in your DIY and will modify your experience and the feel of the target mattress as a whole. There are also several factors that can affect how soft or firm a mattress (or an individual layer) feels besides just the exact specs, density, and ILD of the foam used (see post #4 here for more information )
The best you can hope for in such an endeavor is to find something “in the range”, but only your own careful personal testing along with several detailed conversations with an experienced and knowledgeable manufacturer/retailer may have any chance to get you a little closer to a mattress that replicates your sleeping experience of your current sofa.
Phoenix
I just joined, but the general point mentioned above is 100.00% correct.
There is an enormous amount of variation in upholstered sofas in terms of subjective feel, even from the same manufacturer. By comparison to upholstered furniture, mattress manufacturers are like on the level of semiconductor precision and reproducability
From my experience designing custom furniture for moderate to high end customers in the Bay Area…
depending on the foam supplier:
PU foam
sub 20 ILD “definitely soft”
20-30 ILD soft~mediumish
30-40 ILD medimish-firmish
For example an HR2525 compares to a Carpenter Qualux Q20
Standardized sofas sold by brand name retailers overwhelmingly favor actual ILD ratings in the 30+ range, since consumers tend to get furiously angry when a sofa cushion cover starts to show some wrinkling after a year or 2 from a very modest compaction/break in (despite the absolutely unavoidable law of physics inevitability of this… let alone the fundamental ignorance and misunderstanding some consumers have with respect to things like down-cushion maintenance requirements)
The effect of the upholstery is important, for sure, with heavier or thicker/less-stretchy fabrics imparting the sensation of a “firmer” feel to a seated person.
the additional effect of down/feathers or an innerspring construction are important
The construction of a standard foam cushion, however, is not important. Fiber bookwrap and foam crown induce almost zero ergonomic effect and are primarily aesthetic components. The dominant ergonomic character comes from a homogenous 4-5" block of PU foam.
I won’t bother with Latex standards since these types of sofas are so rare and outrageously expensive that its unlikely most people will ever sit on one…