Why Choose Chesterfield Sofas for Your Living Room?

Where did the Chesterfield Sofa Originate From?

Rumour has it that the origin of the Chesterfield sofa dates back to the 18th century, with a request from a highly revered politician and author, Lord Philip Stanhope. He wanted to create a piece of furniture that kept his suit from wrinkling when sitting upright. It was said that the name “Chesterfield” came from his title as the fourth Earl of Chesterfield. 

While Lord Stanhope was dying, he instructed his butler, “Give Mr. Dayrolles a chair”. These words could simply mean that he wanted his butler to pull up a seat for his godson, Mr. Dayrolles. However, the butler was confused by these words, which caused him to misinterpret this as passing the furniture as an inheritance to Mr. Dayrolles. 

It was not until a century later, during the Victorian era, that Chesterfield sofas became even more popular piece of furniture among the aristocrats as a symbol of wealth and fortune. The buttons on the sofa were positioned more deeply so that their placement would prevent them from digging into users' legs. Queen Victoria also furnished her drawing room at Balmoral Castle in Scotland with a matching set of plaid-covered Chesterfield sofas.

A Physical Representation of a Rich History

Chesterfield sofas with leather upholstery became a widespread phenomenon in Great Britain and were seen to adorn many living rooms and gentlemen’s offices. At the same time, the worldwide expansion of the British Empire caused the posting of colonial administrators and army officers in Australia, India, South Africa, and Canada. Being in a foreign land prompted these British officers to bring something that reminded them of their homeland, which just happened to be the Chesterfield sofas. Despite the decline of the British Empire across these countries, these elegant and luxurious sofas remained popular for almost three centuries. Thus, having a Chesterfield sofa in your living room is like having a physical representation of a rich history with you! 

A Dive into the Subconscious 

Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud strongly believed that his consultation room should provide comfort so that his patients would be more open to speak on whatever matters weighing heavily on their hearts. The fundamental principle of psychoanalysis was that there should be no barrier, and the patients should be vulnerable enough to speak about their thoughts and feelings. This belief led Freud to furnish his office with a Chesterfield sofa where his patients would lie down while spilling out their life’s problems and inner turmoils without looking at him. The sofa became a pleasant and intimate place for the patients to unwind, facilitating the exploration of their ideas, thus enabling psychoanalysts to dig deep into their patients’ psyche. This discovery of the root of their problems was often revealed through dreams and talk therapy. While Freud was travelling the world offering psychoanalytic therapy, he would always make sure that he had a sofa together with him in the office. Eventually, Freud’s practice using leather Chesterfield sofas was emulated by other professionals in the field of psychoanalysis.  

The Right Kind of Suspension

The level of comfort that you can get from your Chesterfield sofas is determined partly by the quality of the suspension systems. As a matter of fact, both the cushion filling and the suspension of the sofa are two peas in a pod - the right combination ensures years of peaceful relaxation in your living room without sacrificing either quality. Many types of suspension are used in the construction of the sofa, like serpentine springs, coiled spring units, and Elastobelt webbing. 

A good suspension system needs to have enough springs beneath the padding and high-grade webbing to prevent the daily usage of the sofa from collapsing the system. The suspension system should be just right - neither feeling too vacant nor too springy. The type of suspension system needed and the level of resistance it should possess differ based on the types of Chesterfield sofas. These can be ascertained by asking the opinion of a skillful handicraftsman. For example, a pocket coil spring system is a suspension system designed to completely envelop each individual spring in fabric. More springs can be put near each other, which causes even distribution of weight across the bed of springs. An 8-way hand tied coil spring is a suspension system with excellent quality. It contains multiple coil springs anchored on the bottom with metal or jute webbing and tied by hand at eight different points on the top with twine.