Continuing with our thoughts from the previous posts, above are two finial details for comparison. The finishes are a dramatically different color but both details represent an early American design. Did you look at one longer than the other? Find one more appealing based not on wood nor color but on the details and feeling? From a manufacturing standpoint, one detail is done with a fully mechanized process with an eye for speedy production. The shapes are rather crude and generalized which only allude fine craftsmanship. The other is hand executed, combining excellent tool skill and an understanding that attention to detail can make the difference to the entire design. One alludes to a perfect sphere and one is a perfect sphere. The level of workmanship and design is always evident in detail. From a far shot in a catalog or on the web such difference may go unnoticed, but up close they are unmistakable. The sharpness, clarity and sophistication of the higher quality piece is evident. Is there a great difference in cost? There may or may not be depending on the style and how far in the sales structure you are from the manufacturer. A well executed design which passes through two layers of middlemen will be far more expensive for excellent craftsmanship. But direct from the source, you may be surprised how little the actual cost difference there is for such a huge aesthetic difference. Again the question is what are looking to say about your home?

Above are two details of a similar style of bed. The picture quality is again slightly different but probably quite indicative of the actual quality of the products. They both are representing a classic American Chesterfield design, but in a very different manner. One is obviously hand tufted with top grain leather, the soft padding and suppleness is evident in the creases and folds. The execution not only is authentic but the FEELING is authentic. The other example is cheating. The tightly pulled leather mimics the style but not the feel. Large panels of a cheaper grade of monochrome leather eliminates the need for careful sewing and the precise upholstery needed to execute the successful design. The frame design on the simpler model was designed to make the manufacturers life easier, not yours. It makes it easier to upholster and easier generally means a less skilled workers can make it. The widely spaced nailheads make it a simple application and the nail strip used to tack on the front panel makes this leather bed similar to a hollow core door. The lack of charm and sophistication is very clear when posted next to a more thoughtfully made item.

Two headboards in leather. Different approach, same story. I wish there were some better detailed shots out there so the comparison would not appear so lopsided. But unfortunately most manufacturers who are in the wholesale furniture business are not that concerned with details, neither having good ones or showing them. There is just such a tremendous difference in the quality of what is available in the bed market and from afar, in hazy pictures the customer has very little to go on in terms of what the product really looks like. Of course every one likes to think of their beds as the best value, the best quality, providing the best service. We hope our commitment to bring great looking products in high quality materials will show when you compare. We will continue to do our best to accurately describe and photograph what we think are the finest beds available today. In the next part of this series we will look at overall proportion and the role today’s modern bedding plays in bed design.