Skirts on upholstered furnitue - like or dislike?

[baileyuph]

Furniture does not seem to use skirts as much today, do people like the - no skirt look better or is it cost driving the way furniture is done?
Skirts can be expensive (material and labor).

Nice custom skirts can add to my taste.

What about slip covers, are they mostly done without skirts?  Gene mentioned he may not do the skirt if legs look or can be made to look nice (finishing).

Doyle

[SteveA]

Skirts give you a place to hide your crap - what about plastic covers for skirts.  When I was a kid my parents had plastic covers on the sofa and I still wasn't allowed to sit on it ? 
SA

[kodydog]

Personally I do not like skirts. There are no skirts on any of the furniture in my house. I truly believe skirts were invented only to hide cheep legs. I would much rather see a nicely crafted and detailed leg made by a fine woodworker.

If a piece does need a skirt I prefer something that is at least 10" or taller. Dressmaker skirts are even better in appearance. But any skirts smaller than 7" are like whats the point?

[sofadoc]

Skirts are tedious and time-consuming. If I had my "druthers", I would omit them and go with nice looking feet.

But many sofas have the skinny legs built into the frame, so it takes some time to cut them off and mount new ones.

I have a lot of customers now that don't mind the the pre-existing skinny recessed legs. But I think they look bad. If I can't replace the legs, I'd rather just put a skirt back on it.

[baileyuph]

New furniture I see -- so much has the Asian leg, even some of the American furniture.  Why do you suppose this is done --duh--------it has to be cost.  Not much (while I do not see all) new stuff is equipped with the classic styled leg of beautiful woods --walnut, cherry, and/or mahogany.  Instead seen is a lot of simple round screw on legs in plastic or cheap Asian supplied wood.  It turns out, just about every piece of furniture now share that leg.  I don't see the appeal nor quality - after all the plastic can crack easily and actually the wood isn't applealing nor strong either.

A well crafted skirt in a material of choice certaily adds more to the job and decoration scheme in a room.  Someting a simple cheap screw on won't do for me, nothing plush or creative about that, but it does save money.  In the market today that is a factor - agree.  If a leg shows in my decor, it is an expensive wood and prepared with designers taste.

Can't see some of the classic Henredon, Drexel, and other brands in that league with the cheaper spinely legs, but some of the market today does not value quality furniture.

The time for crafting a nice skirt with stiffner and cording around the perimeter plus corner tabs is relatively significant for most traditional furniture.  Today, so many value recliners in their love seats and sofas, which says what their culture values.  

I understand, every point of view (opions matter!).

Gene will pobably talk more interestingly regarding the market perspective since he is working with designers.  Maybe he will/can reflect the designers/their consumers perspective better - so go Gene.

Maybe in talking about cost, framing is normally built to support a skirt that screw ons do not, another cost factor that probably influences the consumer who is driven by cost.
much quicker to install a skirt with a staple gun than sewing one on.  Regarding slips as associated with legs, the only slips I like are the expensive type that have nice materials, crafted very professionally, in a word look the same as expensive upholstery.  In the event of a high quality leg carved in expensive wood, well covering that up can matter.

Cost and who like what does drive the issue.

In making an upholstery sales this past few days, some customers say they would never spend $6000 (that area) for a couch and love even if it meant quality.  Then, during the same period, I picked up three sofa jobs who said they wouldn't buy the Asian made/styled furniture because it won't last and looks just like the stuff around being sold.

Interesting business huh?



Doyle

[MinUph]

Yes it is an interesting business.. Still :)

  As for skirts. I don't mind them. I have some designers that remove 90 % of them if they exist and some of them will add them to existing no skirt designs. Depends on the eye. I don't find it all that time consuming to do skirts. It's just part of the job. I do like taller ones only because they hang better. I don't like waterfall skirts. To me they look like a slip cover. But I'm only the labor not the design expert :)
  Regular customers seem to want a skirt if it has one now.
  This is all no matter the quality or style of the legs on the piece. The one designer that doesn't like skirts will have nice legs "painted" lol you never know. They are one of the high end design firms around.

[otlass]

Oh man, Since relocating to Florida it seems every piece has at minimum a regular skirt, but more than half of them are waterfall skirts. In Montana every piece had decorative nails, I don't do a lot of nails in Florida.

[bobbin]

The slipcover contingent weighing in here, you guys.   I absolutely "GET" where you're coming from.  BUT, from my perspective skirts are wonderful!  they finish a slip. perfectly! and they don't require me to staple on Velcro to the frame of furniture (over your hard work!)... when a pc. arrives in my shop.  Obviously, I come at the "skirt" thing from a different perspective.   

[baileyuph]

Going back, not too many years ago, if there wasn't expensive show wood to be covered, so much of the upholstery work included skirts.  If they cut corners (we don't have to go there) they showed as cheap which down graded the complete job, nice skirts have to be just that to look.

I never thought a skirt could be made too well because it was an equal or better part of the overall reupholstery accomplishment, still feel that way today.  So, my perspective is turned to the marketing aspect and given that skirts "cost", the next issue (just to exercise my business side) is do designers, who do a lot of the selling (as well as manufacturers), play the skirt thing down because of cost?  I am not the only person who would pay the extra for the finest skirt in town - I don't think that fits most.  Without, it is my taste talking, but I can't see the idea that a cheaply made leg from Asia (plastic/paper wood/whatever) in whatever garish or simulated color is really decorating well (besides everyone in town has the same thing).  So, it becomes a marketing ploy and price does "sell"!

So, I guess that one can be left alone.

Doyle

[kodydog]

Nothing makes my day better than uncovering a beautiful set of legs that had been covered over long ago.

[baileyuph]

To Add:  I actually had a customer pay me to go and remove the skirts on some furniture.

I do believe there are a lot of people from a different school.  The thing I have in common with this school is "love the money"!  After all, that is what business is all about, not whose taste is right or wrong.

Just thought some might find this interesting.

Doyle