If your preference is an l00% down filled sofa and/or chair, keep in mind that down sinks deeply, which can cause one to get "stuck" while trying to rise from the sofa.
Also, down requires constant fluffing and or punching to get the cushions back into their desired shape.
As to duck or goose down, the choice really depends on the application.
For throw pillows on a sofa, duck is preferable due to the fact that it is a smaller bird, producing smaller down clusters, and more cost effective.
The goose down cluster is larger, requires less fluffing and has a higher insulation factor.
To that end, goose blends are usually the choice for furniture.
It is important to note here, that at the very least; having down throw pillows on furniture and/or bedding is much more desirable due to the comfort factor compared to a poly foam pillow.
The sofa should also be initially covered completely in muslin so that the inside of the sofa stays in place.
Muslin is most typically a closely woven unbleached or white cloth, produced from corded cotton yarn.
This allows for different decorative upholstery to be placed on the sofa.
One more significant factor of your upholstered piece of furniture is that the seat cushions should always "crown" meaning they should be plump and have a rising slope towards the middle causing them not to look flat.
You should also make sure that all welting is cut on a bias, diagonally across the weave of the fabric to prevent bunching of the fabric around the welting.
Finally, Z is for zipper, which should be completely concealed.
After you have the construction and seating package of the sofa in place, you can move onto the more aesthetic part of the purchase of a sofa and/or chair-picking out the fabric.
When matching your furniture piece, you must keep your painted walls, drapery, flooring and light fixtures in mind.
When sofa shopping, take the measurements of the space and bring a color sample.
Then comes the fun part-diving into the store's fabric samples! Make sure your colors match (and maybe get a second opinion) before you order a custom sofa.
Your decorating cues should come from your environment - the people and pets living between your walls.
If you have young children, light beige upholstery may not work for you.
Avoiding "skirts" at the bottom of your upholstered pieces in a heavily used family room is another smart idea.
Purchasing slipcovered furniture, that gives you the option of removing and dry-cleaning the cushion covers, is a smart choice that allows a young, growing family to invest in quality furniture.
While the skirted furniture can attract dirt and pet hair, exposed legs on upholstered pieces can give a neat, tailored look to furniture.
In order to keep current with our ever changing decorating styles, most upholstered manufactures make sofas in three different sizes - a 51" loveseat (generally seats one person comfortably); a 71" apartment sofa, which seats two to three people comfortably and a standard size sofa ranging from 87" to 93".
Of course, let us not forget the mighty sectional, which begins with at least two pieces or sections and can be stretched to accommodate any room dimension.
Now all you have to do is wait for your sofa to be manufactured and delivered (usually 6-8 weeks).
Once delivered, position it carefully in the room and remember to flip the cushions regularly to retain the life of the fabric and shape of your cushions.
Following the above suggestions and the "sitting test", you will be able to come away with a beautiful piece of quality furniture that, with the proper care, will look fantastic for the life of your piece.