We often talk about the enduring comfort of our sofas. The sort you sink into, shaped just right for long afternoons or restful evenings. But before there's comfort, there’s craft. And before craft, there’s timber (solid, kiln-dried and sustainably sourced timber to be precise). This is where every Neptune sofa begins: with natural materials and a deep respect for design heritage. From there it’s entirely yours to customise. There’s a curated fabric library to choose from, ranging from hardwearing linens to soft cotton velvets and supple leathers. Leg finishes and sizes are also yours for the choosing.
Unlike mass-produced pieces, our sofas rarely begin with a spreadsheet. Instead, they start with a moment of inspiration. It might be an auction house find, an iconic British design (like the Chesterfield) or an architectural silhouette. From there, it moves from hand-drawn pencil lines to detailed CAD drawing, and finally, into miniature form.
Using pliable balsa wood, our lead designer, Mike, meticulously crafts dolls’ house-sized versions of each sofa. From the legs and frame to the cushions and every exposed detail, each element is carefully constructed to offer a true-to-life visual. ‘The models allow me to play with the shapes and joints and refine them easily,’. ‘A good model can tell you so much about a full-size piece of furniture, not only in its aesthetic but also in its strength and structure.’
Every curve and proportion is meticulously refined until they’re just right, and from there we begin building. The internal frames, though never seen, are constructed from solid kiln-dried tulipwood and durable birch plywood, using traditional joinery techniques that have stood the test of time. While this level of craftsmanship isn’t common in modern sofa-making, using these materials and methods allow us to guarantee our sofa frames for life. They’re also designed to be reupholstered again and again. In fact, we've tested them to endure up to ten reupholsterings without compromise, enabling your sofa to live on through various different incarnations, as your home and style evolves.
Comfort, too, is carefully composed. Some sofas have 100 per cent feather-filled cushions but these require constant ‘fluffing up’. So, we worked with the craftspeople in our own factory to land on the ‘perfect balance’ of long-lasting fibre fill, wrapped up with the comfort and ‘sink-in-ability’ of feathers. ‘Having that direct relationship between design team and factory means the product is always the focus and we can revise it until we get it completely right,’ adds Mike.
The final stage of craft is upholstering the design by hand. Each piece of fabric is cut into patterns, stitched and pulled over the solid timber frame for a precise, neatly tailored look which minimises slacking over time. And when your sofa is finally ready, it doesn’t just turn up at your door. Our own trained two-person delivery team brings it inside, places it in the room of your choice, and takes away the packaging, leaving only the perfect seat, in the perfect spot.
