Couches
There's a couch, there are couches, convertibles, settees, fainting couches, and there are sofas, depending upon what part of the country you're from. They all have something in common - we lay on them. That's the extent of what "we have a couch" or "I have a couch" describes; the rest is in the details.
In the nearly two decades that we've been upholstering, we've handled a piece from each of the past four centuries. Illustrated on this page is one of the more challenging projects, involving fabric with a large 27-inch repeat, with a panoramic view of a coral reef throughout the pattern. This project required 65 yards (for both couch and loveseat) to reflect the detail incorporated in the scene, and to flow consistently from bottom to top, as well as side to side and around.
Though in most cases, the average piece does not require this much material nor is this intricate, we used this as a example of our abilities, and to demonstrate that when considering using prints, getting the pattern to flow and match, can require approximately 20 to 25% more fabric, possibly more, depending upon both the direction of repeat on the fabric and the dimensions of the piece being re-upholstered.