The problem with zigzag sofa springs: the cheap shortcut inside almost every sofa
Posted posted on July 27, 2026
Most modern sofas, including some very expensive ones, use a spring system chosen largely because it is cheap and quick to install. There is a better way…
When people buy a sofa, they tend to concentrate on the things they can see: the shape, colour, fabric and possibly how comfortable it feels during a brief sit in a showroom.
Almost nobody asks about the springs. Which is understandable; they’re buried beneath layers of fabric and upholstery, and they are unlikely to be described by an enthusiastic salesperson unless you specifically bring the subject up.
Yet the spring system is one of the most important things about a sofa. It forms the foundation of the seat, and is critical in determining the sofa’s support and comfort, especially over years of use.
What is a zigzag sofa spring?
A zigzag spring, also known as a serpentine spring, is a length of steel wire bent into a repeated S-shape. It runs from the front of the sofa frame to the back and is attached at either end with clips or staples.
To be fair, it’s not completely useless: a correctly fitted zigzag spring bends when you sit on it and helps support the cushion above, and after all millions of people sit perfectly happily on sofas fitted with them every day.
The trouble is why they became almost universal.
Zigzag springs are extraordinarily cheap and extraordinarily quick to install. Once the frame is ready, the individual lengths can be fixed into position in minutes, and fitting them requires very little specialist training.
For a manufacturer producing large numbers of sofas, zigzag springs reduce material costs, labour costs, training costs and production time. In other words, they make the sofa easier and cheaper to build.
Zigzag springs are great for manufacturers then… but a good question is: what’s the benefit for the person buying the sofa?
How sofa springs used to be made
Before the zigzag spring became the industry default, a well-made sofa was more likely to contain individual coil springs. These would be proper three-dimensional springs sitting vertically on a bed of tightly woven jute webbing and compressing downwards when sat upon.
In an eight-way hand-tied spring system, each coil is connected to the springs around it with jute twine. The springs are tied from front to back, from side to side and diagonally, creating a network that holds the entire spring bed together.
It is intricate work – indeed, quite beautiful work: the web of knots and twine is a piece of hidden engineering made entirely by hand.
More importantly, the springs do not behave as isolated strips. When one coil is compressed, the neighbouring springs move with it. As Schplendid founder Rohan puts it, they “work together as a team”. Rather than relying on a series of separate lengths of wire flexing beneath individual points, the spring bed responds collectively across a wider area.
It can also be tailored to the particular sofa. Firmer springs can be placed towards the front, where more resistance is useful, while softer springs at the back allow you to sink more comfortably into the seat. The tension of the ties, the height of the coils and the construction of the sofa can all be adjusted to create the right balance of support, depth and bounce.
It is skilled, time-consuming work. The tension of the ties, the height of the springs and their position all affect the final comfort. Before Schplendid could make them properly, we sent our chief upholsterer away for specialist training; he then passed the skill on to others in the workshop.
For around 200 years, this was how the finest sofas were made.
Why did the sofa industry abandon proper coil springs?
There is an assumption that when an old manufacturing method disappears, it must have been superseded by something better. Occasionally that is true, but in this case the chief innovation was financial.
Zigzag springs took over not because they were better for comfort – they’re clearly not – but because they are cheap, quick and require very little training. They are simply lengths of bent steel fixed between the front and back of the frame, and an experienced production line can install them in minutes.
For a sofa manufacturer, the advantages of zigzag are obvious. They reduce the cost of materials, labour, training and production. They make it possible to build more sofas, more quickly, with fewer skilled craftspeople.
But what’s in it for the customer?
Cheap sofa springs in expensive sofas
Zigzag springs offer neither the adaptability nor the collective support of hand-tied coils, and less scope to control how different parts of the seat respond. Their performance depends heavily on the quality of the steel and springs can detach when those fittings fail. They tend not to last very well.
There is nothing inherently outrageous about using an economical spring system in an economical sofa. A £700 sofa has to make compromises somewhere, and most customers will understand that.
But why are cheap zigzag springs also found in sofas costing £3,000, £4,000 or considerably more?
When a sofa is sold as a premium product, wrapped in language about heritage, craftsmanship and timeless quality, it seems reasonable to expect something better beneath the cushions. Yet expensive sofas often contain exactly the same simple zigzag springs as much cheaper ones.
Why? Because manufacturers can get away with it. This is enshittification in its purest form: replacing a better method with a cheaper one, gradually normalising the shortcut, and continuing to charge the customer as though nothing has been lost.
Why Schplendid went back
We use eight-way hand-tied coil springs because we believe a sofa intended to last should have the best possible foundation.
They create the sort of deep, responsive comfort that zigzag springs struggle to reproduce, and are designed to remain supportive for decades.
They also preserve a craft that has nearly disappeared from mainstream furniture making. Our spring makers take enormous pride in the work, even though once the upholstery is added, most customers will never see it - though they will certainly feel the comfort when they sit on it.
How can we afford to do it?
Our eight-way hand-tied spring system costs us roughly £120 more per three-seat sofa than zigzag springs would. It also requires trained craftspeople and considerably more time in the workshop.
In a conventional sofa business, that additional cost would usually be multiplied as the company applies its percentage margin. Spending another £120 on the sofa might therefore add several hundred pounds to the retail price.
We aim to make a fixed amount on each sofa rather than applying an ever-larger percentage markup to everything we put into it. When a better material or method costs us more, we pass on that actual additional cost rather than multiplying it.
We can do this because we keep the rest of the business deliberately lean. We do not support a chain of expensive showrooms, large sales teams, permanent promotions or layers of marketing overhead. We spend the money on the sofa instead.
That is how we can use a spring system now normally associated with the very top end of the market without making our sofas available only to the very wealthy.
Zigzag springs became almost universal because they make life easier for manufacturers. We returned to hand-tied coils because they make the sofa better for the person who owns it.
That is what sofa de-schittification means to us: consciously reversing a century of shortcuts, rebuilding quality where it has been stripped away, and returning to better ways of making things.
Our mission is to make beautiful, properly made sofas that can last for generations, and to bring them within reach of as many people as possible, not only those rich enough to spend a small fortune on one.
The problem with zigzag sofa springs: the cheap shortcut inside almost every sofa
Most modern sofas, including some very expensive ones, use a spring system chosen largely because it is cheap and quick to install. There is a better way…
When people buy a sofa, they tend to concentrate on the things they can see: the shape, colour, fabric and possibly how comfortable it feels during a brief sit in a showroom.
Almost nobody asks about the springs. Which is understandable; they’re buried beneath layers of fabric and upholstery, and they are unlikely to be described by an enthusiastic salesperson unless you specifically bring the subject up.
Yet the spring system is one of the most important things about a sofa. It forms the foundation of the seat, and is critical in determining the sofa’s support and comfort, especially over years of use.
What is a zigzag sofa spring?
A zigzag spring, also known as a serpentine spring, is a length of steel wire bent into a repeated S-shape. It runs from the front of the sofa frame to the back and is attached at either end with clips or staples.
To be fair, it’s not completely useless: a correctly fitted zigzag spring bends when you sit on it and helps support the cushion above, and after all millions of people sit perfectly happily on sofas fitted with them every day.
The trouble is why they became almost universal.
Zigzag springs are extraordinarily cheap and extraordinarily quick to install. Once the frame is ready, the individual lengths can be fixed into position in minutes, and fitting them requires very little specialist training.
For a manufacturer producing large numbers of sofas, zigzag springs reduce material costs, labour costs, training costs and production time. In other words, they make the sofa easier and cheaper to build.
Zigzag springs are great for manufacturers then… but a good question is: what’s the benefit for the person buying the sofa?
How sofa springs used to be made
Before the zigzag spring became the industry default, a well-made sofa was more likely to contain individual coil springs. These would be proper three-dimensional springs sitting vertically on a bed of tightly woven jute webbing and compressing downwards when sat upon.
In an eight-way hand-tied spring system, each coil is connected to the springs around it with jute twine. The springs are tied from front to back, from side to side and diagonally, creating a network that holds the entire spring bed together.
It is intricate work – indeed, quite beautiful work: the web of knots and twine is a piece of hidden engineering made entirely by hand.
More importantly, the springs do not behave as isolated strips. When one coil is compressed, the neighbouring springs move with it. As Schplendid founder Rohan puts it, they “work together as a team”. Rather than relying on a series of separate lengths of wire flexing beneath individual points, the spring bed responds collectively across a wider area.
It can also be tailored to the particular sofa. Firmer springs can be placed towards the front, where more resistance is useful, while softer springs at the back allow you to sink more comfortably into the seat. The tension of the ties, the height of the coils and the construction of the sofa can all be adjusted to create the right balance of support, depth and bounce.
It is skilled, time-consuming work. The tension of the ties, the height of the springs and their position all affect the final comfort. Before Schplendid could make them properly, we sent our chief upholsterer away for specialist training; he then passed the skill on to others in the workshop.
For around 200 years, this was how the finest sofas were made.
Why did the sofa industry abandon proper coil springs?
There is an assumption that when an old manufacturing method disappears, it must have been superseded by something better. Occasionally that is true, but in this case the chief innovation was financial.
Zigzag springs took over not because they were better for comfort – they’re clearly not – but because they are cheap, quick and require very little training. They are simply lengths of bent steel fixed between the front and back of the frame, and an experienced production line can install them in minutes.
For a sofa manufacturer, the advantages of zigzag are obvious. They reduce the cost of materials, labour, training and production. They make it possible to build more sofas, more quickly, with fewer skilled craftspeople.
But what’s in it for the customer?
Cheap sofa springs in expensive sofas
Zigzag springs offer neither the adaptability nor the collective support of hand-tied coils, and less scope to control how different parts of the seat respond. Their performance depends heavily on the quality of the steel and springs can detach when those fittings fail. They tend not to last very well.
There is nothing inherently outrageous about using an economical spring system in an economical sofa. A £700 sofa has to make compromises somewhere, and most customers will understand that.
But why are cheap zigzag springs also found in sofas costing £3,000, £4,000 or considerably more?
When a sofa is sold as a premium product, wrapped in language about heritage, craftsmanship and timeless quality, it seems reasonable to expect something better beneath the cushions. Yet expensive sofas often contain exactly the same simple zigzag springs as much cheaper ones.
Why? Because manufacturers can get away with it. This is enshittification in its purest form: replacing a better method with a cheaper one, gradually normalising the shortcut, and continuing to charge the customer as though nothing has been lost.
Why Schplendid went back
We use eight-way hand-tied coil springs because we believe a sofa intended to last should have the best possible foundation.
They create the sort of deep, responsive comfort that zigzag springs struggle to reproduce, and are designed to remain supportive for decades.
They also preserve a craft that has nearly disappeared from mainstream furniture making. Our spring makers take enormous pride in the work, even though once the upholstery is added, most customers will never see it - though they will certainly feel the comfort when they sit on it.
How can we afford to do it?
Our eight-way hand-tied spring system costs us roughly £120 more per three-seat sofa than zigzag springs would. It also requires trained craftspeople and considerably more time in the workshop.
In a conventional sofa business, that additional cost would usually be multiplied as the company applies its percentage margin. Spending another £120 on the sofa might therefore add several hundred pounds to the retail price.
Schplendid works differently, with a radical pricing model.
We aim to make a fixed amount on each sofa rather than applying an ever-larger percentage markup to everything we put into it. When a better material or method costs us more, we pass on that actual additional cost rather than multiplying it.
We can do this because we keep the rest of the business deliberately lean. We do not support a chain of expensive showrooms, large sales teams, permanent promotions or layers of marketing overhead. We spend the money on the sofa instead.
That is how we can use a spring system now normally associated with the very top end of the market without making our sofas available only to the very wealthy.
The same thinking runs through our solid beech frames, natural upholstery layers and Italian goose down cushions.
Zigzag springs became almost universal because they make life easier for manufacturers. We returned to hand-tied coils because they make the sofa better for the person who owns it.
That is what sofa de-schittification means to us: consciously reversing a century of shortcuts, rebuilding quality where it has been stripped away, and returning to better ways of making things.
Our mission is to make beautiful, properly made sofas that can last for generations, and to bring them within reach of as many people as possible, not only those rich enough to spend a small fortune on one.
See also:
Precisely-calibrated comfort: Why we use Eight-Way Hand-Tied Coil Springs in our sofas
10 Ways We’re (Nicely) Shaking Up the Sofa Industry