Sofa Doesn't Have To Be Hard. Read These 9 Tips
Hours exploring couches from the top online furniture
Companies and interviewing experts on couch construction and
design. Then we brought seven couches into our workplace--creating
The ultimate showroom--and encouraged members of our
After all that,
We recommend Joybird as the couch company that provides the
Best couches that work for many people. We believe Joybird
Couches give the ideal mix of durability, comfort, and
Affordability for individuals moving into their first home or
apartment.
We recently discovered that Joybird, the maker of our top pick, has begun to charge for transport: The
Company now imposes a curbside delivery fee of $99 to $149, and an in-home delivery fee of $149.
Change our overall decision regarding the sofa. We've updated the delivery, return, and warranty
Our pick
Of all of the couches we tested, Joybird's offers the best mix of quality construction, comfort, and price.
The company's wide range of midcentury-inspired styles come under the umbrella of a generous
365-day return policy.
Joybird provides an appealing couch, washed with a midcentury sheen, at a moderate price. If the
Model that we tested is indicative of the company's other models, its couches are comfortable
and well-made. While Joybird isn't the best choice for everyone--and the model we tested isn't
A style that will suit everyone--we think that, with the range of sofas this company offers, it's
A great fit for many men and women. To counteract the natural skittishness that may arise when you're
(Figuring out if a couch works for your lifestyle takes at least two weeks.)
Also great
Super-customizable, Speedy turnaround
BenchMade Modern puts customization within reach of the average person at a competitive price. It
meticulously constructed.
Wait time of eight to 12 weeks, BenchMade Modern typically gives the ability to make
a sofa in seven days (its current turnaround time is 21 days and beyond for premium fabrics and
There's a premium for speed,
Though, and BenchMade Modern's sofas are also a little more expensive than those from Joybird.
Budget pick
Report Ceni Sofa
However, Article's cushions are thinner and its proportions are less generous.
Article's sofa is a good upscale budget pick; it's more comfortable, better constructed, and more
uniquely styled than our other budget pick, IKEA's Kivik sofa.
Was more stiff and less comfortable than our main pick, Joybird's Korver sofa. Offering a nice
Selection of full-size styles, Article makes its sofas available in a couple of fabric choices that can be
Dispatched in a couple of days, selling for just under $1,000.
Budget pick
Simple and very cheap
IKEA Kivik Sofa
If you are in a hurry to Buy a couch and cash is the biggest factor in making your decision,
We think your best bet is to head to IKEA (you can also order IKEA's sofas on its site).
Though we love IKEA's simple Scandinavian styling, its couches are neither well-constructed
nor particularly comfortable. However, their affordability, their availability, and the company's
yearlong return policy for unused merchandise makes IKEA's offerings our budget pick.
Why You Need to trust us
I've been writing about home design since 2008, first for Apartment Therapy and now for a
range of shelter-focused publications, including California Home + Design, where I am the
editor-at-large for Los Angeles. I've reviewed dozens of products, I've interviewed a significant
Number of interior designers and artisans about the details of furniture quality, construction, and
design, and I've read hundreds of articles on furniture and soft goods. I'm also a known couch
Commitment-phobe who has swapped out her couch seven times in a decade.
We interviewed Betsy Burnham, a veteran of the interior-design industry who has overseen the
construction of sofas throughout her career and recently launched her own direct-to-consumer
Couch company, Wardrobe by Betsy Burnham, which provides craftsman-constructed pieces with
eight-way hand-tied spring coils and down-wrapped foam cushions. We also spoke with Natalie
Berschneider Wiweke of Gina Berschneider, Inc. in Los Angeles's La Cienega Design Quarter, a
purveyor of custom-made sofas for notable interior designers. In addition, we talked with Greg
Upson, regional sales manager for the Greater Los Angeles Area at the UK-based George Smith,
One of the major retailers of handmade, high-end sofas. And to choose our finalists, we also
read dozens of blogs, reviews, and articles about sofas and sofa construction.
Everyone needs a couch
When it comes to furnishing a first home or apartment, after spending money on a mattress,
Buying a couch often accounts for the largest expense. Although there are no rules regarding how
Much to budget for a sofa, we suggest considering its cost-per-use factor. Consider its many jobs:
In a first home that may not have a separate guest room, it doubles as a bed for overnight
visitors. It offers seating for people of different shapes and sizes. It's the site of Netflix
marathons. Kids and animals abuse it. And it is a spot for afternoon naps. That's a lot of wear
And tear on one piece of furniture. To handle its many chores, it needs to be fairly durable and
comfortable.
While a well-made couch may last 10 years, and a particularly sturdy one, reupholstered from
Time to time, may endure for a lifetime, the average lifespan of a couch--and the point at which it has
Lost 75 percent of its value--is five to six decades. As a conservative estimate, consider this: If you
Keep your couch for five years and sit on it for two hours every day for 350 days out of the year, that
is 3,500 hours of couch sitting over its lifetime.
How we picked
For this first guide to couches, we looked for sofas that would be suitable for people moving into
Their first house or apartment. We sought couches that hit the sweet spot of durability, comfort,
Price, and availability of fashions. More specifically, we wanted to find sofas that were readily
available to all customers, including those living outside of big cities, and that could be ordered
online. We looked for couches that offered some customization, such as fabric selection, and
Businesses that extended a generous return policy (because in case you hate your sofa, or it does not fit
Into your space, you might want to return it). We looked for affordable couches and pieces that
offered contemporary styling plus thoughtful construction details that suggested that your new
sofa won't fall apart two weeks after it arrives.
While we began by looking at couches from retailers such as Bloomingdale's and Macy's, as
Well as pieces from familiar resources such as CB2, Pottery Barn, and West Elm, we found
Ourselves focused on an increasingly popular subset of couches: those that are available on the internet,
That are designed and sold by the same company, and that at their base price cost less than
$2,000. As reported in The New York Times (parent company of The Wirecutter and The
Sweethome), this is a fast-growing category. And for good reason: The average couch-buying
experience is frustrating. At the very least it's time consuming--you have styles to Think about,
Sizes to account for, and, ideally, a couple of solid hours spent sitting on showroom models before you
Decide to take one home. Even test-driving a sofa can be deceiving. Customers are often
Disappointed to discover that the same model they loved in the store is noticeably firmer when
It's delivered new to their home. Floor models are more indicative of how your couch will feel
Once you've broken it in. Then there's the "what's under the hood" element to take into account. Myriad
tiny details of construction ultimately determine a couch's comfort and durability, and schooling
Oneself on them can be overwhelming to a first-time couch buyer who merely wants to find
Something to fill up that cavernous space in their living room as fast as possible.
