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Of Couches and Costs
emp123
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm moving into my own apartment in a couple of weeks and I need to buy a sofa. I basically know nothing about furniture and I've never purchased a sofa before so I'm only now realizing that these things are pretty damn expensive (I'm sure my preference for leather is entirely to blame).
Are stores like West Elm and EQ3 worth their mild price premium over Ikea (I'm seeing a 2-500 difference)? Ethan Allen/Crate & Barrel/Pottery Barn are only a couple hundred dollars over that.
I'm torn between not wanting to spend an arm and a leg and wanting to not end up with something thats going to fall apart in a couple of years. Googling reviews hasnt been super helpful because apparently everybody hates everything (I'm well dissatisfied people are going to be more vocal than happy people, and when it comes to furniture I have no idea how people are using their stuff and what their budgets were so).
And before anyone tells me to just troll craigslist until I find the perfect sofa, I'm not fundamentally opposed, but come Feb 1 I basically wont have anywhere to sit, I dont own a truck, and I dont know anyone who owns a truck.
Are stores like West Elm and EQ3 worth their mild price premium over Ikea (I'm seeing a 2-500 difference)? Ethan Allen/Crate & Barrel/Pottery Barn are only a couple hundred dollars over that.
I'm torn between not wanting to spend an arm and a leg and wanting to not end up with something thats going to fall apart in a couple of years. Googling reviews hasnt been super helpful because apparently everybody hates everything (I'm well dissatisfied people are going to be more vocal than happy people, and when it comes to furniture I have no idea how people are using their stuff and what their budgets were so).
And before anyone tells me to just troll craigslist until I find the perfect sofa, I'm not fundamentally opposed, but come Feb 1 I basically wont have anywhere to sit, I dont own a truck, and I dont know anyone who owns a truck.
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Whats considered a mid tier sofa manufacturer?
In terms of finding out what you like, your best option is what hsu said - you won't know unless you try them out, so there's no harm in going to several different stores and getting a feel for that directly. The other things to account for are budget and size - you should 100% measure your space and make sure that whatever you get fits within that space comfortably.
In terms of actually buying something, I've had a lot of good luck with warehouse stores that are tucked away in industrial zones instead of the retail places with fancy showrooms. They get their stuff from the same factories, using the same catalogs, except they save you money on having a lot less overhead.
Oh, and if you end up with 4 bases they also sell a feather top that you can add to turn the whole thing into a queen size bed. And that bed isn't crap, either. It's great for guests and they'll actually sleep well.
And they're often cheaper in the stores than online.
http://www.thisendup.com/collections/1/ClassicCollection.htm
Reasonably priced, and the reason we replaced it was for a sectional, but these are both still in good condition a decade later. It is heavy as fuck though. Solid wood heavy. Do not move this shit in yourself.
If non leather is an option:
We quickly scuttled the frame up to the apartment, left the pillow that was there in the dumpster, and ran out to a futon store and bought a new mattress for it. They are standard sizes, and the whole ordeal cost us 300ish bucks and the sweat of getting it up to the apartment. All that being said, I'm not really sure why someone left it. It comes apart.
Personally, or futon is plenty comfortable and pretty utilitarian. We got some ottomans and a bunch of extra pillows to extend its comfort. Had we not found the frame, we would have probably just gotten an Ikea couch
For normal couches, consignment stores, if you live in the right kinda town, can sometimes have overstock that is decently priced.
They normally rent furniture, but they have warehouses that sell the used stuff that's in good condition for cheap. What I've seen was pretty high quality.
Dunno about their sofas.
My living room & bedroom sets are from Bernie & Phyl's while my dining room set is from Jordan's, both New England based retailers. Let me just say, it was really weird spending more on my furniture sets than on my computer.
As for moving difficulty, since I bought a reclining loveseat, the steel frame came apart right in the middle, so the movers could bring it into the house piecemeal, reassembling it in my living room.
generally with furniture you get exactly what you pay for, in my experience
As someone who has moved 3 times in the last year and a half (once to move in with sig other, once when we needed to relocate for a job, and a third when the sig other and I realized we needed more space after the job relocation and getting married), I can't stress the pain in the ass to get in the apartment part enough. If you live in a three story walk up, for the love of all that is good and right, avoid a heavy reclining couch unless you're having someone else do the carrying in or out part
I also suggest looking at bargain stores. After we got ours from a regular furniture place I found ones that I actually liked better at places like Big Lots and Sams Club for much less (I can't vouch for how long those one last, though the way I use my couch, even a nice one is only good for a few years). I'd avoid IKEA ones, when I looked there I could not find a single one that was even remotely comfortable, though again there's no harm in just going to the store and finding out for yourself if you like any or not.
A Jonathan Lewis was what I went with, and the brand seems pretty middle grade w/r/to price. Construction/quality was definitely a notch up from the bottom budget lines, but it was affordable enough that I didn't have to finance. I suppose those are all relative metrics though. If you do have to finance the rates can be predatory if you've poor credit.
Shops I went to had a "custom" side and that brand was on the cheaper end of "custom". The non-custom side were usually models that were in stock and could be picked up or delivered that day (depending on delivery scheduling) and were available in 2-3 colors. Custom couches usually had many color/fabric options, but anything not in stock would take 4-6 weeks.
One thing a salesperson had said that stood out to me was that she liked how on such-and-such couch the lining underneath (what you'd feel if you grabbed underneath the couch) was higher quality and better attached and since that was a piece you're likely never to see or touch that it may be indicative of a higher build quality throughout. May have just been a line, but it'll be something I look at when next I need to buy furniture.
Also looked at a brand called Catnapper cause they had couches with sprung cushions (interior springs like a bed mattress). They offer a lot of support and are less likely to deform over time. Most of their options were leather or faux leather (a microfiber that looks and feels like suede) so you might like those.
Running up to Xmas the delivery charge was $99, but last week they were saying $139 (am in Texas). Those seemed to be negotiable though, especially if you pay cash. Renting a Uhaul and a sixer for a friend to help load/unload would be cheaper.
I was more comfortable in the local stores than the national chains, though the big chains may carry some of the exact same pieces at a slightly lower price.
Take measurements. I'm not sure why, but they will sell couches that are very difficult if not impossible to get though a standard sized (typically 36") exterior doorway. Unless you've a sliding/double door exterior door I'd avoid the "overstuffed" style of couch.
Edit: I'd check consignment stores, but I found the selection to be mostly dated and anything in decent shape was not really cheaper than a new alternative.
Ohh god yes this. I too have a reclining sofa. It is almost never used in reclining mode, and it must weight an extra 200 lbs.
Yeah, I should probably be factoring in weight since even though the apartment seems totally livable long term (its even rent controlled) theres always the possibility that I may need to move for some reason. But basically everything I read says heavier = better quality.
And I'm a little wary of going with Ikea in general since most of the stuff they have doesnt seem to be made for a person my height (6'4).
Thanks for the suggestions guys, I really appreciate it.
Although I think my question may be more about determining quality than where to find quality. I kinda have the frame stuff down (hard wood, wrapped cushions), but I have no idea when it comes to leather. I guess just scratch test the samples?
You don't need to! Google "man with a van" for your area and make sure the man will help you move the sofa. Shouldn't be more than delivery from a chain store. Be cautious about bed bugs though.
I really like my IKEA sofa.
But if you are somewhere between 80s heroin Keith Richards and average like me, you'll think their stuff is great.
but they're listening to every word I say
I'm a person that cant really do used upholstered stuff because the idea of bed bugs and the abuse couches go through kinda squicks me out. That's why the futon works well for us, the frame was free but its so easy to replace the mattress. My boyfriend is also 6'3 with lower back issues, so we actually keep the futon down all the time:
One upside is we have a big enough room that its not like you are walking around a giant thing all the time. The other upside is BF can lay flat on it to keep him out of the sitting position that hurts him. The only real down side is that we are generally too lazy to make it back into a couch. This isn't a problem for us, but man if you ever wanted to have a clear meter of your friends general spacial bubble, have a bed-couch in your living room. 40% of the people we have over pull over an office chair from one of our nearby desks, its facinating.
Anyway, That solution works with our artist quirkiness. I really encourage you to buy what you actually need and not buy the biggest, baddest leather reclining couch just because someone will deliver it. Also if you are that tall, you might consider that a lazy-boy style single person recliner will accommodate your height more efficiently, space wise, than trying to find a couch that can accommodate you length wise laying down. I think recliners are mad uncomfortable, personally, but to each their own.
Oh I'm not falling for that again!
Yeah, I'm 6'4 205lbs so I'm gunna go with larger than most. I would like not having to worry about breaking whatever I'm sitting on.
If I was in an apartment I'd definitely buy one again. It's pretty easy to move and has been moved several times over the years. And I think the only assembly for it is screwing on the legs and putting on the cover.
Edit: IKEA definitely does have some flimsy stuff. But if something fells noticeably flimsy in the store, just don't buy it. I feel like a lot of their futons would fall into this category.
In my experience their couches/etc are prepretty comparable to the low-mid end furniture stores I've been to. And to really get more than marginally better stuff was usually looking at an order of magnitude higer price (I.e. in the thousands+ for a couch).
If you don't know your future more than 2 years out - don't buy a super nice sofa. Find a nice one on CL then rent a truck if you need to (uhauls are like 30-50 bucks for the day). People sell multi-thousand dollar couches for pennies on the dollar every day. Our current place we got a 3k+ sectional for 500 because the people selling the house didn't want to deal with it.
I generally don't advocate buying nice furniture until you're definitely planning on being somewhere 5 or more years.
However. A sofa is a very personal choice. You need to go out there and test out a couple of different sofas.
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
I just dont know if the EQ3 is worth the money over the West Elm, and if the Ethan Allen/Crate & Barrel/Potter Barns are worth the $500 over the EQ3.
It's nice stuff, don't get me wrong - but you can get something that's basically 80% as good for 50% of the price.
One thing to look out for in couches are screw-in legs with single, large screws, rather than either integrated feet or feet that are held on by multiple screws. The screw-in legs are convenient in that you can easily remove them to make it easier to fit through doorways, etc., but over time the wood around the screw will break down. I mean, these are couches: you're going to flop into them, bounce on them, push them around the room to get the thing that dropped behind them, etc. All of this wear and tear will cause the screw to slightly enlarge the hole it's in. Then the feet will get wobbly, which makes them degrade the holes faster, etc., and there won't be much you can do about it.
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When you find a couch you like, write down the manufacturer and SKU. (You might need to ask to see the store's catalog to get that info.) Then look around online for prices.
That said, quality furniture is expensive. What I'm talking about is buying a "$2000" couch for $1k.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Yeah never get Ikea delivered. Always pickup. If you can't dont buy it.
but they're listening to every word I say
Granted I know I could save money if I ditched leather, but I'd really rather not.
While I can afford a brand new sofa, the expensiveness puts it in the what's the point category.