Sofas - where do we look?

[Equimum]

We're about to move and need to buy some new sofas, and possibly an arm chair. We're buying a lovely cottage, so want sonething quite traditional, but that's also comfy and will last a little while.

We have a budget of upto £2.5k, and probably need one largish sofa, and either a smaller sofa (I.e 2 person) or two arm chairs.

Have looked at Laura Ashley, Next, John Lewis, DFS (!) etc, but no idea of quality, longevity etc.

So, if you've bought a sofa in the last few years, where was it from and would you recommend?

TIA

[PanannyPanoo]

www.sofasofa.co.uk/fabric-sofas.html

We got 2 Wentworth sofas from here. 1 is a sofa bed for our lounge in the old part of the house and a corner sofa for our extension. They have all worn really well and still look like new 18 months later with a cat and 2 grubby children! The customer service is excellent. We paid extra for the stain resistance and bought a spare set of covers. In case of sickness/ potty training accidents etc.

[llangennith]

Somehow I seem to have bought rather a lot of sofas over the years what with moving house a few times. Multiyork: overpriced and nothing special.
DFS: comfy, good quality and great after sales/customer service
Marks&Spencer: as DFS but make sure you sit on the sofa as the quality and comfort varies

[Bumblebeebuzzybee]

We've had really good use from our multiyork sofa - agree it is pricey but they do have a clearance section and if you're anywhere near Mellis (not far from Ipswich) they have a showroom full of returned stock (i.e. that someone ordered then changed their mind on the colour or similar!) that you can browse and buy a lot cheaper than the full price stuff.

[curcur]

Sofa.com is excellent quality with styles to suit all.

[Equimum]

Thank-you ladies. Funnily enough, we had a look in multiyork today and are definitely considering one or two options. Unfortunately, though, we're nowhere near Mellis.

Pananny, I'd never heard of that site, but they have a few possible options too - thank-you.

[GruffaloPants]

I'd recommend Ercol.

[wonkylegs]

We've got a fab Multiyork one that's now about 14yrs old and still going strong this is our main sofa - it was expensive but paid for itself.
We also have a sofabed from John Lewis that's quite good too

Family room sofa is Ektorp from ikea which is surprisingly good & comfy for the price and is lasting well despite being used as a trampoline by the kids - I bought 2 covers just in case when we got it but one is still packed away clean on top of the wardrobe

Will never ever buy a sofa from Furniture village again - we had a lovely looking one with matching chairs, such cheap construction the frame snapped within a month, rude manager told me when I phoned up to try to sort it out that I was obviously too fat
Even if I had been of the larger size (I was a rather small size 6, 4'11 lady at the time which made it rather than offensive) it didn't come with a weight limit and apparently we must have been using it wrong - he seemed to indicate you couldn't sit on it at least not 2 of you at once.
They faffed us about for ages and were incredibly rude.

[allthebestplease]

Have a look at Swoon. And made.com

[TattiePants]

I love Sofa Workshop. The first sofa I bought there is still going strong 9 years later and I bought a second sofa for a different room last year. They are now owned by the same company as DFS but the frames are handmade, they have a 25(?) year guarantee and there is a huge choice of fabrics and colours.

[sunshine7981]

Darlings of Chelsea

[dontcallmelen]

Sofa.com have some lovely sofas, we have the bluebell large & small sofa very comfortable & have worn well.
They have a showroom in Chelsea, the popular ranges are usually in stock & customer service & delivery was excellent.

[Equimum]

Thanks everyone, lots of really useful idea here.

[NomDePlumeReloaded]

Sofa.com (great quality, very well made and fantastic customer service)
Loaf.com (owned by sofa.com so same quality etc but more 'relaxed' styles)
Sofa workshop
Tetrad (a manufacturer, good quality and stocked in most independent furniture shops)
Duresta (again, manufacturer stocked in independent stores - expensive though)
Darlings of Chelsea (we got our Tetrad leather Chesterfields from the Fulham High St branch, they also stock Duresta)

[ZiggyForever]

John Lewis - great quality and brilliant customer service. And it still looks pristine two years on.

[TheTurnOfTheScrew]

Our John Lewis ones are bearing up nicely under severe stress from the DC and the cats. We have two two seaters (which easily seat 3) and I think they were about £900 each.

Our last ones were habitat which lasted well and look great BUT we bought the online, and they just weren't quite comfy enough.

[DerelictWreck]

I would absolutely stick with John Lewis for quality alone. Not to mention great customer service and guarantees, great range and you can alter most pieces by choosing fabric and wood!

[FutureMrsTempah]

If I had the cash I'd go for Ercol, for value for money look at nabru. It's an online company (they do have a few showrooms) and they can make a sofa to fit your room! We've had ours for about 2.5 years and it still looks really good