Loaf, MADE etc sofas

[cheesenpickles]

So, after having a gifted secondhand leather monstrosity of a sofa for 10 years DH and I are about to embark on purchasing our first actual sofa that we've chosen.

We're currently redecorating our living room and I'm loving the design aesthetic of the sofas from places like MADE, Loaf etc and would be happy to up to a slightly higher bracket of these for the right one.

DH however thinks we should just go to DFS because it's closer and get something with the 0% finance and 20-year warranty.

The other places have showrooms but he said "what's the point of going all that way when there's perfectly good sofas at scs, dfs etc".

I have been open minded but I really haven't found a style or colour that I like.

We'll have the sofa for a long time (he said he won't ever buy another one ) and I'm just getting pulled in by Instagram-style stuff.

Can anybody comment on the quality and comfort of the aforementioned loaf, made etc?

He will fold to me but I need to make a damned good case to get him to the further away showrooms in the first instance.

I have a made bed. It’s excellent, quilted headboard with divan base. Looks good and definitely long lasting —- well when you compare it to previous beds- I’m looking at you John Lewis

Have a look at Habitat. I've had sofas that are gorgeous and last for years from there

Sofa Workshop are the same group as DFS now, but from looking at them they seem better quality and nicer styles. Sofa Sofa ones have lasted well in our house, sold our last one as it was in no way ready for the tip. Was looking at getting one from sofa.com but I don't want to subsidise any Instagram influencers so in the middle of picking one from a local independent retailer. For me it's too big a risk to not see a sofa or bed in the flesh hence I won't consider Loaf, Made, Swoon etc.

Sofas and stuff were awful for us. Just avoid fibre filled cushions and feather backs. They cushions went flat and unconmfortable in a few months despite 'fluffing" and the feather backs would sag and give me back ache unless I punched them back into shape every 10 mins. Go for feather wrapped foam, or just foam. NOT fibre or feather alone.

Thanks for that @Justonemorepancake. Good tip. Turns out their head office is in a tiny village near the town I grew up. How spooky is that? Also means that the head office is literally 20 minutes from me and a lovely family day out as well.

Showed my husband their stuff and he is really keen. 0%, lifetime guarantee etc.

Thanks everybody for their fab advice. I will get the sofa of my dreams.

I just ordered 2 Habitat sofas and an arm chair after visiting Made and Loaf. Habitat seemed by far the best. Let's see 😊

We recently bought a large 4 seater, a 2 seat and a chair from Load. They are amazing! So comfortable, excellent fabric, really love them! We went to the showroom first and the sales advisor helped us with colours and matching - absolutely in love! Saving for a bed from them now!

I can highly recommend Long Eaton Sofas. We bought an upholstered bed from them a year or so ago and then two sofas recently. They're beautiful, so comfy and feel really high quality. Massive range of fabrics available - one of ours is in their special easy-clean velvet and it's amazing. You can wipe it with a damp cloth and it's so soft and stroke-able it's honestly like having a pet! Great service, friendly and efficient, and well priced. Little family owned company so probably don't do credit though.

We have a Made sofabed, it still looks great after a year but that's partly because it's so uncomfortable that all the kids tend to choose to sit on the floor instead and use it as a backrest...

Loaf! sorry!

we have a corner suite from Harveys and two years later it looks exactly like it did when we bought it, even the cats havent been able to wreck it, we had to wait for it to be made which was around three months but well worth it, its comfortable easy to clean only downside is being recilner seats at the ends its heavy to move

MADE have the most appalling customer service. I can't comment on the quality of their products because, despite taking my money, they didn't send anything and then got snotty about having to find out what had happened and issue a refund and they did it all without so much as a sorry. Fuckers.

I am sitting on a 3 seater Ektorp from IKEA. It has firm cushions; is a decent height off the ground so I don't struggle to get up and has removable, washable covers (and lots of places where you can buy covers to "upgrade" the upholstery). It was also cheap AND as it came ready to assemble (very simple job) it went through my 69 cms house opening. I am very pleased. I bought it as many on here recommmended it.

Definitely visit the showrooms and try some out before buying. I spent a while looking for new sofas for our flat and went to the showrooms of Made, Loaf and sofa.com. I found that sofa.com sofas were much more comfortable than the others and ordered two from them. We're very happy and get a lot of compliments on them. Plus, their frames are guaranteed for life which is a plus.

I took the plunge and bought our first proper new sofa recently. I fell in love with a sofology sofa. I read the reviews and was
so worried about ordering it, as the reviews were really bad usually linked to very poor customer services if there was anything wrong. I looked at MADE, loaf and many others but couldn't find anything like the sofology one.

the deciding factor was reading reviews for all the sofa companies and finding the same bad reviews for costumer services.
I went and had a look at some DFS sofas with the intention of paying half of what the sofology one costs and changing my expection, I found there sofas comparison really crap quality even if spending the same on them.

I went for the sofology one but only after checking again and again the quality of the cushions. I just kept my fingers crossed my sofa wouldn't have any issues! because that is when peoples nightmares started.
My sofa is beautiful and the most comfy sofa I have ever sat on, when people come round it's the first thing the say when they sit on it, and don't want to get out of it.

I cannot eco enough what a PP said about the foam.
Go for feather wrapped foam, or just foam. NOT fibre or feather alone

do your research on the different grades of cushion filler and then find out what your perspective sofa is filled with and if you can change it.

oh and I would avoid leather sofas from any of the high street sofa shops, mainly because they are the ones that came up the most in the reviews as really poor quality with patching and colour rubbing off in a matter of months.

Our Made.com upholstered bench faded after a few months from beautiful charcoal grey to a spotty blueish mess. It’s also quite uncomfortable. I would never get a sofa from them.

I’ve got a 3 seater sofa from Made. It’s very comfy, I’ve had surgery recently and have been sleeping in it as I couldn’t get comfortable in bed, as I need to lay on my back, and I was worried about DP rolling into me. I can lay full length on the sofa and it’s like sleeping on clouds.

Some great tips here. Thank you. We're going to check some out in person tomorrow to get a feel for it and will be going armed with questions about filler etc.

here's a link to different fillings www.feather-fibre-foam-cushions.co.uk/filling-types/

Stay well clear of a sofa that is just hollow fibre.(they feel lovely and squishy in The shop) The cushions will be flat as a pancake very quickly!

Good luck OP with your visit. Keep us posted.

Daedric I'm looking at the Next Stamford Stamford and it says the cushions are high back and feather-filled bolster cushions. Leather seat cushions are fixed and have a pocket sprung unit with a fibre topper and fibre filled bolster cushions. Back and bolster cushions are non reversible.
Would you say in theory that meets the threshold for cushion comfort that you are speaking about? Every time I look at negative online reviews across the board (and there are lots) - the disappointed recipients seems to have been delivered cushions that are completely different to ones tested in showrooms. Also standards prior to 2016 seem to have been higher.

Actually I think my selected sofa is exactly what Justonemorepancake says should be avoided. I might need to reconsider again.

OP interested to know what you decide...

Fortysix oh, I'm no expert! I just someone who goes in to deep obsession mode and learns everything I can about something when needed then instantly forgets it when I no longer need to know

I've looked at the link and the description. it looks and sounds like the base that the seat cushions sit on is pocket sprung with a topping, and the seat cushions are just fibre? I'm not sure I've read it right though.

The best thing you can do is go look at it and ask them exactly what the seat cushions consist off. If it is just fibre, find out if they are hollow fibre? you can ask if they do seat cushions in foam? or a foam wrap?

I also found the reviews for crappy seat cushions became a thing more recently. the sales people tell you it normal and if you don't sit in the same place every time and fluff them everyday there is no problem...even making out it lazy customers not looking after their sofas properly, causing the bad reviews.

I've had second hand sofas for years and treated them with no thought and still didn't have saggy seats and flat cushions so I tended to believe it more about cheap materials being used.

Made customer service is hard work if something doesn't go right. We had 4 deliveries weeks apart and lots of fannying around because one of the panels on an upholstered bed had an over dyed patch on it. It looks nice now but I wouldn't use them again.

Possibly unreasonable but I'm put off Loaf by the amount of free sofas they give out to instagram influencers. Makes me think they must be really overpriced.