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Original poster

To spend nearly 3k on new sofas?

103 replies

Sonearandyetsofa · 07/11/2017 18:12

The sofas in our house have seen better days. 2 are over 15 years old, they were expensive at the time but are now worn and battered, the seats are worn so I have to keep . The other is newer but was only ever bought as a cheap temporary measure.

So I feel time has come to replace them. I've been to see ( yes I know not everyone's a fan) and seen a couple of ranges I like. But by the time I've bought 3 sofas and s footsrool it's basically £2600-2700. Which is a lot of money. But if they last another 15 years isn't much per year really.

So wibu to go and buy them? If I order this week I can get them by Christmas. Hoping I can also get the 4 years interest free credit too.

OP posts:
PickAChew · 08/11/2017 16:52

M&s do sofas in that basic style. We got ours on one of their furniture twofers.

LML83 · 11/11/2017 09:12

DFS have different ranges. There is cheap rubbish but their more expensive ranges are as good as anyone's.

My mum is on her second Dfs suit, first one lasted 12 years and it was in great condition at the end, just wanted a new style. Current one is 6 years old and looks new.

carelessproffessional · 11/11/2017 09:26

We have loads of sofas. Not one is newer than 12 years old. The DFS one is 19 year sols and still fab - completely sound . Ive washed the cover s more times than I can remember and it is still my favourite sofa - it's velvet so now all beautifully faded and vintagey and wankershops would sell it second hand for a bomb. Oh - we have 5 kids and dogs too.

Buy what you like.

DefinitelyOdd · 11/11/2017 11:26

I went to DFS for my four seater sofa, swivel chair and footstool when we bought our house and they still look brand new. So I have no qualms with their quality.

What annoyed me was their bloody sales pushing. Even when I said clearly that I didn't want the 'matching' extra cushions because I am allergic to real feathers, the man still pushed and pushed. And as for wanting us to get the payment plan despite us having all the money upfront - I nearly walked away. I won't mention when they delivered the wrong colour swivel chair and all that mess.

So quality isn't an issue for me. But their service left a lot to be desired. When we replace our stuff I will definitely look elsewhere.

Elisajane123 · 05/12/2017 15:18

Don't buy from d.f.s. There customer aftercare is disgusting, a few months ago I purchased a £4000 leather suite from them , I emailed them last week to complain that since we purchased them ny 82 yr old husband and myself have developed itchy skin rashes and lumps under our skin . I explained I was aware that there leather furniture was made in. China , and a few years ago it was common knowledge in press , tv , and social media that little sachets of toxic powder was put inside to prevent mouldy and dampness in transit .it was supposed to have been banned but this makes me wonder .
When the manager rang me to discuss he said he had never heard of it ,this I don't believe . he was most unsympathetic , I told him I would like the furniture removed and replaced as we could not use it .but he was not interested . Since then I have emailed head office but they have not even bothered to reply . I think they must think I am some silly old woman who does not know what she's saying .
Has anyone else suffered the same condition please , and if so can you suggest what I can do next m we are desperate

Honeybooboo123 · 05/12/2017 15:24

have you looked at ikea? Our's have lasted well.

TroelsLovesSquinkies · 05/12/2017 15:26

Have a look online at their clearance. They have the lounger, big chair and footstool on it and the total is under £1000 in green though.
Here

ladystarkers · 05/12/2017 15:28

My sofa is 10 years old and seen better days. After we move I’d spend that on new ones, buy quality and hopefully they last.

Elisajane123 · 05/12/2017 15:30

We have recently purchased a leather one from dfs but it has affected my husband and my skin , we both have itchy skin in all parts of our body that touch the furniture there leather furniture is made in China
China , and apparently they were banned from putting the little toxic sachets in them but I wonder if they have started again , it was not a cheap suite and I'll never buy from them again most unhelpful aftercare service from manager but I not finished yet

Chrys2017 · 05/12/2017 15:34

Get yourself a couple of second hand Chesterfields off eBay. It'll cost you a couple hundred quid and you can leave them to your children in your will.

As a society we need to get out of this habit of buying cheap new furniture and constantly replacing it.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 05/12/2017 15:41

We bought a 4 and a 2 seater end of line leather sofa in the John Lewis sale 12 years ago (had to get them from 2 different branches). When they came one was missing a leather scatter cushion (which we didn't want anyway) so they knocked another £100 off. An absolute bargain for £1700, still in great nick today.

user1471550517 · 05/12/2017 15:42

I've worked for a well known sofa company (not DFS but has been linked to on this thread) and all the shops pretty much use the same manufacturers - I've been to one manufacturer in this country and saw all the brand names lining up next to each other being made, so they really are much of a muchness.

There's a warehouse in Haydock called Sofatraders - all overstock / ex display from a large sofa shop based in the NW. Worth a look.

Queeniebed · 05/12/2017 15:49

I spent £4000 on a large corner, three seater and large love seat - for two different rooms. They were needed as we inherited one with the house and the other had been commandeered by the dog - she is only allowed on that one now. Perfectly happy (until I found I must have conceived about the same time as the order and wished I had held back - and given sticky fingers a few years to pass)

Mummaofboys · 05/12/2017 15:51

I think that sounds reasonable, I wouldn’t want to pay less than that for sofas, I don’t know think sofas last 15years though however much you pay, you sit on it everyday general wear and tear, you wouldn’t keep a bed for 15years with all the dead skin cells and sweat.

DailyMaileatmyshit · 05/12/2017 15:56

Spending 3k on sofas (as long as you can afford them) is not unreasonable however spending 3k on sofas from DFS is. They will not last. They are not worth the money.

We've just replaced our sofa - it was 7.5 years old and still in great condition, it just didn't fit in the new house (corner sofa but our living room has no two straight walls!) we spent £2300 on sofas in the sale from the same place we got the last one. I do believe you pay for quality.

HopingForSomeSnow · 05/12/2017 15:59

I'd be waiting for the sales after Xmas...

Ellie56 · 05/12/2017 16:00

DFS is way overpriced. Have you looked at Harveys? We got ours from there 8 years ago and they still look like new.

LunasSpectreSpecs · 05/12/2017 16:00

Get them refurbished. We had our 15 year old sofas cleaned, they refilled the cushions and repaired some of the stitching which had split. Cost about £150 and was SO worth it. I'm very much of the opinion that you should keep things until they are absolutely falling to bits, cut the waste.

MIL has been through about 5 sofas since we've had ours, she gets "bored" of them so chucks out and gets new. So, so wasteful.

JaneEyre70 · 05/12/2017 16:03

My DH runs an upholstery business, and what you need are something with solid wood frames, coil sprung or mesh top seat units and they will last you years. Then you can just recover every 10 years rather than throw away. His bugbear are firms like DFS that sell credit rather than furniture. Or try a local company, you may be surprised what it will cost you if they're not paying massive shop unit prices like High Street/out of town stores. Or try the Ercol factory outlet on FB or Twitter. We've had our sofas 18 years, and they are so grubby it's an embarassment but we've just chosen the fabric to recover them....structurally they are still sound.

SquishyMcNuggetFace · 05/12/2017 16:13

We got our suite from the charity shop. Practically brand new and under £300 for two sofas. Worth looking into.

Yogagirl123 · 05/12/2017 16:13

We recently replaced our sofas, as the previous ones were falling to bits, we went to Furniture Village, had no end of problems with the sofas, we chose, eventually after a lot of messing around we reselected and are at last happy. My advice would be to take care choosing, the original sofas that we had delivered were nothing like the high quality ones in their showroom, also be prepared for a long wait, the first lot of sofas took 10 weeks, the second lot around 6 weeks so that wasn’t too bad. Go for a quality brand, ie Parker knoll, G plan or Duresta would be my advice for longevity. Most of the sofas featured in showrooms these days are poor quality, Chinese imports and won’t last 5mins IMHO.

PunjanaTea · 05/12/2017 16:31

Not sure why I feel the need to defend them, but my DFS sofas have lasted well over 10 years, so they’re not all shit.

sparklepops123 · 05/12/2017 16:37

We bought our corner leather sofa from sofology, interest free, it was supposed to be approx £30 month but we increased to £100, so will be paid off years earlier if that's an option

Motoko · 05/12/2017 17:51

We bought a sofabed from a brand that we thought would be good quality. Initials are LA. (A bit more upmarket than M&S.) It was in the sale, reduced from £1400 to £700.
By 6 months, the cushions were sagging towards the middle and it was really uncomfortable. It ended up in one of the bedrooms.

11 years ago, we got a 3 seater Karlanda sofa with chaise in the bargain corner at Ikea. It was ex-display and cost £350. The removable covers have been washed loads of times, and the only thing wrong with it, is the cats have scratched one arm and shredded the cover there. Structurally it's sound, and the cushions are still plump.
I've just ordered a new cover from Bemz, in their Black Friday sale, which cost £183, so it's been excellent value.

I always recommend Ikea sofas after my experience. They're good quality, not expensive, and you can get new covers to freshen them up with a new look.

It's been a month since @Sonearandyetsofa started this thread, I wonder what she decided to get in the end.

Jojopugh · 05/12/2017 18:06

We spent £3900 on our first sofa. I must say it's still lovely 12 years on. If you can afford it have it. If not have a look on websites like eBay, gumtree, Schpock. They have some good things !