To buy a new sofa

[Sizeofalentil]

Realise this isn't the most serious problem in the world but need advice from people who won't bullshit me.

I love our current sofa, it's a vintage velvet squishy thing that cost me £15 6 years ago, but after a giant husband, 4+ pets, two house moves and a toddler it has pretty much given up the ghost. The legs have even fallen off and the cats have clawed it through to the bones.

I can't find anything I like secondhand for less than £200, plus delivery fees, so ordered one from Dunelm in their sale for £489 (down from £600).

It will be the only new thing we own. Everything else is eBay/ vintage/ freebies.

I've bought a cover for it to protect it from the worst violence, and it will be covered in throws too.

Am I an idiot? DH thinks this will end in tears.

(Not to drip feed but the money came from my nan's will. If I didn't spend it on something physical it would stay in the bank as toddler too young/rambunctious for lovely holidays. Also, DH now on a good wage so while £500 is loads and loads, we're not on the bones of our arse anymore like we were 6 years ago)

Buy it with your inheritance- your nan would have wanted you to be able to sit without doing yourself an injury!

There's nothing wrong in buying new if you can afford. I bought my current sofa through a Facebook selling page for £300. It's in fab condition and is a bargain in my book as the same sofa in DFS is £1500+. I previously bought a sofa brand new which was £1800. Like you it ended up ripped to shreds by the cat with multiple toddler spills. I couldn't justify buying new again and simply can't afford it. But I think there's nothing wrong with buying new if you can afford.
Enjoy your sofa 🛋

You have the money, your old one is ruined .......I don't understand how buying a new one could be unreasonable.

Why does he think it will end in tears? Getting a new sofa is a a fairly normal thing to do?

That's a good price op. Like you everything we own has been sourced free, second hand, cast offs etc and we brought new sofa from IKEA.
It's nerve wracking but it has washable cover which was key with small dc etc.

Enjoy your sofa!

Treat yourself- also look at factory places for cheaper end of line sofas.Mine were £500 for both down from 1200

You need a new sofa so you bought one. What's the issue?

I just bought 2 new sofas . I have no guilt. They are the first brand new sofas I've ever bought, and I'm nearly 50.

The only problem is getting rid of the old sofas, nobody wants cat scratched, paint splattered, dated sofas it seems.

My DH had a small inheritance recently and spent a good chunk of it on some display furniture for things he collects as the one he had was battered and old, like your sofa. It wasn't an issue for me, even though our finances are shared 100%. And your sofa will benefit the whole family, OP.

Thank you all - I'm actually genuinely surprised that everyone is agreeing with me.

I think his main point was that the baby pees and vomits on everything, and one of our cats in particular has destroyed everything I've ever loved, so he's worried I'll get upset if my dream sofa become a scratching post /toddler toilet week 1.

He also said there's not much point in buying something new if I'm just going to cover it up. BUT I'll know it's there!

I think he's also slightly worried that he won't be allowed to sit on it - the rivets in his jeans shredded the old one, and he once got told off for leaving a sweaty head mark on the wall behind the old sofa

Old sofa I'm too emotionally attached to to bin, so will be put in the dining room / about-to-become-a-playroom. Think he has a genuine fear that he'll be relegated to there too...

(Tbh my dream would be a beautiful new sofa that only I could sit on / touch and everyone else relegated to a different room)

Find a way to block the cat. Put a throw over the sofa until the baby is old enough. In a year or two when the baby is older you can take the throw off and it's like you have a brand new sofa.

I bought my new sofas knowing the cat might scratch them, but I didn't want to wait any longer. Our cat might live another 10 years (she's 16 now) and by then I'll be nearly 60 and I'll never have had nice sofas in my life. I have told the cat that she will have to pack her bags if she even touches the sofas, I think we have an agreement now.

Someone needs to invent right angle cat scratching post that you can put around the sides of sofas to protect them. Actually, I just invented them. ©

I’m waiting on my new sofa getting delivered today and I bought a new one a few months ago for my other room. No guilt whatsoever. I don’t understand why you’d feel guilty.

The principle of buying a new sofa is fine OP.

I will just add a cautionary note for having picked Dunelm. I have seen a quite a few reports commenting negatively on the comfort, quality and durability of their seating.

Hopefully yours is fine, but right now is the time to make that decision.

You might have considered a sofa with a removable cover - the one I have from Ikea has covers for £35.
But don’t feel guilty you need something to sit on!

It's a perfectly reasonable thing to spend an inheritance on. Buying secondhand can work out brilliantly, but it's unreliable, and it can take ages to find something you like at a good price.

Take the covers off when the baby is in bed, maybe? Or when they get older? But enjoy your sofa!

I bought a new sofa & an armchair from Next with money my late Nan left me.
My old sofa was wrecked by my old cat who had just died; also I could feel the springs when I sat down!!

I got a new rescue cat just before I bought the new sofa so I got a huge scratching post & trained her to use it with catnip.

She sits on the new sofa but never scratches it. The new sofa is a lovely Heather Grey & the armchair is an Alfie chair in soft silver grey, pale blue & pale pink stripes.

There's nothing wrong with buying new stuff if you have the money, I knew my Nan would've wanted me to get new furniture.

I bought a new sofa and chairs in velvet. British made and cost a lot more than £500 but it is a thing of beauty, will last years and more importantly I wanted it and could afford it.
It spends its life being covered in throws as I also have 3 fine haired white cats who spend 90% of their lives asleep on it.

Nothing wrong with spending on something you want. I looked at it as supporting British industry at the same time as fulfilling my personal wants.

Unless it's aquaclean material, i would scotchguard it too to help it last.
And... nothing wrong with buying a sofa!

I bought a lovely new sofa from Sofa Workshop. We have 2 cats so I paid extra to have arm caps made (as those are the bits they usually scratch) and I have invested in a series of cat scratching posts. The arm caps weren't offered with it but I asked, so I got. 2 years later and sofa is still fine - but we do put throws over it most of the time so we don't keep having to hoover the cat hair off it all of the time! It looks like new when we take the throws off (when 'tidy' people come over and I want things to look really nice).