AIBU to spend £700 on either of these teeny tiny sofas

[cluelessaboutinteriors]

Posting here for traffic! I had no luck in home decoration...

I'd really appreciate any thoughts you have on these sofa choices. As per the name I am fairly useless when it comes to interior decoration and in fact this is the first sofa I'm buying! I can't say I have a specific, defined style but generally I prefer a minimalist look but I also live in a Victorian (terrace style) home so I feel I should also nod to that.

I'm looking to buy a sofa for our bay window. It's a fairly narrow one, so the sofa needs to have a fairly small footprint. Ideally I'd be looking to spend around £400 but I'm worried that this is too cheap and it won't be a solid long-lasting piece. These are the ones I've shortlisted - considerably over the target budget but worth it for quality?

Oliver Bonas luna love seat
I've not managed to view this in person and sit on it which is putting me off. I'm not sure there is enough of a seat back to be able to sit comfortable and have sufficient back support. Delivery time is 2-4 weeks which is ok. I'm fairly boring so was thinking of the light blue which will match the mid-blue curtains behind it. On the other hand I'm tempted to be a bit bolder and get the dusty pink, which sounds lovely. I do have young children but they're generally ok with not getting furnishings mucky (I may live to regret saying this).

Sofa Workshop 2-seater
Delivery time is 18 weeks!! Not really happy about waiting that long but otherwise I've managed to see it in person and it feels comfortable and satisfies our requirements. The original price seems very high? Not sure if this is indicative of quality or just over-pricing.

Any thoughts?? Or other suggestions?

Don’t buy either. I bought a stylish but poorly designed loveseat for my bay window. No one ever wants to sit on it (even though it looks a lot more comfy than your two options 😁) People always gravitate towards comfy seating.

Honestly if I were you, I’d buy a nice vintage piece and have it reupholstered. Something like this Ercol suite www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/east-bristol-auctions/catalogue-id-sreas10553/lot-06f9f560-d9c3-4cca-86d9-ae1c00e4174b - they are cheap as chips, have great design and you can really zhuzh them up with new fabrics to suit a modern decor. Because it’s only removable cushions, it’s quite affordable to reupholster - you might even do it yourself. And you’re guaranteed comfort.

Dammit, I wish I could buy that Ercol suite now 😄 but our house is being rebuilt.

I think the Oliver Bonas one is very nice looking but not sure how comfy it would be. I wouldn’t buy it before trying it.

I have a made.com Margot which comes in a nice dusky rose colour. It’s actually pretty comfy given it has no arms - more so than it looks (I was able to try it in the London showroom before buying). We’ve had it for two years and it seems to be wearing well. It’s in our kitchen/diner so it’s not our main sofa but I do sit on it most days.

www.made.com/margot-2-seater-sofa-old-rose-velvet

@Ra12345

Woah I've just looked up the love seat I bought and it's £1600!!!! I don't remember it costing that much. Not a small footprint though tbf because it is super comfy

It probably didn't cost that much when you bought it,prices have gone up loads!!

If it’s for reading in how about something like a chaise? This is more expensive but it’s more to give you an idea of the style.
loaf.com/products/bronte-chaise-longue

Thanks everyone for your advice. At times I honestly thought I'd never make a decision and get this sorted but I got there in the end! I bought the Made.com orson sofa in ink blue velvet and I love it! I was eyeing it up but it felt too expensive, and then it went out of stock! However someone was selling it on Ebay so I took a bit of a risk and bought it for 2/3 of the price and I love it! It was bigger than I'd originally planned for and I was quite nervous about it fitting and looking ok but it's been fine and looks nice and cosy

We have one which is very similar to the OB one (but the back is higher). I find that people rarely sit on it. It's lower than normal sofas (so uncomfortable for most esp taller people). Also it's seat and back are shorter and increase the discomfort. Overall - it's good and compact for 'extra seats' but not comfortable for more than 5-10 mins of sitting. (And not that great to look at either TBH). Perhaps good for hallway seating?

Oops - I clearly didn't read the full thread

not seen an Oliver Bonas sofa but most of their stiff is really poor quality

Neither of them look comfortable to me.

Brand Alley have two seater sofas often. I got one for my craft room, which is the smallest bedroom and it’s fine. Cheaper than either of the ones mentioned.

I think I'd go for a large, comfortable high-backed armchair that people can curl up in.

I think they both look uncomfortable. It’s one, arms and back not high enough.

Second one arms too high and the whole back and arms look too hard.

Alternative vote: what about 2 of these? www.beanbagbazaar.co.uk/velvet-bean-bag-armchair.html

The kids will love them, they have great reviews, and the fabrics some in pretty colours. And they're inexpensive so if you want to switch to something else later on (and put these in the kids' rooms), you can. I just ordered one as extra seating for my living room :)

I reckon you'd soon regret that Oliver Bonas one. It looks really uncomfortable.

First one looks really uncomfortable, not enough back support. Why buy a sofa if it is not to be sat on?

I had a really bad experience with Sofa Workshop. We bought 2 sofas and they turned out to be really poor quality.

The first one had to be repaired within a few weeks, they hadn't put enough of the wire zig-zag springs underneath the seat. The second developed the same problem some months later, by which time SW didn't want to know. They sent someone to inspect it, gave us an obscenely high quote to fix it, and we found a local upholsterer who did the same job for barely half the price.

After about 5 years, the wooden frames started to come apart. We had to ditch the fuckers.

There were just 2 average sized adults and 2 small dogs in the household, so it wasn't as though they had people jumping all over them or anything, they were just really badly made. And they weren't cheap either, they were over £2k in the sale, and that was 14 years ago.

It's put me off buying from them ever again.

And I prefer the Oliver Bonas one!

The second one.only the cat would want to try and get comfortable on the first.