Buying a sofa for the first time.... what do i need to know??

[blessedenough]

Hi can anyone help please..... We have just had our offer accepted on a new house yay. We will be buying 3 new sofas for our living room - its large and square and they will form a u shape. I have never been able to buy a new sofa before, usually its been a hand me down, from a charity shop or in the case of current one came with now DH.

What do i need to know??? I have 2 young children (1yr and 3yr) but this new house has two living rooms, one is a family/day room and our old leather corner sofa will fit in there nicely.

The second living room i am envisaging as a best living room ( perhaps unrealistically) and have seen a great sofa in next.

www.next.co.uk/homeware/sofas-chairs/gosford-buttoned/size-medium-sofa-(3-seats)-fabric-sumptuous-velour-light-mink-feet-lowturned-light#fabric

Are Next sofas any good? Any other good places to try - budget about £3000 in total. I would like the second living room to have a sumptuous and glamorous look. It has a fireplace that needs a bit of love and then i want to keep furniture to a minimum just some nice side lights and possibly a coffee table or side tables?

What should i be looking for in a sofa? All the terms are beyond me, i want it to look neat and i am not the sort to be frantically plumping cushions everyday.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

sofa works have a leather one a bit like that, im expecting pfb and am forever being told leather is the way forward with children.

i know you havent opted for cushions or pillow back but if u did a lady in sofa works told me always opt for oh gosh ive forgot it was fibre filled i thinn (or maybe foam ) as they keep their shape.

we have just ordered a faux suede recliner one from harveys after making a massive mistake with a second hand one for our first home.

the things i have learnt from this one:
removable covers dont stay in place
cushion backs need maintenance everytime you sit down (unless u pay for the good filling as above)
a low sofa is a massive PITA to get up off.

thats what made us come to our decision. recliners tend to be higher and come in two parts so unlikely have problems getting it in.

Just make sure (really properly sure) that you'll be able to get them in and out of your house. I know people who have ended up in a pickle. My big sofa came in two complete halves that slotted together. I nearly didn't get the split version and I'd have been stuck if I hadn't.

I am just about to buy a Next sofa. I have heard the quality is pretty good for the price.

Have you been to a Next home shop and seen the velour fabric on a sofa and not just a sample.

I was thinking about velour but thought it looked horribly dated in real life. Like a 1990s throwback.

Sit on it. Preferably take people who are different heights and make them sit on it. It's quite astounding how many sofas are actually uncomfortable to sit on, but look as though they will be comfortable.

Get DH to sit on it, then you snuggle up as you would together. Check to see if both are still comfy.

This was my DH's sole criteria when we were sofa shopping recently. He had hated our last one because I squished him!

Look at Loaf for sofas. Much better quality than next

I wouldn't buy three, 3 seaters though. That would be a lot of space and unmovable. I would get one 3 seater to put at back of u shape, then two chairs near sofa to make up the u, and two smaller chairs incase of company either side of the fireplace

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I havent had a chance to look at the next one yet in the shop as kids revolted after 2 sofa shops. I was thinking of having one large 3 seater and 2 smaller ones. The room can take 3x 3 seaters, 1 sofa would be back in the bay window and the other two along the opposite walls. I was thinking that 3 button back sofas might be over kill, so i saw these today at furniture village

www.furniturevillage.co.uk/Inventory/Upholstery/Hemingway/3-Seater-Sofa.aspx

I saw the cushion back sofas but i think they would look too fussy with 2 of them also i would not be good at keeping them plumped. I need low maintenance.

I am thinking 50 shades of grey (not read the books so not a bdsm ref!). I would like to add some nice textures to the room and i saw a fluffy rug and and was thinking of pewter/ dark silvery metal photo frames ( i am big into photos) and light fittings

Ada wall light - www.marksandspencer.com/l/home-and-furniture/lighting/table-lamps?PLP-LIGHTING-TILE1

Lamp - www.bhs.co.uk/en/bhuk/product/sale-offers-4281271/home-lighting-2492019/smoke-josiah-vessel-table-lamp-4238693?bi=201&ps=200

I saw the velour in the shop and it has a lovely sheen, i prefered that to the flat look of cotton covers, there were some nice textured finishes however.

The room has a dado rail and a fire surround in white - which i would probably keep but i need an accent colour to make it pop. Not so keen on the mustardy yellow that i usually see paired with grey - any suggestions?

I quite like a soft heather colour and i was thinking of adding some nice throws and a couple of cushions.

I dont really like coffee tables so was thinking of a side table and possibly the big footstools but my they are pricey.

This is getting pricey now i realise why i have relied on hand me downs!

We are keeping our current 10 yr old leather corner sofa for the family room and yes its amazing with kids as when it gets grubby i just scrub it and it comes up sparkling again. Its knackered now though and has to be held up with books.

Hubby is 6ft and i am 5ft 5 so we did both have a sit to see if they were comfy for us and yes some looked like they would be lovely and comfy and yet def werent! I wasnt brave enough to snuggle up on any of them and check we could both squeeze on!

Just checked out loaf - thanks for that, umm now thinking maybe 2 sofas and a chair. Shame the showroom is so far away. Lots to think about

Loaf will send you samples if you want to try colours etc.

We have The gertie sofa from there and it's very comfortable. We also have it in white fabric and it's still white 2 years on with x2 small children

We had sofas from Next and they were amazing quality for the price (in fact much better than other more expensive ones we have had since). I love the Next sofa you linked to. I would also have a look at a velour sofa in person though if you can – I was considering one at one point and the pile (is that the right word?) needed to be smoothed over otherwise if it went the “wrong” way, i.e. not smoothed down, it looked as though there was a dirty mark on the sofa. Does that make sense?

I don’t know what the delivery charges are, but I also think 3 x 3 seaters will be too much – if it’s a grown up room, when are you planning on having 9 x adults needing to sit in there?! I would maybe order 2, and then see if you want another or whether a chair would fit the bill etc.

Apparently with velvet it does need smoothing but there is two sorts one of which needs less grooming, so i need to check which it is. I am thinking of 2 sofas and a chair, possibly putting the chair in the large bay with a pretty table and lamp. We rarely have 9 people over but i do like to lounge so 2 sofas are a must! I do love the next sofa but i need to see how comfy it is, cant abide hard sofas. I am leaning towards the loaf sofas and might do a trip to london to see showroom - planning of seeing sil in London so can combine the 2.

My other worry is how hard wearing is velvet? I want these sofas to last so i need hard wearing. Hoping my local next has the sofa in its showroom.

umm lots to think about.

Any advice on accent colours or shades of grey - interior design newbie, my current living room is a pale apple green and i thought that was brave!

I can recommend Sofa Works as well - we got ours from there and they were very good. Not pushy at all, left us until we needed them. Good range of sofas and after care, and gave good care advice when he bought it.

We have a sofa works in our town and i might pop in, until i realised how expensive new sofas are i used to walk past the window and pull my cats bum face at the prices! I like the idea of British made and being able to customise it.

blessed sorry for mini hi-jack, hope you managed to find a sofa

artandco, the gertie from loaf looks just like what I am looking for as need a high firm back instead of squashy back and a million slippy cushions as I have a bad back - is it the kind you can sit/lay on and snuggle up while you watch a movie or is it more perch on the edge while you entertain guests for half an hour sort of comfortable?

We are overseas and the mo but will head to the showroom as soon as we are back

If you want a Next or M&S sofa you can buy them direct from the manufacturer if you live anywhere near the Midlands. I'm not sure they offer national delivery but they delivered from Stoke to Nottingham without a problem. Worked out half the price. Westbridge Furniture.
Also be careful with the cushion fillings on your sofa, some need daily plumping or else they will become mishapen and won't go back into shape. I forget the filling name but a Google will probably bring it up.

Not to be a complete pooper but please don't order until you have exchanged. Our sale just fell through right before exchange. Contracts signed and deposits paid but exchange hadn't took place and buyer pulled out. I'm told it's rare but it's happened to us before as well with the first house we tried to buy, signed papers ready to exchange and seller pulled out.

Make sure the seat cushions of any sofa you buy are filled with high density foam. If they have a different filling or a thin layer of foam with something else on top they will feel nice and squishy when you try them out but they will flatten and look a mess very quickly with regular use. You will not be able to plump them back up satisfactorily either.

Do you want to veg on it or do you want guest to be comfortable on it with their feet on the ground? We had the lowest, deepest sofa ever and it was gorgeous but most guests were uncomfortable in it as the backrest was so far back they kept sitting on the front edge without back support.