Velvet armchair - anyone?

[livingbyrules]

We are replacing our decade-old living room sofa and armchair in our Victorian semi and need inspiration! I am lusting after a velvet armchair - I think it goes well with our old Victorian house with fireplace etc. And thinking green.

It is quite expensive though and wondering if it will be a mistake? Has anyone ever had a velvet armchair, anything I should be aware of?

www.made.com/orson-armchair-seafoam-blue-velvet

I love the idea of a velvet armchair but that one looks decidedly uncomfortable.

I have this exact armchair and I adore it. Waited quite a while for delivery but it was well worth it and it makes me smile every time I go into the living room.
Perfect for curling up in with a book and a coffee and it’s not hard to keep clean either - although we don’t have any children, I am exceptionally clumsy though and the half a cup of tea I spilt over myself and the chair doesn’t seem to have done any damage.

@SewButtons that's good to hear! I am more worried about my own clumsiness than my DCs. And I always always eat/snack/drink wine on the chair, so that's useful if it doesn't leave marks.

Okay off for a 12 week wait then!

Try sofa.com, likely be cheaper and better quality. I’ve bought from both and the wait time from made.com is really long.

I've got a navy velvet sofa. It's a thing of beauty but shows every dog hair.

I really want a velvet sofa just like that. At the moment I'm just dreaming about it but maybe one day ...

@servelikeserena thankfully no dogs, just my own hair to worry about!

@montybabe the velvet sofas at sofa.com seem to be more expensive!

OP, I have the Arianna from Made in a dark blue velvet. Also have a white cat and even that hasn't been too bad so far! They look pretty similar and I find the Arianna very comfy if that helps. I shopped around a lot and found Made the best combination of quality and price. It's clearly not going to last for ever but it feels very sturdy - takes my leaden weight plus a couple of kids (is nice and roomy). It is a bloody long wait though. Think it was about four months!

Anyway, I would definitely go for it. I've always gone for safe beige and grey things before and 'jazzed up' with cushions and throws, so felt like a leap to buy something such a definite colour but haven't regretted it yet.

Oh also- mine ended up coming about 3 weeks early which was great

I have a very beautiful Andrew Sankey velvet arm chair. It cost a fortune and for some reason the velvet they used cannot take even the slightest drop of water. So, dog sneeze has left a stain, and newphew sitting down in damp jeans left a stain that took months to get rid of. Nothing will lift the dog sneeze stain

I have a black velvet one from made ( can remember what it's called) and I'm really impressed. I've got cats that lie on it and a quick hoover gets rid of any hairs. I'm going to get a sofa the same and it looks fabulous.

Do it OP!!

Thanks everyone, have decided to go for it and order the Made one! Also ordered a matching storage velvet bench!

I really needed something before family comes over during Easter, but I just cannot find any other velvet sofa that is as good as the Orson one! The others seem to be either too traditional or too modern. So a 12 week wait it is!

How exciting! Let us know how wonderful it is when it's arrived.

I've ordered fabric swatches from Make and somewhere else - Loaf? - to feel one step closer.

I love them!! Do it

Cotton velvet stains and marks like hell, whereas polyester velvet is generally bombproof and marks and spills can be wiped with a damp cloth or babywipe.
(I even have experience of cotton velvet with stainguard and it’s not great). The longer the pile the more it looks less consistently one colour
I’ve had multiple velvet sofas and chairs over the year (currently have two sofas in two different velvets, plus an occasional chair) and I love it but we only buy polyester velvet now we have kids

@GookledyGobb can you recommend any sofa and type of velvet in particular? I got some samples and someones’s ‘clever velvet’ is really unpleasant to the touch.

They do do a plush clever velvet don’t they? I’ve not tried it though. I think all the shorter pile velvets feel a bit weird I’m afraid. I’ve got to say the clever velvet is clever (bomb proof) BUT the sofas are not!
We’re just waiting to try Argo and Jacob velvet.

@BigFatBloomers the above was for you btw. The quality of the sofas you’re recerencing isn’t great in my experience and when we had a repair company (funded by them) out to look at one of them they said it was common. I’d try love your home or Arlo and Jacob. Not sure what style you’re looking for - we are normally chesterfield people

I'd love love love a velvet sofa, but my kids always have sticky fingers snd snotty noses so not just yet..

Thanks for getting back to me, @GookledyGobb

I really like the bluebell. Low arms are important as there’s generally someone lying on it but I don’t know if I’ve just been swept along on a trend.
It’s also about twice the price of what I can currently afford
www.sofa.com/gb/sofas/bluebell-sofa/p/SO-BLU