Has anyone ever had a bespoke sofa made?

[Mintie190]

Hi, I’ve heard that most interior designers get their sofas made from upholsterers rather than buying from the high street. I am thinking of having a sofa made in the style of Lorfords Elmstead sofa or the Rosa Uniacke drawing room sofa (can’t see they are very different). But my risk adverse husband thinks I am mad and that we should just buy off the shelf. I have a reasonable quote from an upholsterer that was recommended years ago in an article which featured my favourite architect. And have 14m of end of roll fabric to use. Is it risky or just what savvy interior designers do?

I've no idea because I bought my settee second hand.

But I love your dilemma and wish I was you!

We bought ours from a furniture maker who specialises in sofa and they offer a huge amount of permutations as you can choose the depth & height of the seat, the height & width of the arms and the height of the back as well as things like the cushion filling

Were you happy with the result?

🤣🤣I wish I was someone who could afford a Lorfords or Rosa Uniacke sofa!

Yes, we were. DH has a sofa that fits him and I have one that fits me!

Yes, it was cheaper than the shop ones and I got to pick what I wanted.

Not a bespoke frame but I’ve had a sofa covered in a bespoke fabric (was from Darlings). Is that what you want or are you after a whole bespoke sofa shape too?

Personally I would not buy a sofa design that I hadn’t sat on first. What if you pay all that £ for your design and then it’s not comfy? You can’t return it.

A pair of sofas made by Kingcome - 20 years ago - still amazing. No regrets.

this sofa from Love Your Home is very similar to the Uniacke sofa but cheaper. They can do it in any fabric, and change the dimensions if needed. And you can sit on it in their showroom if you can get to Godalming.

However, I’ve been to their showroom and I personally found this style uncomfortable as the back slopes too much - you have to really lean back to an uncomfortable extent. Suspect the Uniacke one has the same issue. But YMMV.

I’ve been to the Love Your Home showroom and had other things made by them which turned out really well. I’m not sure they have got that Evelyn design quite right but then Donna Ida has used it at Langdon Court Manor so maybe it’s been improved now. The upholsterer I might go with is a bit cheaper than LYH but it’s a leap of faith based on a reference in a newspaper article from 10 years ago.

I did because I had very specific requirements for dimensions and the standard retailers didn't have anything that exactly fitted. I could either spend about half the available budget on an unsatisfactory closest-match that I wasn't really happy with, or bust the budget going £500 over what I had earmarked for something bespoke. I vacillated for weeks but went with bespoke and have not regretted it. If you have the money go for it. You certainly get a better finish quality with bespoke.

I did, we had it exactly how we wanted and it lasted well over 20 years. I decided due to issues with my back that I wanted a recliner so we had to replace. The young couple that had it for free, the fire labels were damaged so the charity shop couldn’t take it were delighted. It was still in brilliant condition. I did keep the matching chair. I think it was about 1.5k but that would be 25 years ago now.