How do you pick a sofa?

[LoftySnake]

What shops are good? What's your budget? What's the best way to pick something comfortable that lasts a bit?

I'm finding it hard, so asking those who have it figured out

I was once given excellent advice regarding sofa buying. Imagine that you have the flu and need to lie on it to recover- it is comfortable enough? When you sit on the sofa do the seat cushions support the full length of your legs above the knee. If yiu are planning to have children don’t buy a pale or cream sofa. Make sure the fabric is on both sides of the cushions. In essence you get what you pay for.

Try before you buy, that goes without saying.
Rule of thumb is that better quality costs more (not talking about feature packed sofas with reclining action, charging points, speakers etc etc which obviously boost the price without adding to the quality).
We have used Lucas World Of Furniture twice now and have been very impressed with our selections (worth travelling to as they deliver over a huge area). The first sofa is still going strong after nearly 20yrs and although the new one is only a year old, is so far still looking (and feeling) like new.
Budget is very much a personal thing and like asking how long is a piece of string? We went shopping expecting to pay around £3k and actually spent just under £4k just because the slightly more expensive one was so nice.

Loaf - just had my new sofa delivered this afternoon- SO happy. V comfortable and looked at loads of other shops but very glad I chose it!

Not from Nabru

I had 2 sofas from M&S a few months ago. Went in to store to make sure they were comfortable and pick up fabric swatches. Ordered online during one of their promotion periods.
Really pleased with how they look and the comfort.

I paid 400 for mine in ikea 12 years ago, it’s still going strong! And comfiest sofa I’ve ever had.

We went to sofa.com in Bristol and tried a few. They are lovely and have held up well for 10 years.

I buy vintage and get them reupholstered, give me something good for the environment and unique to me. What could be better?

What's the model you chose? Or style? I know they often keep the same designs for many years!

That's an interesting idea. Especially if it's aged well

I like a shop called Arighi Bianchi- they're in Macclesfield though so a bit of a trek for some people!

Near me there are lots of DHS, Sofology, furniture village, Dunelm, shops which surround a parking area. It looks like companies like DHS, sofology might be more expensive than their relative quality. I guess because they make it so easy to find something, I'm assuming they are pricing high

It’s Ektorp. You can also remove covers and put in washing machine. For the price it’s fantastic quality.

I really recommend the clearance section of Sofas and Stuff. They are a mix of ex display and samples and with big reductions. They are fantastic quality and made in England. I have a dfs snuggler in another room and the difference in quality is stark.

Sofa Sofa are good. - well priced and good quality plus really good customer service. Their showroom is in south Wales.

I am so picky over sofas. The back has to be high enough to support my head, the number of seat cushions has to match the number of seats (i.e if it's a three seater sofa, it needs three cushions so the third person isn't sitting across the gap) and the seats have to be high enough that my backside isn't lower than my knees (which pretty much rules out Ikea)

I've only really found them in DFS or SCS, and whilst I know the quality isn't the best, they suit my purpose. We've had our current sofas for eight years and need to start looking for new ones.

Oh funny, I hate the look of 3 cushions - our last sofa was delivered with 3 instead of 2 long ones and I sent it back!

Vintage (Freecycle, local auction houses from house clear out) is a fantastic way to go. Quality usually so much better and upholstery usually done by a local firm.

This is excellent advice. I sleep on our sofa relatively regularly and it’s really comfortable.

I spent weeks lying on it when I had Covid.

edited to say that we had a sofa from m&s a few years ago. Worst sofa ever. I’d go to dfs (but only if there’s a sale on) every time over m&s.