How old is your sofa?

[GinnyBee]

We ordered a sofa from John Lewis 3.5 years ago and the seat cushions are very sinky already, one of them is a bit better than the other, but it's really putting pressure on my lower back now and I get achey from sitting on it. I thought £1k sofa should last a bit longer but do I just have unrealistic expectations? We're not large people, me and my husband, so I really wanted it to hold up a lot better.

Mine is now 21 years old. Bought in 2002
with a generous £2.5k cheque from my lovely Nan in a shop on Tottenham Court Road. We had a one bed flat at the time and we wanted a good quality sofa bed. It’s had soooo much use - withstood two kids, three cats and a visiting dog, and while the leather looks a bit tired now, we’re actually just going to get it reupholstered and it should last another ten years I’d imagine. It’s currently retailing at over £5.5k in a like for like fabric (yes they still make this model) so it’s definitely been an investment piece.

23 years old. Brown leather from Argos, cost about £600. Springs broke on the matching one a couple of years ago, so not sure how much longer the remaining one will last.

I have no real idea , mine was second hand when they was bought for the pub I worked in .
About 5 years later that shut down I took them ( and the carpet) home .
That was about 13 ish years ago .
Thanks to the cat, spillages and general wear and tear they , one more than the other , are very tatty now and have to be hidden with throws .

But they are comfy and I can lie full length other without resting on the arms at at all. I am 5.5ft .

I'd love to replace the more worn one with a very good quality leather recliner arm chair but I am struggling to find one that doest cost mega bucks .

It sounds fab!

A cream leather chesterfield bought 7yrs ago £4k and still like new and a red chesterfield bought in 1977 for £2.5k and in excellent condition

I actually don't know how old my sofa is as I bought it from a second-hand Chesterfield sofa specialist but at a guess, I'd say it's at least 30 years old due to the style of the buttoning and the studding which also goes down the back corners of it and also that some of the leather is scuffed and slightly cracked in one section.
It's bearing up extremely well after at least 2 years of being (an inadvertant, but I've given up being precious over it) dog trampoline.

19 years old. It's still firm & comfortable, but the leather looks a bit scruffed.

Ours is possibly around 10 but we did have the cushions replaced this year

Almost 3 years. Both from Habitat. Brown leather.

Thanks everyone. Seems like ours is just shit. Maybe we need new seat cushions or refill them or whatever. They’re not sprung, just foam cushions and very flat now.

3 years old, IKEA, cost less than £800 for two large 3 seaters and they're still in brand new condition (apart from some pulls from the cats scratching them)

'My' sofa is about 80 years old. It was my grandparents' first piece of furniture when they married. Most recently, it was reupholstered about 14 years ago. The cushions are all firm; it is very comfortable. But the upholstry is looking a bit tired. It cost about £1000 to reupholster it back in 2010.
DH's sofa is about 30 years old. It's a Sofa Factory classic. It is still comfortable. The current set of covers has worn out but I have another set in a different colour but clashes with 'my' sofa.

If you're brave enough, take the base cloth off under the springs and see if any have snapped or if the clips have come away from the frame.... they are usually serpentine springs, and they don't last terribly well. If it's not that, then it's your cushion fillings and these are easily replaced by a local upholsterer. In the trade, btw.

Nine years Gplan 55 model still looks the same.

11yo leather John Lewis

Ours is 18months old. It’s an L shaped sofa . The part that you sit on has absolutely know support and feet are higher than my bum …so uncomfortable and back aches if I sit on it for more than a few minutes!
My Mums sofa that we inherited is 55 years old…so comfortable!
Our sofa is from DFS ,the first one that has been so disappointing!

27 years old, Ikea. Cushions could do with refilling but cover and frame fine.

One of ours is 34 years old, leather, and bit worn but still great. Selfridges sale, June 1990!
The other one is 29 years old, leather, from a shop on Tottenham Court Rd.
Both a bit bashed looking, but both still serviceable!

It shows that when things were made 40+ years ago they were made to last .

Ours cost similar to yours but is 6 yrs old. It doesn't look or feel brand new don't get me wrong but it's perfectly fine and comfortable still. We permanently have covers on them too so have mostly avoided spills.

Over 50 years old. Got new cushion filling a couple of years ago. It needs a full leather reupholster. Solid as a rock frame.

So true. All our stuff from early married life is still going strong. Later stuff, less so.

Ain’t that the truth!

19 years old. The fabric hasn't even begun to wear! The back cushions are a little saggy now but the rest is fine. It cost about £600 back then.

The other sofa is about three or four years old - it was very cheap - £350. It's really comfortable to work on if you sit up, with a lap top, but not so good for lolling on or curling up. It's quite firm.

Our main sofa is a large corner very pale grey/beige leather one. It does now need replacing at about 18yrs old. But it is lovely. I love the very simple style and it's really soft and the perfect colour. We paid around £1400 for it which was a fortune for us at the time and my husband really had to be talked into it!
Thing is I can't find anything I like even half as much. Can't get a colour I like and hate either the ultra modern style or the old fashioned styles plus the equivalent sort of sofa is well over 3 grand now!
I'd honestly just buy the exact same one if it were still being made