Buying a flat and need some help with sofas!

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Hello!

I'm buying a flat on my on which is in equal parts scary, exciting and hilarious that ive managed to do it! But i wondered if you can offer me some advice on sofas please? I've had VIMLE sofas from IKEA and they havent really lasted that well, they seem to lose the guts out of them quite quickly, ive had it less than 18months and its knackered really... :-(

I dont mind spending a little bit of money on the right sofa so long as it lasts and the cushions maintain there oomph.

Can anybody recommend some good sofas they've had for a while that are reasonably hard wearing please? Also any nice bits you'd recommend for a new flat that wont break the bank but will last nicely!

My DD has a DDS French Connection one in grey. It’s sturdy and mid century in style. Not the best quality fabric but very resistant to stains. Still perfect after several years. I thought their range was pretty good.

In a flat you must make sure your sofa will go up the stairs if necessary or even into rooms if it’s a conversion flat and it’s tight! Quite a few manufacturers have sofas with removable legs now. Eg Made do some. Theirs are also quite good prices. We have just ordered one for our upstairs lounge for our holiday flat so I’ve yet to say whether it lasts or not! If was £££ off in the sale.

Both M&S and John Lewis have budget ranges. They only use serviceable fabrics! We found sofa.com and Loaf a bit pricey. We have an old Habitat sofa and that’s still looking like new after 20 years!

Also try and find out what the Martindale rub test is for the fabric. You need at least 25,000. I prefer over 50,000. You should also look in the sales at decent shops. Also look at how the sofa is made. Is it a wood frame and well supported under the cushions? What are the cushions stuffed with? What about the back cushions? Quality will last.

Thank you, that's helpful!

You can buy Ercol tables and chairs fairly cheaply. On eBay. They last a lifetime! Solid wood can be sanded down. Other finishes cannot but it depends what you like. Glass top tables also last well. I like the butterfly chairs that John Lewis sell to go with glass. I can also recommend the Masters chairs by Kartell.

The big problem is that tastes change. So even 10 years down the line you might not have the same taste!

Yes thats a very good point! I think the sofa is one thing i have a bee in bonnet about, i bought cheap IKEA vimle sofas for £550 (a corner sofa) and it's just not done well over the last 2 years... SO maybe i should spend more and just get a decent one.

The problem is I don't what a decent one is! Are DFS any good or are they just a big con at the end of the day? My budget would be about 1k i guess, i could be persuaded to spend more if i saw it'd last 10 years without collapsing in on itself.

Or am I in 'lala land' with this small a budget for a sofa and expecting it to last? Are the IKEA Ektorp ones any better maybe?!

Mine from Sofa Workshop is still going strong after 20 years! (Bought in 2001.) I've had it professionally cleaned once, replaced the mattress a couple of years ago (it's a sofabed) and this year bought some new legs to raise it up a bit, which has transformed the way it looks!

If I had space and was doing this again I would go for a vintage Chesterfield, just because I love them and you can find them for a song, but those aren't to everyone's taste.

What sort of flat and what’s access like? Many sofas - particularly corner and chaise style ones and definitely chesterfields - are too large and long and bulky to make tight turns into hallways, around corners and up narrow stairs in e.g. converted period houses. Even ones which come in two pieces often have one very large section which is difficult to manoeuvre. I think almost everyone I know (London, lots of flat-dwellers) has had a sofa malfunction of this kind at some point! Dwell sofas are apparently particularly bad for it. Ikea was the only option I could have in my old maisonette - there was just no way anything in one piece was making the 90 degree turn from my front steps into my hallway.

Getting sofas recovered is really expensive in a decent hard wearing fabric. So I would not recommend vintage if it needs recovering. You will need 15m of fabric if it’s got cushions. So your £1000 will go on recovering costs.

As you had bought Ikea I didn’t know if you would stretch to £1000.

On that basis, M&S do quite a few and they do last. Quite a few are in sturdy fabrics and you can get samples. We have found high arms are a nuisance and prefer lower ones.

Fabrics are important as I said and what supports the cushions. Most sellers like M&S and John Lewis tell you how a sofa is made. You can compare the cheaper and expensive ones to see what you get for your money. A lot of manufacturers won’t give the Martindale scores for the fabric but I have friends with M&S sofas and they have lasted very well - 20 years. But you must get a harder wearing fabric.

I like feather backs but they need plumping. Often foam with a feather wrap is good. Things like piping on the cushions, stain resistance and a designer “name” cost more. I would decide on a style you like and see if you can get a bargain from a reputable shop that doesn’t sell a sofa that lasts 2 years. Try and avoid style over substance!

We bought our sofa last year from Next Clearance, it was delivered in under a week and was half price, it seems to be ok but we have only had it a year

I get my sofas from Made.com but only in the sales. They do have some real bargains throughout the year. The are well made and go on and on, mine have survived cats.

I will attach a few. Andrew Martin if you are design led. Habitat for big arms!

I bought ‘compact’ three and two seater sofas from John Lewis around 15 years ago for a flat. Compact in the backs and sides not length.
Measure access several hundred times before ordering. Don’t be over optimistic with how much ‘pivoting’ will help. In the end I actually did a kind of mock up with dowling rods to check.
Mine still look and feel like new!
At the time they were mid-range price - I kept wondering if I should just pay quite a bit less but I’m now glad I didn’t.

I've got the French connection one from dfs in teal. It looks lovely and has the special foam padding. I can tell the shape etc will last quite well, but it's quite short in the leg area, but then we are all pretty tall, it's perfect for my mum. I also find the fabric a bit itchy but I'm really sensitive to things like that and can't wear wooly jumpers of any kind really.

M&S ones. I think these would last well.

I’ve actually been really happy with ours from DFS. We got one of their cheapest ones, just fairly simple shape. Paid £25 a month or so for the 2 sofas for 4 years, which finished a couple of years ago and they’re still going pretty strong. I’d go to them again and they are easily accessible for trying out. I wouldn’t buy without sitting on it so that rules out quite a few places

Should say, that £25 was for 2 sofas a 3 seater and 4 seater.

How many do yo want, it is much easier to get one in a sale if it is just one, if you want two or matching chairs it is more difficult.

I haven't bought sofas from there but I can recommend the Ercol Factory showroom at Princes Risborough, you can see what is in stock on their eBay or Facebook pages, there is also a list online on their website, again better if you just want one as often they just have single pieces of furniture

Thank you everyone, im really grateful for the replies! It's good to see there's a mix out there and i appreciate the help. Feeling a bit overwhelmed with where to go and dont want to buy anything too low end.

The flat ive just bought is a 2 bed in Surrey, 860 sqft and the living room wont take a massive sofa. So it's not a huge place, but it'll do for me :-) So i was thinking a corner one or one like the vimle that has a chaise lounge bit attached? Or a 'small' corner sofa?

Well the French connections one from dfs is quite small for a corner, I think anyway. I just pay it up monthly. Much prefer that to buying outright.

We have the DFS French connection set. Relatively cheap, fairly smart and hardy (which is helpful with a toddler).

I wouldn't recommend Next. I bought sofas from there because I thought they seemed good quality and not massively expensive. 8 years later and they are completely wrecked and have been for a year or two. We're hoping to move in the next year so I'm just putting up with them, but I can't wait to put them in a skip when we move!

I would actually totally recommend the IKEA ektorp. My parents have had one for at least 10 years and it's so comfy and still looks great. You can also buy spare covers so they can go through the washing machine every so often. I am looking for a corner sofa myself now and think I will just go for one of those.

I would be careful with M & S too. They used to be great but when we ordered a pair of sofas earlier this year they looked baggy within weeks. Only two of us using them and we are not especially heavy. We complained to M & S but they wouldn't do anything about it.

Yes ive looked at M&S as i love their food and general quality of other items. So i got quite seduced into the idea of buying one of their sofas. I've heard they used to be great, but in the last 10 years their quality has dropped significantly.

I’ve also got the DFS french connection sofas. I have a 4 seater in teal fabric and a ‘cuddler’ in navy leather and they cost just over 2k altogether which I paid over 3 years. I just finished paying for it this month and it still looks the same as when I bought it.

This one, it’s on sale for £779 at the moment

m.dfs.co.uk/zinc/zci14azcp