Sofas - you get what you pay for?

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I wanted a sofa that was not going to be too expensive (had to buy other furniture too). I ended up buying one from Made and it’s ok but slightly disappointing - not super comfortable and looks ok but looked much more impressive in the photos. I need an armchair too, in the future, once I save up! Where would you recommend? John Lewis? Loaf?

that's clearly a cat-quality issue rather than a sofa-quality one

Laura Ashley - you can still but then online through various retailers and also Next.

There's something clever about them. They make you sit properly, even if you want to loll about on it they're still comfortable. They are solid as in hold their shape, they don't require plumping.

My dream is a Laura Ashley sofa, however, our sofa of 2 years is a £500 IKEA jobbie and I can’t see myself replacing it! So comfy, cushions have held up well and the covers wash brilliantly, I do them fairly often (only because I like the smell of lenor!)

Stuffing make a difference, too, though foam often wears better than feather

We have feather wrapped around foam which is good as it keeps it's shape.

We've had a Tetrad for the last 14 years,well be looking at replacing the covers at some point soon but the rest is perfect still.

I'm glad to see so many people saying Ikea as that's what I came on to say!

I paid £350 for our sofa (which was a fortune to me at the time) 10 years ago and it's still going strong and so comfortable.

Sadly I will have to buy a new sofa soon as the bloody cat has torn the covers to shreds and they no longer make the replacement covers. I will be going back to Ikea for the next one (and stocking up on spare covers if I can)

@Warrickdaviesasplates

I'm glad to see so many people saying Ikea as that's what I came on to say!

I paid £350 for our sofa (which was a fortune to me at the time) 10 years ago and it's still going strong and so comfortable.

Sadly I will have to buy a new sofa soon as the bloody cat has torn the covers to shreds and they no longer make the replacement covers. I will be going back to Ikea for the next one (and stocking up on spare covers if I can)

@Warrickdaviesasplates I found a couple of websites (via random googling) that make replacement covers for IKEA sofas in a choice of fabrics, the prices were not unreasonable either so perhaps that’s worth a go?

I've got the John Lewis Barbican. It's so uncomfortable. Their customer service has been very poor. I'm going back to Ikea!

@livingwithbees thank you! I'll have a google of that. I just assumed if they weren't on the Ikea website I wouldn't find them.

I'd love a replacement cover rather than forking out on an entire new sofa.

@Warrickdaviesasplates try Bemz (probably one of the companies @livingwithbees has found) - they do replacement Ikea furniture covers in good quality fabrics, including for some discontinued lines.

This is a very timely thread, have been looking at sofas from the likes of Loaf (I did find them comfy in the shop), Love Your Home (gorgeous but the styles we found most comfortable were not quite the ones we liked most to look at) and Sofas & Stuff who were set up by the guy who founded Sofa Workshop, apparently, and are recommended elsewhere on here.

Also looking at https://longeatonsofas.com as per PP about that part of the world. I think they make for Loaf?

@Zinnia I’ll def try Bemz, thanks for that! Bloody cat has savaged a corner of my covers and I’d love some new ones 😊

I need new sofas but I can't face the drama/disappointment 🙇🏻‍♀️

M&S make fab sofas. Had ours for 8 years and it's good as new. Washable covers are great.

I need new ones too. But every time I think about it, I see the glint in the cat’s eyes and think “what’s the point…”

Sofasofa or sofa.com

Had an M&S one last for 15 years which is saying something given the battering it took from my kids. No idea if the quality is so good now.

Bought an, admittedly cheap, Made one, and dumped it after 6 months as it was ridiculously uncomfortable.

Now have Ikea, and a Parker Knoll. Both very comfortable but too soon to say how they'll wear.

I have a g-plan which is 5 years old and in great condition. I also have an m and s sofa which is newer but saggy rubbish

What's gone wrong with sofas? We have four scattered around this house and the children's houses, all over thirty years old and all absolutely fine. One John Lewis, one Laura Ashley, one unknown as I got given it in the first place, and one IKEA. Only the IKEA one is showing any sign of giving up the struggle, and that's almost certainly because the dogs keep digging it up.

We decided this time round to get a cheap sofa. If then it didn’t last, it didn’t really matter. Previously we hd a really expensive one from M&S which looked awful after about a month.

We hd wanted the JL Barbican so I’m really glad we didn’t because of a PP comment. We ended up buying one from a discount outlet that negotiates direct with the manufacturer

@MrsRLynde Had an M&S one last for 15 years which is saying something given the battering it took from my kids. No idea if the quality is so good now

Not if my experience is anything to go by. Spent 3k on a massive M&S corner sofa, this was going to be the one the kids would grow up with, we could all fit on there comfortably and flop around on it together.

The first 2 years we had someone come to fix the sagging 4 times. They tightened the internal straps, said this was a common issue now with M&S sofas and that's what he spent most of his day fixing. Gave up calling them in the end.

Less than 5 years later we've ordered a DFS sofa and are binning the M&S one as it's awful. Would not recommend

Our sofa is from Sofa.com. Nice sofa, but not wearing as well as I’d like, despite choosing one of the most expensive fabrics that was also supposed to be hard wearing. Absolutely dreadful customer service. For this reason I will never buy from them again.

Ours is the Barbican from John Lewis. Super comfy, and looks great. We've only had it 3 years though.

I bought an L shape one very cheaply for £150. My plan had been to save for a better one.
3 years on i’ve still got it. EVERYONE says how comfy it is, it’s nice looking without setting the world alight with its design. I’m still SO happy with it.

Ikea sofas lasted me 15 years. 2 seater was about £240 and the 3 seater a bit more. I'd never buy a sofa from anywhere else. I have seen people with £2k-£4k 3 piece suites absolutely hating them. At least if you regret a £300 Ikea purchase you haven't spent 10x that amount!

Yes you do

We paid £5000 for our sofa in 2014

7 years later it still looks and feels new.
2 kids and 4 dogs later.

I'm buying from a company who make their own sofas, you go to their showroom & you could pick material from one, seats from another, legs from another, they build exactly what you want, they all have a 10 year guarantee & are still cheaper than DFS or Sofology.