mustachian furniture, especially a couch

[Case]

Long story short, moving company damaged our couch and we have the opportunity to replace it if we want.  The damage to it is cosmetic only (scrapes on the corners where the stuffing is not exposed), so we can certainly continue to use it without much impact.  The alternative is we get a minor cash our for 'loss of appearance'.

The couch is 6 years old... it has some butt-groves where I typically sit, but otherwise has held up well.

Are there furniture companies that have good quality-to-cost- ratios?  I see the hippy small-business mattress companies discussed here a lot (tuft and needle, or purple; e.g. alternatives to expensive Tempurpedics), but what about couches?  We would probably be looking for a large couch; section + ottoman.

Edit:  Want to add that after searching briefly, finding a 'modular' couch might be ideal.  Sectional couches that are detachable into several small individual pieces.  This allows them to configure into whatever size you want.  Might seem to be a good idea, in that you can rearrange to fit one room vs another, and change the handedness (left vs right) of the couch.  Lastly, it would make moving way easier (carry multiple small pieces vs one to two huge pieces).  As long as the couch was well built and would last decades, could be a good investment.  Otherwise, might be a frivolous purchase, which is def not my goal.

[zolotiyeruki]

Posting to follow.  Where does one go to find solidly-built sofas?

[historienne]

Sofas have been a harder business to disrupt, partly because of the cost of shipping. You can't vacuum-pack a couch the way you can a foam mattress.  For a cheaper, reasonably well made new sofa, IKEA is going to be hard to beat, but most of them are pretty ugly to my eyes and it's not really going to be a decades-long purchase.  Campaign is another brand I would look at - they have figured out how to ship flat-pack.  They only have one style, which I think is fine but my husband has vetoed.  We are probably going to buy something from Joybird or Benchmade Modern, both of which have been recommended by an interior designer friend, but are at a slightly higher price point.

More on the dilemma here, if you're interested: https://www.curbed.com/2017/11/16/16635672/affordable-furniture-ikea-ashley-west-elm

[affordablehousing]

Just a plug for DIY - $100 for nice wood, $200 for foam and batting, $100 for an upholstery fabric and you're good to go. You can make the cushions as soft as you want, and simple by just wrapping the fabric around foam and batting and stapling to plywood underneath, then drop it into the frame. I did this, used it for 5 years, and sold it for more than materials. Or.... just buy a new one. I would add Gus to the list (cheap and stylish) or look for floor models and stack coupons, discount gift cards. But I think DIY or Craigslist/used is the only way to get sub $1000. Or you can live with your current one.

[neophyte]

My living room furniture is currently two Walmart futons, one of which is broken.  I really want to upgrade, but I feel like I've been casually shopping for a year now without finding anything that fits the bill and suits my taste.  I also live in a narrow row home so I want something that's not too deep, but it seems like 36 inches is the minimum at most places. 

Buying a used sofa skeeves me out because many of them have been smoked on and my city has a high rate of bed bug infestations.  Not to mention most of the ones I see at the thrift store need to be reupholstered which seems to cost as much or more than a new cheap sofa.

Uh,  I think that was my long way of saying "posting to follow."

[zolotiyeruki]

After going down the rabbit hole that historienne posted, I really like the approach that Burrow and Campaign are taking.  Basically, high-quality (i.e. durable) sofas that ship flat-packed.  Both assemble without tools, and have higher-quality fasteners, so they're easier to disassemble, pack, and move.  Burrow's are modular, so you can take a chair, add a section, and get a love seat, although I don't know if they sell separate middle sections.  Campaign's are not modular, but still assemble/disassemble easily.  Campaign also sells replacement cover sets.

Lovesac also manufacture modular sofas/sectionals, which are designed to be more easily reconfigurable than Burrow's, although that modularity comes at a steep price, and I haven't seen anything (good or bad) about the quality.  Joybird is another company making modular sofas with premium quality and higher prices.

[startingsmall]

I have to admit that I love our IKEA cough. We got the Ektorp (the one that everyone has), because it gets great reviews and seems to hold up well... and now, two years in, we're still super happy with it. Easy to buy replacement slipcovers if/when this one starts to look too beat up, very comfy for us (granted, hubby & I are both pretty short), and fits well in our room.

[DanErvin88]

Still new here but thought I’d throw in my 2 cents since we’ve been down this road a few times. IKEA and done.

 We moved about 2.5 years ago into our current home. The sofa/chaise/sleeper we had when we moved didn’t fit the space like we wanted (it took away functionality of our already small home). We did the craigslist deal. We checked Facebook yard sale groups. We ultimately found 2 things: people think their stuff is worth too much, or they use it to the point of diminishing return. Slipcovers are an option, but we found that usually drove the total price of the sofa close enough to retail that it wasn’t worth fussing with all the extra work.

I didn’t mention that our ‘original’ sofa is an IKEA Manstad from 2006, and is still in the basement guest quarters with extensive regular use.

For the new one we went with the Vimle 4 seater sectional and ottoman in grey. Total cost was about $13OO. I seriously almost cried after typing in my CC info into the online order form. Fast forward, we’ve had it for 6 months. My fears were unwarranted. It is by far one of the top 3 best purchases we have made for the house. I hate paying retail for stuff, but the functionality and enjoyability of this couch takes away a lot of that pain. My wife and I slept on it exclusively for 2 weeks after our baby daughter was born so that I could roll over, grab the baby, and hand her to mom when she needed feeding during recovery. The sofa is highly modular and adaptable. Every piece of it is machine washable. We’ve done that twice already. The matching ottoman made it much more cohesive with our small and busy living space. Hope this helps. I’ll see if I can attach a pic of it.

[WalkaboutStache]

I swear by my IKEA.  Super cheap, converts to a bed, has storage space underneath, and assembles reasonably easily (people who have trouble assembling IKEA furniture should not even be allowed to reproduce, much less retire early).  I don't think you can find a more mustachian furniture brand.

[sol]

Wayfair will ship you a quality sofa for less than $400 that is equivalent to what you'll find in local furniture stores.  Meaning its not going to last you thirty years and then just need reupholstering, but you'll easily get ten out of it and then be able to pass it off to college kids.

The internet and free home delivery services have already disrupted the stodgy home furniture market, most people just haven't caught on yet.

[chemistk]

We are on our second IKEA couch (well, third if you count our guest bed). First one was destroyed in house flooding. For less than $500 you can have a very nice couch that will last between 4 and 10 years (depending on kids/dogs).

The absolute best part about it is that you can buy extra slips for it - we got our second slip in the clearance section. Toddler spills food all over the couch? No problem - 10 minutes later you have the other clean slip on it.

Once our kids are up and gone, we might invest in something that will last a little longer but for the next decade and a half we're in for the inexpensive stuff.

[Awesomeness]

I’ve got two of the IKEA ektorp sofas. Found them both in the ding and dent section of IKEA.  Paid 100$ for one and 250$ for the other. Both had covers on them already.  I highly recommend them.

They always have one slipcover that’s super cheap. Currently it’s a nice polyester cotton blend for 29$.  So a brand new tan ektorp is 399$ full price.  Sales are rare but they happen about twice a year.  100$ off or 25$ off 150 or more.  They added a new size to the ektorp line, it’s called the 3.5 seater. It’s a hundred more I believe but it’s wider and deeper. Really nice.

Best thing about these are the slip covers. Almost are will wash easily and you can change the whole look of your room with new covers.   They can also be found discounted in their sale room.   

I’ve done Macy’s also and loved their microfiber sofas they sell for about 700$ but moving damaged them and the covers weren’t removable. My ektorps are my favorite sofas I’ve ever owned.

[Awesomeness]

If you’re not near an IKEA get on their mailing list. They offer shipping discounts sometimes otherwise it would be too expensive.

[bryan995]

If you live close to socal (tijuana in particular) and like mid century modern style furniture, joybird (https://joybird.com) has a 'scratch and dent factory sale' every 6 months or so.  Most items are marked down 70-90%.  For the price, the items are absolutely worth the money.  We paid $250 for a gray Hughes Sofa - very pleased with the quality.  It was also practically brand new (still in plastic wrap), it may have just been a couch that was never delivered or returned for some obscure reason.  Not sure I'd paid full price, or even the 30% off they occasionally have, but thought I'd share just in case you are close :)

[Hula Hoop]

I'm sitting on an IKEA Ektorp as I write this.  Comfy, sturdy and not ugly. 

[DanErvin88]

Ah- A WARNING! If you decide ikea, anything other than a traditional sofa is worth shipping. Frequently they have a $29 shipping sale. Our sectional came in 39, yes, thirty-nine boxes. I was blown away when it showed up to the door. You would need a box truck or a trailer to haul it from the store.

Also I don’t think it was mentioned but all ikea couches have a 1O year warranty. We have one relatively near, and they’re not going out of business any time soon, so it quickly became a better and better option.

[ender]

All our couches are leather couches we found on either craigslist or local swap groups.

[elliha]

IKEA is a good choice if you are going to buy new and you find the top of the line sofas to be too expensive. Generally you get a good product for a low or lowish price at IKEA and rarely really bad things.

If you do go for a more expensive sofa I inherited mine from my parents. It was a very expensive one when they bought it roughly 40-50 years ago and not until last year did my kids managed to poke a hole in the bamboo siding of one of the armchairs the come with the sofa. The leather is now also quite worn but still good enough to not need immediate upholstery. I plan to fix the bamboo and later on probably pay for upholstery. Why? Because that is still a nice enough sofa after this long to put money into fixing it. I happen to have a person who does upholstery for a living in my family too so that helps (he does family discounts). If you do buy a quality sofa that you like it will pay itself off in the long run. My parents paid a lot for that set but per year not that much.