How to Buy a Sofa that will Last
Let's face it, when it comes to furniture, there are only really two important pieces worth investing in. First, your family room sofa or sectional and second, your kitchen table. If you have a young family, these two pieces will be the workhorses in your home (more on the dining options later, when I feel inspired).
How do you pick a sofa and why do you want to consider these options?
COST
Most families start here. They want the biggest sofa they can get with the lowest cost. They see the prices at Pottery Barn or other discount chains and don't know what they don't know, namely asking questions about the longevity of their furniture. The rationale I hear most often is "my kids are young, they will destroy it". Well, my first reaction is to leave the eating at the dining table and you will shave YEARS off the wear of your sofa. Let your kids vacuum it every once in a while and the fabric will stay debris free (plus they love doing this. We used to find more hair ties, pennies and pens/pencils under the cushions than we ever thought possible).
FABRIC
The fabric you select will make the difference between your absolute destruction or sofa that lasts for years. My favorite story is when a client emailed me after I talked them into a polyester velvet in a light aqua blue color. They said their 3 year old decided he wanted navy instead and used an ink pen to try to color it in. His email was not to yell at us, but to praise the selection we had made because with a sponge and some soapy water, the sofa was back to its original color. Phew. Most people love the look of a woven fabric or a light linen, and if you have older children, they can be great options, but for younger families, a polyester and/or acrylic fabric will be most durable. Selecting the color is a whole other ballpark.
FRAME
Most salespeople will tell you "Lifetime warranty on the frame". But, what they don't tell you (they probably don't know) is that in California, lifetime means 7 years. So….I plan on living a lifetime longer than that. Frames come constructed in several different materials. Pine (soft, ew), Alder and Plywood (better), all Alder (one of the best types of frames) among others that we won't get into here. Ask your manufacturer or designer about frames. If you have 2 pre-teen boys that like to flip over the backside of the sofa, then a stronger frame may be better. Although, we'd likely have a discussion about a sofa table to block that kind of thing.
CUSHIONS
Here it is, I had one client sit in three types of cushions and her husband said, "now commit that to your butt memory" and I'm pretty sure we all cried laughing. There are several types. Foam: Soft, Medium, Firm. Cushions are made of a few kinds of materials: Down-wrapped, Trillium wrapped (synthetic down), and in varying densities: 1.8 or 2.0. Density is like a cake mix. If you spend 5 minutes whipping the batter it will have more air pockets in it. If you don't, it will have less. 1.8 foam is less dense than 2.0.
HOW A DESIGNER CAN HELP
A designer steps in to put all of these selections together in a customized way based on your needs. If you invest in a good frame and a good fabric, there is no reason your sofa can't last for longer than industry lifetime. There are many more considerations you probably have never heard of (why would you? It's not your everyday), like the pitch of the sofa back for comfort, what type of welt to use (there are about 6 options) and frame heights for comfort. Check out our selection document to see more, then work with a designer on your needs to find that next sofa member of the family. I promise you will make many memories on that sofa, and hopefully not hate it in 3 years.