DANIELA: It’s really tempting to shop online, but there is no replacement for shopping in person, especially for sofas. It’s so hard to shop online.
CHRISTINE: I’m Christine Cyr Clisset.
CAIRA: I’m Caira Blackwell, and you’re listening to The Wirecutter Show.
CHRISTINE: Caira.
CAIRA: Christine.
CHRISTINE: Howdy.
CAIRA: Hi.
CHRISTINE: Today we are talking sofas and I am curious, when was the last time you bought a sofa?
CAIRA: You’re going to laugh at me, Christine.
CHRISTINE: I’m not going to laugh. Nothing you say about sofas is going to make me laugh because mine is really, really old.
CAIRA: Well, I bought mine three years ago off of Facebook Marketplace and this random guy in an unmarked van dropped it off of my door and it didn’t fit through the door.
CHRISTINE: Wow. It sounds like a wonderful buying experience.
CAIRA: It was so lovely. Yeah. So what about you?
CHRISTINE: Well, I bought one 13 years ago or 12 years ago because my youngest was a baby and it was the first time that I had really gone and bought a new sofa. And I remember having total sticker shock being like, “Oh my gosh, sofas are so expensive.” And we bought one that was a little bit on the cheaper side, but I’m actually glad we did because it has carried us through having young kids and pets. And I always joke that we’re going to have to just burn it when we take it out of our apartment because it’s so dirty. But I am sort of in the market now to buy something nicer.
CAIRA: Yeah. You’re ready.
CHRISTINE: Yeah. I’m ready. I am curious, do you call it a sofa or a couch? Because I feel like that’s very where you grew up or the style of family.
CAIRA: I know. Well, personally, I just feel like the one that I have is not sofa. Sofa is elegant. Sofa feels a-
CHRISTINE: Fancy.
CAIRA: … real piece of furniture.
CHRISTINE: Yeah.
CAIRA: I have a couch. It was $300 and it’s very much a couch.
CHRISTINE: Yeah. I have a couch too. I do not have a room for a sofa
All right. So whether you call it a sofa or a couch, we obviously expect a lot from this piece of furniture. It oftentimes can be very expensive. You use it a lot. You want it to look beautiful and to be functional. And shopping for one, I think, can be quite fun, but also-
CAIRA: What?
CHRISTINE: Yeah. It can be fun. I mean, it’s like such a statement piece in your home, right? But it’s also a big investment.
CAIRA: Yeah. They’re very intimidating and they’re very expensive. And that’s why we’re bringing on Daniela Gorny. She edits all things home and decor here at Wirecutter. And she actually wrote our sofa guide on site. So she’s going to help us decode the enigma that is sofa shopping, which for the record, I do not find fun.
CHRISTINE: We are going to take a quick break and when we’re back, Daniela will demystify shopping for couches.
And real quick, I’ve got an announcement about a special offer for our listeners If you’re not already a subscriber to the New York Times: you can now explore The Times for free, without paywalls, during your first month in The New York Times app. Find all your favorite shows, like Modern Love, Cannonball and more on the new Shows tab. Just download the New york times app and sign up! Ok, Be right back with Daniela.
CAIRA: Welcome back. With us now is Daniela Gorny. She’s an editor here at Wirecutter who covers all things home and decor. And before her time at Wirecutter, she actually worked in the architecture world as a designer.
CHRISTINE: Daniela, welcome to the show.
DANIELA: Thank you so much for having me. It’s great to be here.
CHRISTINE: It’s great to have you here. I have wanted to do this episode for a long time. I feel like sofas are such a tricky purchase for a lot of people. It can be a really fun purchase where you’re picturing it in your home and your room and your whole family or yourself using it, but it’s also kind of intimidating. These can be very expensive. And I’ve just noticed that people in my life have a little bit of decision paralysis around sofas. So I want you to tell me why do you think this is such a hard purchase for a lot of people?
DANIELA: I mean, the price is one thing. You said that it is intimidating to see how much these actually cost, but also it’s probably the piece of furniture that you use the most in your house, maybe even more than a mattress depending, you know.
CAIRA:
Oh, hot take.
CHRISTINE: Oh, wow.
DANIELA: And you use a sofa for so many different things. You can lounge and hang out on it, but you can also sleep on it, use it as a second bed. People also work from it.
CAIRA: I eat on my sofa almost-
DANIELA: Exactly.
CHRISTINE: My kids eat on my sofa.
DANIELA: And so people use your coffee table around it. It just becomes a very personal thing, but it’s also a very social thing and it has to balance both of those things. We ask a lot of a sofa.
CAIRA: Before we even get into buying advice, what exactly has Wirecutter tested? Like you said, there’s so many things on the market and you have a lot of options. So what kind of sofas did you want to focus on for this guide?
DANIELA: For the sofa guide, we actually started out testing a lot of direct to consumer brands, online only brands, because that’s where we thought we could be the most helpful because it’s so hard buying a sofa sight unseen. But actually now we test all different kinds of sofas, two, three-seaters, sectionals. But we try to get a nice mix of different brands, different styles, different price ranges. For this guide, we’ve mainly sort of stayed between our cheapest pick right now is maybe like $800, but we’ve gone up to $5,000. And so that’s kind of the mix that we have right now.
CHRISTINE: I think that there’s this sort of cultural idea that when you buy a nice sofa, it will last you for decades. You might think of a grandparent who was able to keep one their whole life or something. I don’t think that’s the expectation of a sofa anymore. How long do you think a good sofa should last?
DANIELA: A good sofa? I still think it should last 10 or 15 years. That’s not necessarily the case, but I think that’s what you should still aim for. The thing is with cheaper materials, fast furniture has become a thing. Sometimes sofas will last two or three years. But also the other side of the coin here is that trends change and people want something different. People get tired of their sofa. And because in the age of social media and Instagram and seeing all these different trends come up, after three or four years, people want to switch it up too. And so that’s another factor. Even if your sofa may still have another four or five years, people want to switch it up and brands are responding to that demand.
CAIRA: I’m sure they’re loving that demand. Yeah. Oh, yeah, don’t buy a new couch. I had a follow-up question just about what does it look like when your sofa has hit its lifespan? What does that feel like?
DANIELA: The fabric is probably the first thing to wear, but your couch may still be perfectly fine. Then the next step after that is that you’ll start to see maybe some sagging in the spots where you start to sit in a lot. And then the step beyond that is things will start to maybe squeak or creak. And so that’s when you’re starting to be like, okay. And then if you have these sort of permanent, really sagging pieces, it may just be like one of the springs has broken. And so that’s when you start to see that it’s maybe falling apart a little bit.
CAIRA: What’s the minimum amount of money you think somebody can realistically spend and still expect to get a decent sofa?
DANIELA: This is a little hard because it depends on your expectations too. You could spend a thousand dollars at Ikea and then your sofa maybe lasts like a decade and you’re going to be so happy with that because maybe you weren’t expecting it to last a decade. But if you spend $5,000 on a sofa and it also lasts a decade and you were expecting it to last 20 years, it may be a little difficult.
CAIRA: Right.
DANIELA: And price of materials keeps going up. Even Ikea, you can find two or $3,000 couches at Ikea, which people maybe are not expecting. It’s really hard to put a number on it. Maybe in the $2,000 or $3,000 price range, you’ll find something good. But I think the best thing to do is also find a company that warranties the frames and the springs. No one’s going to lifetime warranty the cushion and the fabric because that-
CHRISTINE: Because those just inherently wear down over time.
DANIELA: Yeah. And they’re meant to wear down over time. But if it has good bones and you can reupholster and you can re-cushion, that’s great. So as long as the frame and the springs are in good condition and they have that kind of warranty, then you should be pretty good.
CHRISTINE: Let’s say you are buying a sofa from somewhere like DWR, Design Within Reach, and a lot of those sofas can be upwards $10,000 or more sometimes. What are you getting at that level? Is it just purely the style thing? Or are the quality of those $10,000 and up sofas actually a lot better than say the $5,000 tier?
DANIELA: I think you are paying a lot for the name, but I would pay attention to the specs because generally most of the sofas there are going to be made with better quality materials, better quality springs, or will have those lifetime warranties. But are you paying a premium for a name brand? Yes, absolutely you are. And so you may be better off finding something similar. Maybe you can go to Design Within Reach and get a sense of what you like. Sit on the sofas, sit on a $20,000 sofa, see what that feels like. And maybe if you find one that you really like, take those dimensions and see what it is that you like about it, and then try to find something similar in your price range if that’s not in your price range.
CAIRA: What do you think are the most important things for people to think about when they’re starting to shop for a new couch?
DANIELA: Be realistic about how you’re actually going to use a sofa in your house. Who’s going to be sitting on it every day? What are you going to be using it for? Do you like to lounge and sit back in your sofa? Do you like to have a day of watching movies and that’s what you really want to do in your sofa? Or do you like to be more upright? Do you like to read? Do you like to do some crafts and just sort of socialize with people and be more upright? You don’t like that sense of sinking in your sofa and just sort of being swallowed up. So I think just being really realistic about how you’re going to use your sofa every day. Also, do you entertain? Do you have a lot of guests? How do you like to sit with your guests in your living room?
Do you want to all be sitting close to each other and sort of lounging with each other? Or do you feel more comfortable where everyone has their space and they’re sitting up a little bit? And then kids and pets and fabrics and sort of seeing what works for your lifestyle compare with sofas that you’ve had in the past and what are the things that bother you the most? Did stuff start scratching and fading or getting a lot of spots and stains? And shop around that. Just be very realistic about how you’re going to use your sofa day-to-day.
CHRISTINE: This is why my current shopping situation is so hard because I need a new sofa. And what I want is a big cushy suburban L-shaped sofa that’s a tan or cream color.
DANIELA: Yes.
CHRISTINE: And that is actually absolutely unrealistic for my life. My family would love it, but it won’t fit in my apartment. The color would be a terrible match for my children. So I think I’m a little paralyzed because I don’t know what to get. The constraints of where I live are not working for what I want.
CAIRA: Right. How do you compromise?
CHRISTINE: Yeah.
DANIELA: Well, if you go for performance fabrics, which is the kind of fabric that is just a little bit more stain and spot resistant, and if you have covers that you can wash, you could actually make that work.
CHRISTINE: We have a recommendation in one of the guides for, I think it’s called the Get Together sofa from Sundays.
DANIELA: Yes.
CHRISTINE: And that’s the one I want, but it’s ginormous because I’ve sat in it at the office. I might have to measure my space again.
DANIELA: That one comes in two different depths too. So maybe you can look for a smaller depth. And it’s also modular. So it comes in a lot of different boxes. And especially for small apartments, modular sofas can be an option because you don’t have to fit a gigantic sofa up through a doorway. You can bring it up in boxes.
CHRISTINE: And when you say modular, you mean that there are individual pieces that you kind of connect once you put them in place?
DANIELA: Exactly. And some just come in separate seats and the individual seats just sort of click together. Sometimes the backs and the arms will be removable too, so they’re even more modular and you can adjust the arms, the backs, and then fit potentially a bigger sofa in a space that you would’ve thought maybe something couldn’t fit.
CHRISTINE: Let’s talk a little bit about how to shop when you go into a store, into a brick and mortar store. Is there a checklist that you kind of run through in your brain of what to think through when you’re trying out things in a store?
DANIELA: Shopping in person, it’s really tempting to shop online, but there is no replacement for shopping in person, especially for sofas. It’s so hard to shop online. And that’s why we have the guide because so many people shop online. But when you’re in a store, that feeling of sitting on the sofa and getting a sense for how your particular body feels on a sofa, there’s just no replacement for that. Because even if you decide that, okay, you like this certain depth or this certain height, sofas will also sink and adjust differently. So the same sort of 17 or 18 inch height off the ground may feel a little different from couch to couch. And so when you’re going through a store, I think sitting down on everything, just sitting down on it the way that you would sit down at home, spend maybe like five or 10 minutes in the store.
And then one of the other things is just maybe try to lift the sofa a little bit too on the edge and see if it feels really heavy. If it feels very heavy, that’s usually a good sign. It probably means that it’s made with some really dense hardwoods and denser materials. Lightweight sofas that are made with lighter weight woods will be very easy to lift off. Maybe aggressively launch yourself onto the sofa a little bit. And if it shifts a little bit, that’s not a great sign. You don’t want a sofa that just really easily moves when you’re sort of really putting all your weight on it. Anything that squeaks or creaks, if it’s brand new in the showroom, not a good sign. Especially if it’s brand new, that’s not good. Even if there’s a certain shop that you’re not even thinking of buying from, I think just going to the showrooms can really give you a sense of what you like and what you don’t like.
And showrooms, really heavily trafficked showrooms like Ikea for example, if there’s been a couch that has been sitting on the floor there for months, that’s usually a really good indicator of how it’s going to wear eventually over time because it’s in really harsh conditions there at the showroom. So just taking a look at is it already sagging somewhere just because of how many people have sat on this sofa? And so those are really good things to just keep an eye on when you’re shopping in person.
CAIRA: So to recap, you really want to think through how your couch is going to live in your space and how you’re going to use it. And you should have realistic expectations of what you’ll get depending on how much you’re willing to spend. It’s probably safe to say that you can’t really expect to spend less than a thousand dollars and get a decent couch. You also want to look for a lifetime warranty or a limited lifetime warranty, which will apply to the frame and the springs. And if you can, please go to a store, try these out, throw yourself out these couches and see how they react because that will really tell you how they will react in your own home.
CHRISTINE: Okay, we’re going to take a quick break. And when we’re back, Daniela, we’re going to talk about sofa specs. We’re going to get into the nitty-gritty of some of the specs that you should look for and some other things that you should walk into your purchase expecting. We’ll be right back.
CAIRA: Welcome back. So before the break, we ran through some of the basics of shopping for a sofa. And now we want to ask you, Daniela, about buying a sofa online because a lot of people do do that. There are so many sofas out there that are sold direct to consumers and we really just want to know what should you generally do before you click that buy button?
DANIELA: Buying online is tricky. And obviously if you can go see some of, even if it’s not the couch that you’re thinking of buying, trying to get a sense of what you like. Because if you already sort of have an idea of what kind of dimensions you like, seat depth and arm height and back height, then you’ll be able to look online with those dimensions in mind. And another thing is too, when you’re shopping online, all of the picks that we recommend give you the option to order fabric swatches. Always order the fabric swatches. Use those swatches at home, toss them in the dryer, scratch them, use them around your pets and your kids and see how they react and just see if that meets your requirements of what you’re going to want to live with at home. There are performance fabrics that usually last better.
They’re usually made with synthetic fabrics and they usually have synthetic coatings. And so that’s a personal preference. Natural fabrics like cotton and linen will be a little bit more precious to take care of, but some people don’t mind that and prefer that. But you can start to narrow all those things down by at least ordering swatches and seeing what you like. Also, looking at the type of fill that they use. All of the picks that we recommend use either high resiliency foam, which is just a type of foam that wears better because it bounces back better. And they’re usually high density too. Cheap foam that’s lower density just means that there’s more air in there and it’s just not as… It’s more susceptible to sinking and sagging. So if something uses a high resiliency foam that’s also high density, which usually it will be if it’s high resiliency, that’s something to-
CHRISTINE: So specifically, should you be looking for words that say, “High density, high resiliency,” and if it doesn’t have those words, it’s likely that it’s not?
DANIELA: Yes, it’s likely that it’s not. And some of them also have a mix of feathers and other kinds of fill and synthetic fills, but trying to figure out what kind of fill you like. Do you like a stiffer, sort of a more firmer fill or do you like a softer fill? But keep in mind that if it is a softer fill, you’re probably going to have to fluff your cushions more. It’s going to require a little bit more day-to-day maintenance. So those are some things to keep in mind as you’re shopping online.
CAIRA: The entire process of trying to figure out the specs of sofas online seems to be just as confusing as a mattress. If you’re checking out these websites, I’ve seen all these different specs listed and it’s everything from regular stuff like seat height, fabric, the depth, and then they have certifications. I’ve even seen something called rub count. Can you please tell me what that is? It’s all so overwhelming. So which specs actually matter that people should look for?
DANIELA: That is a great question, and I will definitely get to rub count. But even before we get to rub count, what the frame is made of, I think the two big things is solid hardwood frames, plywood frames, really good, just because they have a lot of structure to them, excellent. Frames that are made out of MDF, which is like particle board, they are not as good. And granted, there’s a certain price range that you can’t avoid MDF, but if you find something that’s made with plywood or with solid wood, better. That’s always better. Getting into fabrics, rub counts, it’s an abrasion test to see how it will last. Will it last after 20,000 rubs? Will it start to show wear? After 30,000 rubs, will it start to show wear?
Generally speaking, most experts would say 30, 40, 50,000 rubs is kind of a good range. Most performance fabrics will actually go well beyond that, like a hundred thousand plus. But if a sofa is already sharing that information about their fabric options, that’s already a really good sign. And there’s also, besides rub count, there’s a lot of other certifications that companies will never even share. There’s a pilling test. There’s a fade resistant test. There’s a seam slippage test, which tests how they pull things apart. And so see if how that lasts. One of the picks that we recommend, Room & Board, they’re really good about listing all those things. But if they don’t list those things, again, email the company, call the company because they may have those certifications. They may just not be listing them.
CHRISTINE: If someone is looking for a fabric that is just going to wear well for the longest amount of time, you mentioned high performance fabrics. I think a lot of those are synthetic. Is that the way to go?
DANIELA: I think yes, you are giving up the natural sort of cotton and linens. Unfortunately, most performance fabrics are synthetic. There are some performance fabrics. They will be cotton or linen, but they’ll be coated in some kind of performance coating. So that’s kind of a mix of both. But yes, most performance fabrics like acrylics and polyesters, but high quality acrylics and high quality polyesters, those are usually what people with pets and kids do because they will just repel stains. You can easily spot clean them and they do wear and tear better. Cottons and linens, they will show their wear just more easily. They’re a little bit more precious to take care of, but they may feel better against your skin. So you just kind of have to balance what you like the most.
CHRISTINE: What about leather? That’s a whole other-
DANIELA: So my-
CHRISTINE: That’s a whole other episode, but I know we’ve tested leather.
DANIELA: I know. So my colleague, Joshua Lyon, he just wrote a guide to how to shop for leather. Leather is tricky and there’s a whole other world to leather. But what he tested, and he’s spoken to so many experts about this, top grain and full grain leather is usually the way to go. They will show their-
CHRISTINE: And that’s from a particular part of the hide. Is that what that means?
DANIELA: Yes. The top grain and full grain is usually the part of the leather that’s the most exposed parts, but also show their quality and the characteristics. So it’s just more robust. It’s stronger. And so cheaper leathers have been buffed and sanded to sand out those imperfections. And so then it just becomes thinner. And then the genuine leather, which I say that with in between quotations or 100% leather is usually neither. It’s neither genuine or 100%. And those-
CHRISTINE: It’s a lie.
DANIELA: It’s a lie. Most of the times they’re just sort of covering up the fact that it’s really cheap leather, the worst parts of the hyde. Sometimes bonded leather, I would say, it’s not even leather. It’s like a slurry of resins and wax and parts of leather.
CAIRA: Excuse me?
DANIELA: Yes.
CAIRA: What?
DANIELA: Leather pieces.
CHRISTINE: It’s like a leather smoothie that they created your sofa out of.
DANIELA: Yes. Yes. Yeah. It really is. But leather will also show its wear. And so that may be something to be aware of, but a lot of people, that’s something that they want and they want to see how that leather wears.
CAIRA: Okay. So look for the frame, the foam, and the fabric. The most important specs.
DANIELA: Yes.
CHRISTINE: Before the break, you talked about how important it is to look for a sofa that has a warranty. I’m wondering with this online category about return policies, how do you avoid ordering something and then you’re stuck with it? What is a good return policy for one of these online sofas?
DANIELA: That is a great point. I think look at the fine print. That is probably the most important thing. Look at the return policy. I think a 30-day return policy would be the absolute minimum. I think if it’s like a 90-day return policy, 180-day return policy, that is much better. But also besides the return policy, a lot of the places, even if you can return a sofa, because shipping sofas is very expensive, a lot of them will have restocking fees. Sometimes it’ll be 10%, sometimes it’ll be as high as 50%. So keep that in mind because if you’re not comfortable with paying that restocking fee, you may be stuck.
CAIRA: And when you return a couch, do you expect them to come pick it up or do you have to find a way? I know when I return stuff for Costco, sometimes they’re like, “Yeah. You have to bring it back to the store that you bought it from.” Is that an issue with couch returns?
DANIELA: So probably a little bit similar to mattresses. It is hard to return a sofa. A lot of places will offer the option to pick it up for you, and that’s kind of the ideal. So you usually don’t have to figure out how to return it. But sometimes, and again, read the fine print, you will have to pay the shipping to return it back. So really read the fine print and just make sure that you’re comfortable with all those things. But I think the better companies will offer some kind of a flat fee for returning and they’ll come pick it up and you won’t need to save the original packaging. But a lot of companies require that you save the original packaging, which is really hard to do because packaging for sofas is gigantic.
CAIRA: It’s huge.
DANIELA: It’s not that a smaller company, if they don’t offer a good return policy, not necessarily that it’s bad. It’s just that it is very expensive for the companies to be able to afford to do this constant back and forth. It’s not as easy as returning clothing. So read the fine print.
CHRISTINE: Is there anything to know about delivery? And this might apply to both in-store and online purchases, but is there anything… I’ve heard nightmare stories about people ordering a sofa online and having huge issues with the delivery process itself. Are there any tips around what to look for around delivery?
DANIELA: Yes. The best companies make it really clear exactly. If something is coming in separate boxes, they will list the weight and the dimension of the boxes of the things that come in. So make sure that those boxes will fit up your stairs, that they will fit through your elevator. If something is coming preassembled and white glove delivery, and that means that they’re unpackaging it for you, they’re assembling it for you, also look at the dimensions of that sofa. The best companies will list the full dimensions of what you need to expect during delivery, and they’ll make that process really clear. If they don’t make it clear, email them, call them, ask them, checking all those dimensions. Some companies will also even send you a printout of the footprint of your sofa.
CHRISTINE: Oh, that’s convenient.
DANIELA: And so then you can also see what it will look like in your space. But if they don’t do that, masking tape, cardboard, you can kind of do it yourself and sort of mock that up in your living room and see what that’s going to feel like when you have it in your space. Take a look at all those dimensions and make sure that it will fit through your house before it comes in.
CHRISTINE: I think Caira, you and I have both had sofas delivered that didn’t fit into our apartments, right?
CAIRA: What a nightmare. I had to like-
CHRISTINE: I sent mine back. What did you do?
CAIRA: I called the couch doctor to literally saw it in half and then put it back together in my apartment.
CHRISTINE: Is that the one you have right now?
CAIRA: Yes.
CHRISTINE: No wonder it’s a little creaky.
DANIELA: Yeah. That’s what I was going to say.
CAIRA: I just didn’t want to go through the hassle of trying to find a new couch.
DANIELA: Sometimes you just have to make it work, and that’s also great. So just do whatever you need to do.
CAIRA: This entire conversation, we’ve kind of been talking about buying a new couch, but for people who maybe aren’t ready to spend that money yet, what are some things that you can do for the couch that you already own that can make it feel or look new?
DANIELA: Well, if it’s already sagging, if it’s already creaking, you probably have to re-upholster and redo the cushions. There’s not much around that. But if the fabric is fading, if there’s some piling, and if it’s a little bit more aesthetic than it is a structural thing, then getting a nice sofa cover can do wonders.
CAIRA: Is this like the slip sofa cover that you just kind of put on top? What do you mean by that?
DANIELA: So there could be both. Some companies sell replacement covers for their sofa, and so that could be a really good option. A lot of our picks do that. You could just-
CHRISTINE: That’s why I like the Sunday one.
DANIELA: Yes. Because-
CHRISTINE: Because it has a slip cover and you can buy a new one, I think. Yeah.
DANIELA: If you want to switch up the color because you want to try something different in your living room, that can also be a route to go. Trying to find a sofa that has replaceable covers because then you can… It’s still a decent amount of money, but it’s considerably cheaper than replacing your entire sofa, just being able to replace the covers. But if the sofa that you have doesn’t have replaceable covers, then just looking for a sofa cover online, some places will make sofa covers for specific models so you can find, but if not, there’s also general sofa covers. Something that I’ve done too is just using a really nice linen sheet to sort of cover certain areas.
CHRISTINE: I do that at home, that, yeah-
DANIELA: The thing is there’s… Yeah. It’s a really great option because besides replacing the sofa and re-upholstering, I think trying those options at home are really good, at least as a first approach before you move on to bigger things.
CAIRA: Yeah.
DANIELA: I think for some fabrics too that are maybe pilling trying a fabric shaver the same way that you would use a fabric shaver on a sweater if it’s a small enough area.
CAIRA: Right.
CHRISTINE: Daniela, we’ve talked all about sort of how to approach shopping, what to look for. We’re going to do a fun way of talking about the things that we recommend on the site. So we’re going to run through a lightning round where we’re going to give you some scenarios of the types of living situations or the types of thing that somebody might be looking for, and you tell us which of our picks you would recommend. Okay?
DANIELA: All right.
CAIRA: So maybe somebody is a first time apartment renter. They have about $1,000 to spend and they just need something solid that’ll get them through the next few years.
DANIELA: Personally, my first approach would be to look for a secondhand sofa because you can find some really good secondhand sofas out there that will maybe be worth way more than a thousand dollars. And then like we were just talking about, you could look for a sofa cover if the fabric is sort of a little bit fading. But if secondhand and used is not your vibe and you just want something new, I think it’s pretty hard to beat Ikea because one, a lot of the times you can see these in person and Ikea actually has really good warranties. A lot of their warranties will be into the 10 or 25 years. It’s really hard to beat Ikea for that kind of budget.
CHRISTINE: We have a family with young, messy kids, a muddy dog, and no interest in babying their furniture.
DANIELA: High quality performance fabrics. If someone spills something on it, you can just wipe off and you’re not going to be trying to put covers on it. You’re not going to be babying it. You’re not going to sort of say that the couch is off limits. Just get something with a high quality performance fabric that you can just wipe off or washable covers too. But washable covers are also, it takes a lot of time and effort to remove all the covers. And so also think about that because if you don’t want to mess with constantly washing those, then you may just want a very high quality performance fabric and a tailored sofa that you can just spot clean and wipe off.
CHRISTINE: Do any of the brands that we recommend make something in that vein that you would recommend?
DANIELA: Yes. The Sundays couch, removable washable covers. Sixpenny is one where they are also removable and washable covers, at least the model that we recommend. They have performance fabrics, but cotton and linens is usually what they have. But I would say the Sundays sofa, Room & Board makes incredible performance fabrics and they’re all sort of tested and certified in all sorts of different ways. So those would be the two brands that I think I would look at.
CAIRA: Okay. What if you have someone who works from home and basically lives on their couch eight hours a day?
DANIELA: Definitely try out the sofas in person if you can. But in terms of some of the picks that we recommend, the Room & Board, the Sundays, they do come in really good performance fabrics.
CAIRA: And they’re deep too.
DANIELA: And they’re deep too. But also one of the other brands that we recommend that’s kind of customizable too is BenchMade and they have really good warranties as well. So if something, maybe five years down the line, if this is a person that spends a lot of time in their sofas, something starts to squeak and creak, you can rely on their lifetime warranty and they will try to make it right too.
CHRISTINE: All right, we’re going to shift to someone who’s a little fancier and wants their living room to look like it’s in the pages of Architectural Digest. They care just as much about style as comfort.
DANIELA: For this person, I think if you have the budget, I would actually recommend going into the custom-made sofa or vintage sofa sort of route. We recommend a lot of really beautiful picks, but I think this person will probably be happier with something really unique or a cool vintage sofa or maybe trying to find something that no one else has.
CAIRA: What if you have a really tall person who’s constantly frustrated that couches aren’t deep enough to actually lounge on?
DANIELA: So a few of our picks actually make couches with different depths. Room & Board is one of them. It comes in two different depths. It comes in deep and extra deep.
CHRISTINE: Okay. How about for someone who has a very tiny living space and they need every inch to count?
DANIELA: So for this person, I would look into modular sofas. And by that I just mean a sofa that comes in boxes. And most likely you’ll have to assemble this yourself, but sometimes a few companies will offer that assembly at home. Sabai and Burrow, both make picks that one, the sofas, you’ll have to sacrifice maybe a little bit of space or depth for these, but the arms will be movable. The backs will be adjustable because you can reconfigure these in your space. So that means that you can move things around. So just having that flexibility I think is really good for people in small spaces.
CAIRA: Our last hypothetical, someone who’s trying to buy one couch that they really hope they won’t have to replace for a decade.
DANIELA: For this one, it’s hard to beat Room & Board just because their warranty and customer service is pretty incredible for the picks that we offer. They also sell replacement parts for the couch. So you already know that they’re thinking about the longevity of their product. Sabai is one of the companies that we also recommend that they will sell separate extra arms or extra backs on things. So that’s a really good sign. But Room & Board, I’ve heard of people that own Room & Board where five years into owning something, something will go wrong and they will actually send a repair person to your home to try and fix something. So even if something does go wrong, you can at least know that someone will help you take care of that.
CAIRA: Wow. So we’ve made it to our final question. So Daniela, what’s the last thing you bought that you’ve really loved?
DANIELA: I was actually helping test a portable projector for a guide and I loved it so much that I bought one for myself.
CAIRA: What was it?
DANIELA: It’s the Nebula Mars.
CAIRA: Oh, yeah.
DANIELA: Yeah. So it’s one of these projectors that you can move around your house. It’s so fun because one, we don’t have a TV on our bedroom, but every now and then I do like to lie in bed and watch TV. And so I can move this around. It’s so fun.
CAIRA: Well, Daniela, thank you so much for joining us today.
DANIELA: Thank you so much for having me.
CHRISTINE: Thank you.
CHRISTINE: Okay. Well, Daniela is so knowledgeable about sofas.
CAIRA: Amazing.
CHRISTINE: I want to go shopping with her now because I feel like that’s actually the answer of how to buy a nice sofa is just go shopping with her. What are you taking away?
CAIRA: Okay. So I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that I’m not quite ready to buy a new couch yet. But I do know now for next time, I think I’m going to go modular. I like that idea of being able to flip it around if you get bored of it, of the configuration, you can change it. And I’m going to get a really deep couch because my partner and I love to just lounge on the weekend.
CHRISTINE: Your partner is very tall too.
CAIRA: Super tall.
CHRISTINE: Yeah.
CAIRA: Yeah. His feet are always hanging off no matter how deep our couch is. So I’m going to go big this time.
CHRISTINE: You’re going to go big. Go big or go home. I like that. So I am going to try out a bunch of sofas in person. My husband and I have been talking about buying a sofa, so I think we got to go try them out and I’m going to go try them out at the Wirecutter office because we have them there. So that’s not helpful to listeners, but go somewhere where you know there are a lot of sofas.
CAIRA: That’s like you going to a store.
CHRISTINE: Yeah. That’s right. And I’m also going to map out the potential sofa we’ll get on our floor using some painter’s tape or masking tape like that so that I can kind of get a read for what it will actually feel like in the room.
CAIRA: I love it.
CHRISTINE: Well, that’s it for us today. If you are interested in anything that we talked about, we are going to have links in our show notes to the specific sofas we mentioned and to our reviews. So check out our site and we’ll see you next time.
CAIRA: Bye.
CHRISTINE: The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel, engineering support from Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. Today’s episode was mixed by Catherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marian Lozano, Rowan Niemisto, Catherine Anderson, and Diane Wong. Cliff Levy is Wirecutter’s deputy publisher and general manager. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor-in-chief.
I’m Christine Cyr Clisset.
CAIRA: I’m Caira Blackwell.
CHRISTINE: Thanks for listening.
CAIRA: Slushy leather sofa. It’s horrifying.
