help, please?
normally i'm a good little scour-er when it comes to finding what i need on the internet, but i'm at a loss and i thought i'd turn to my design savvy friends out in the blog world. ac and are looking for a new couch and need some help- we're trying to find a couch that is modern, comfortable and affordable (ie: under a grand). seemingly not an easy task as i can't pull up anything i like that isn't like $2500 (ouch!). so, i was wondering if anyone had any brilliant ideas or hidden finds? i'm looking for something like the couch above (from pottery barn, isn't that wall color fabulous? so calming and clean) that is simple and won't feel like a brick to sit on. as much as i love modern stylish stuff, it's gotta be able to handle me running up and jumping on it to cuddle up for a good movie. so, if anyone has any tips, i'd really, really appreciate it. i've tried pottery barn, crate and barrel, cb2, room and board and ikea (i'm trying to move away from ikea furniture though)...am i crazy and have i forgotten some treasure of a couch store? thank you so so much for any and all help. xo, d*s
[ps: we will be inheriting my grandmother's old couch, which i plan to redo with a fun, bright fabric like the domino mag cover...or this jane magazine snippet, but i'd like the other couch to be comfy and less of a "fun to look at" piece]
Labels: furniture
posted by design*sponge @ 13.7.05
38 Comments:
modernsofa.com in CA is good but then you have shipping. Mitchell Gold also good but more expensive. Good luck
after much searching and torment, we recently ordered a couch from the very nice people an environment 337 on smith st in brooklyn. it cost $1300, we chose from a bunch of styles and fabrics and ended up with something we love that's a step above crate & barrel etc. they order these couches custom built...downside? it may take up to 12 weeks to arrive. we're pretty sure schrager furniture in manhattan uses the same manufacturer (they had a floor model identical to the one we bought, different fabric) and charges about $400 more. plus the oweners of environment could not have been more helpful; they helped us choose the fabric, ordered armcovers, and let us take our time with decision making. now fingers crossed we get the couch before september!
bo concept?
their modular couches are fantastic.
EQ3 Seating
Most of these you can get for under $1000, depending on the fabric.
Not sure about price, but Rowe furniture has some decent sofas in a range of styles. I've sat on them and been happy.
Good luck!
Storehouse has some nice and affordable pieces. They also have a wide array of fabrics in the store (including some Mitchell Gold) which can be substituted for no extra cost. I know they have several locations in NJ but they're also online at storehouse.com
Definitley worth checking out!
oh, the sofa woes. My husband and I have just ended our 2.5 year search for a comfortable, cheap, but not ugly sofa. We totally lucked out at the ABC outlet in the Bronx. We got a unique, comfy, modern sofa for $ 750 marked down from $ 2200!
It was amazing.
I did the same thing as you. I recovered an old french settee in a nice modern pattern but I wanted a nice big soft couch that I could cuddle on and I wanted something fairly durable. My solution: I got a part time job at pottery barn on the weekends ...for a month. Just long enough to buy a nice big couch at 40% off.
Another option is Craigslist. You could get a high quality used couch for a lower price.
By the way, I read your blog everyday. It is fantastic.
Check out Room and Board's Mercer Sofa series:
http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/coll.do?coll=RB3187&dept=RB204
The Todd Oldham collection at La-Z-Boy is interesting (and given that it's from La-Z-Boy, guaranteed to be comfortable). My wife and I just ordered a Diamond Flyer from them over the Fourth of July weekend, and it cost just over a thousand dollars.
check out # 3820-02 at Clayton Marcus. I liked this model at a furniture store in Cleveland, and it was only about 1,000 there. You can type in your zip to find a retailer near you.
You are lucky, though, being in NYC; you have many more store choices! I wish I could go to a Room and Board store and check their sofas out in person.
this is over your $1000 mark a little but it looks nicer than anything from pottery barn.
i've never bought furniture from a department store, but a place like macy's might have a good selection -- and if you open a credit card account, they usually offer a % off.
btw, hold everything has a bunch of new stuff -- including the blake couch that looks a bit like the pb one, but is slightly less $.
I second the Room & Board comment. My boyfriend and I got the Hoyt in "mushroom". It's a little different than what you're looking for, but I'd guess the quality and sturdiness is fairly representative of R&B.
It took a couple of months to make it's way to us due to the optional upholstery color, but it's really great. Most importantly, our kitties' claws (which we only trim intermittently) haven't wounded it in the slightest.
www.thesofaco.com sells inexpensive sofas, but the company is based in LA.
I know you said you're trying to stay away from IKEA (quality, stigma, not sure?) but if you're willing to entertain the big blue box store, then you should look at the Karlanda or the new Sandhem series. The Sandhem looks a LOT like your sample picture. Between these two lines you can pick fabric, leather, loveseat, couch, and sleep and most of the prices will be around $1K.
I concur with the Room & Board suggestion... If y'all are willing to pay a "bit" more, then (and this gets slightly complicated)...make friends with my dear pal Ludlow, who owns a lovely homewares shop in Fort Greene (www.yuinteriors.com), and then proceed to Rico on Atlantic Ave (www.shoprico.com) and hopefully get, in addition to their regular "discounted" prices, a special referred-by-Ludlow discount. Check out his in-house designed lighting while you're at it. I have a sensational Della Robia piece ordered thru Rico. Best of luck! *David
I purchased a 2-piece chaise sectional (Microfiber) Italsofa from Macy's for a great price. It looks a lot like the couch you like. Italsofa is the "Made in China" cheap version of the Italian made Natuzzi sofas, which are just that much more unaffordable, yet that much more comfortable.
Its a great comfortable couch that I highly recommend. If you want to see a picture, send me an e-mail to zakurie AT hotmail DOT com
Try Dania. Good prices and a good leap above most IKEA.
http://www.daniafurniture.com
I second the above comment regarding Dania - my boyfriend and I bought a couch from there a few months ago and we love it. It was a little over $1000 (I think the total was like $1080) and it's a sectional with a chaise on one end... room for all our friends, uber-comfy, and fits in with my modernist sensibilities.
When it comes to a reasonably priced sofa, do not pooh pooh the stores we'd all usually run away from like boring dept. stores, Rooms to Go and Jennifer Convertibles, et. al. Also, I don't know how far you are from a PB outlet, but the sofas are often as low as $600 - it might be worth a trip w/ a U-Haul.
Don't forget eBay either. You may find a seller close to where you live.
It took me a year to find a good couch for around a grand - it's not an easy task, but you can do it. Can't wait to see how your grandma sofa turns out, I've been admiring that Domino cover for a month!
Well according to Dania's site they don't sell online or through the catalog. So you'd need a remote buyer and shipping arrangements...
I have 2 Karlanda couches from ikea- they are super comfortable and are quite cheap- have so far lasted 2 years without problems. They look even better if you take a couple inches off or paint the "beech" legs. Simple clean design.
You said you've already checked out and rejected Room & Board couches, but I just wanted to note re: the above Mercer couch suggestion: I have the Mercer—and I totally love it—but it's NOT a "comfy couch." We use it in a room without a TV, so it's primarily for hanging out and talking with friends. It's definitely not something to run and jump on.
For a inexpensive, modern couch, try West Elm. They have a limited selection, but they look pretty modern and I think they come in a variety of colors. You'd have to pay for shipping...but it would still probably come in at under $1000
www.westelm.com
good luck!
It's kind of expensive, but my favorite sofa in the whole world right now is the Petrie Sofa from Crate & Barrel.
i second the rico (atlantic ave) suggestion....i saw that they're having a sample sale that you may want to check out....
Okay, so I think this might be a little too low brow, BUT I really like my Home Reserve sofa. The website looks cheap, but it looks much better in person. And it was fun and easy to put together. It looks as good as any PB couch - though I can't attest for ware, since mine is new. Best of luck
Hauswerks.com has an awesome "mimic couch" that looks super comfy and doubles as a spare bed (not a pullout)
it's pricey though- sorry- just checked on that. :)- but not if you had to buy both a spare bed and a couch!
I'm a little shocked that nobody has mentioned one of the best ways to find the right item for you and your home- AN INTERIOR DESIGNER!
A designer can order you a couch in the style you want and with the fabric you want.
Yes, some designers could be more expensive BUT I am going to order a couch from a family friend who is a designer and its gonna be CHEAP! I went to a studio and looked at it and the full price was just over $1000.
I really really recommend LEE JOFA brand furniture. It is the most comfortable hands down and they actually carry modern designs and quite a few 'pottery barn' style sofas.
Lee Jofa also carries the fabric line GROUNDWORKS and a David Hicks line (done by his son Ashley), which I think is on the domino cover.
check out www.leejofa.com
Keep up the good work Design Sponge!!! I hope you find your dream sofa, you deserve it!
Have you tried Room & Board? I can't vouch for quality, but they sure do seem reasonably priced. And the designs are innocuous -- much like pottery barn. West Elm also seemed to have some ok deals.
I purchased a (case study) sofa at White on White, and it's fine -- but I do now understand know why Modernica costs the big bucks. The detailing at the W&W sofa isn't too great, but the overall picture is the same.
See http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/dept.do?dept=RB204
I bought a couch that looks just like yours except mine is just as long but has two long cushions instead of three. And it's beige microfiber with square chocolate legs. I saw the style at Crate & Barrel (Cameron .. though my couch is lighter and has taller legs.) and couldn't get it out of my head while looking for a cheaper option. Desperate, I walked into Macy's Furniture anticipating aisles and aisles of overstuffed leather couches and flowered atrocities.
Then I found it. I bought it on sale for $699 from $899. (This was last November around Thanksgiving.) Shipping was $60. The Crate & Barrel couch cost $1499.
I just got a furniture catalog called Storehouse, which I'd never heard of before. www.storehouse.com
Hi Sponge!
Well, I'm afraid I really have to add my voice to the chorus here. My boyfriend and I (who are in roughly the same income bracket, the same age, and with the same taste, more or less, as you) went on a couch search a year ago and came out very very very happy with our Jennifer sofa. We got an apartment-sized black leather one for $599, delivered and schlepped up four flights of stairs to our Heights/Cobble Hill walkup. I had initially been looking at cloth-covered sofas and probably never would have considered leather, but I saw the article in Budget Living about the designer couple in San Fran with the daughter (remember it? GREAT GORGEOUS home) and the Bertoia chairs and realized that a leather sofa could be just what I was looking for. Never would have thought of it before. So let me give you my reasons for considering Jennifer:
1) You're going to move pretty soon. I could NOT get my Crate and Barrell sofa through the door and down the hall of my apartment. If you're going to hang on to it for a little while, you want to make sure you're going to be able to move it. Apartment-sized sofas are great.
2) At $599, when your taste changes in a year or two and you totally want to redo everything, you won't mind moving on.
3) Non-fabric covered sofas are way, way, way better when it comes to stains. If we have company over and they eat on the couch, I'm not worried that they're going to drip and drop.
So anyways, good luck and let us know what you come out with!
best,
Meredith
homedecorators.com and their outlet.
Cath and i bought our couch and chair at storehouse. this is the one we have:
caveat: we are not as cool as you.
http://storehouse.com/store/ic280frm.asp?prodno=50RC570SA2
we have it in an off-white herringbone.
~doug
I just saw someone selling a similar one from Restoration Hardware on Craig's List for $1300. A bit more than you wanted, but you can always try to haggle.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/fur/85670110.html
I agree - love the wall color in the pottery barn ad! Is there any way to find out the exact paint color? I would love to have it on my living room walls...
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