Talk about Sofas.

[Peep_erz]

I want reviews and recommendations for sofas, couches, loveseats, and chairs. My offer for a house just got accepted so I am now in the market to buy new furniture (yay!). The house is a 3 bedroom. Master, chin room, and den. Since we aren't planning an actual guest room I thought it would be good if we had a sleeper sofa. Looking at those online I also started looking at sleeper chairs and sleeper loveseats.
The living room isn't that big so I was thinking a sofa and chair would be good.

Does anyone have preferences to a chair vs. a love seat? The chairs i'm looking at are oversized chairs.

My boyfriend thinks the sleeper sofa is a good idea but the sleeper chair or loveseat is a little over kill.

I'm also unsure of fabric. I know I don't want leather but that still leaves me with twill, chenille, and microfiber, and suede. Does anyone have a recommendation or preference on those?

I am of course going to go get swatches and test everything out if they are available at the stores but I wanted opinions on things that might not come up in the store or from a picture.

 

[addictedtochins]

Well I know for a fact that Lazy boy is well made. I have bought various couches for $299-499 and they didn't stay looking nice very long, the cushions, fabric and frame just didn't hold up. I found a beautiful Lazy Boy at a garage sale in my neighborhood which was like new. We had it for many years until it aged, even then the frame was good. I had an Ethan Allen which held up wonderfully too, but I sold it because the sectional was too big for this living room. Oh I just remembered, A Rowe sofa is the best! Try to get one on sale because they are expensive, but worth it.
Congratulations on your new home!

 

[beanjelly]

My in-laws have these huge, almost double-size recliner chairs in a soft fabric (maybe chenille?). They're AWESOME...you can fit two people on them and they recline! Great for napping. I'd love one instead of the love seat we've got.

 

[AnimalsR4Me]

I love the chairs that beanjelly is talking about! They're soo comfortable! And I agree, Lazyboy chairs are very well made and stand up to lifes burdens very well indeed. As far as fabric, I like microfiber, but it's very difficult to clean, it takes a lot of work to get the stains out, and you may end up with a different colored spot after you clean because you've over worked the fabric. If you're looking for stain resistant furniture, the best type of furniture I've found for stain resistant, if that's what you're in the market for now or some time in the near future(kids are messy!) is crypton, but it's pretty expensive. As far as the sleeper furniture, I would say that if you got a sleeper sofa, you probably don't need a sleeper chair and love seat. However, if you don't get a sleeper sofa, you will probably need a chair, and loveseat just for guests, so they don't have to sleep on the floor! lol

 

[Peep_erz]

i'm loving this input. I do want to look at LaZboy some more now. While out furniture browsing a sales lady recommended us to Flexsteel. Anyone heard of them? She said their stuff is supposed to last forever.

 

[AnimalsR4Me]

Flexsteel is really nice. Don't quote me on this, but this has been my understanding of the flexsteel furniture. It has some "give' to it. Versus just having straight steel for parts of the furniture, the steel has a bit of a give to it, to allow it to help absorb some of the shock that gets put on the furniture when you plop down onto it, and we all know that that happens at times! It makes the furniture a bit more sturdy, which in turns, makes the furniture last longer. The really nice thing about flexsteel furniture, is that it's got a lifetime warranty....

 

[eroomlorac]

This may be obvious but be sure to try them out. I'm pretty short and some furniture is too deep for me. When I sit in them with my back against the backrest, my legs stick out in front of me because me knees are only halfway to the end of the seat. LOL When I was looking for a sofa, some fit me, some were too big.

 

[Peep_erz]

Ok now it is between LaZboy and Broyhill. I have heard all of the praises for LaZboy, I want to know if anyone has a broyhill sofa that they can tell me about.

 

[Tiatrack]

For me, couches/chairs are less about brand name and more about comfort. What if you find that Lazyboy is too deep for you? Or too soft? You have to go try them out and pick the one that you like best for your needs.

I personally find sleeper sofas to be awful. They aren't good at anything - being a sofa or being a bed. They tend to be very hard as a sofa and I have NEVER slept on a sofa bed that was comfy. However, that's my opinion. You really need to go to a variety of stores and find out what you like best.

Congrats on your new house. If I had any advice to give it would be to NOT go out and buy something pricey like a new couch. Houses tend to have tons of unexpected costs (this is coming from a new homeowner!). Start small - garage sales, stores like Big Lots, Craigslist, etc. Once you're more sure of your housing costs, then start buying better stuff. That said, I get tons of compliments on my $299 microfiber couch from Big Lots. It's comfy, easy to clean, nice looking, and still looks brand new 2 years after buying it. More money doesn't always mean better.