NEW SOFA

I wouldnt buy a sofa online without seeing it and sitting on it.
I did that once, when it came it was terrible quality, and we had to send it back, and pay for the pleasure. We recently bought a lovely new sofa from IKEA. Cheap and cheerful, comfy, and not bad quality! Considering that our previous one was from John Lewis, cost a fortune and not much differe nt in the quality.

I would definitely try before you buy, it's a lot of money if it is uncomfortable.

We bought a sofa from Next. Have had it fifteen years now and you wouldn’t know. It still looks good with no wear areas.

I bought from Next never having tried the sofa in a store. They took it back no quibbles because I didn't like it. Trouble is, with furniture taking 16 weeks or so to arrive, you have to start all over again.

I would never buy a sofa without trying it out. The loveliest sofa in a picture can be uncomfortable to sit in, or the upholstery may be inadequate, or the cover quality poor.

In our household new sofas are expected to last a long time, we had the last one 20 years. That is a long time to regret a purchase.

My sofa is 18 years old, I just use throws to brighten it up a bit. I was considering buying a new one but really what’s the point when this one is perfectly okay ….. there is only me here so I will stick with this one..

I've been looking for ages too. Some i saw online and fell in love with, when seen in a store were so hard and uncomfortable. No matter how much I like one online now I won't buy unless I can try.

I forgot to say we chose the sofa from a Next shop so knew it was comfy. We spent a long time looking for what we wanted.

Our sofa (Wesley Barrell) is forty years old and has recently been reupholstered. Will certainly see me out and DD has her eye on it when I have finished with it. Can’t bear the thought of furniture finishing up in landfill. Yes, I could have bought a cheap sofa for what reupholstering cost but the quality would have been inferior and I have saved it from landfill.

Could you perhaps have a lengthy 'day away' to the place of your sofa? That way you could have an interesting and exciting time (and you MIGHT make a purchase) and absolutely satisfy your dilemma? Sounds convoluted but it's certainly what I would consider if I was as keen as you seem to be. Anything for a bit of fun, that's me!

I was going to suggest the same as Kim19, why not have a weekend away and include visiting this store? (Having first checked that they have 'your sofa' on display of course!). Do they really only have the one showroom?

I’ve bought 3 sofas over the past 20 years and all from the same on line company. Only got rid of the first 2 because I moved house and had room for a longer sofa.
They have 21 day return period and the delivery people wait to see if you’re OK with it. If not they take it back and you get a full refund or replacement. Even if you decide afterwards, it’s not suitable, they collect free of charge within the 21 days.

I live in a very rural county with little choice of sofa companies at an affordable price.

I had actually given a 'day away' a thought and I think this may be the only solution to solve this. No way I'm spending all the money on something I may not like and not be comfy. Thanks for all your constructive advice.

Definitely try before you buy as a sofa is such an important item of furniture to get wrong. I have a Next sofa and love it but we did spend ages looking round other stores and it does get quite boring but it's worth it to get something you're happy with. A relative of mine bought one from the laminated book of dreams and didn't like it at all.

Have you googled it Chantilly just in case someone closer has one? We would always try first but even then can get it wrong. We tried a lovely leather (first time for us) sofa. Was very comfortable - is very comfortable but despite taking measurements, it is huge and we have had to make adjustments.

I'd really like to replace my two ancient sofas - but what's the point, with a muddy dog and cat here? I collect loads of cushions to ring the changes instead. I'm considering loose covers, too.

A friend bought online and (despite careful measuring) was surprised how huge the new one was. It dominates the room and just doesn't quite look right. It's very comfortable, though.

I would make it into a mini holiday too or the alternative is you look for a furniture designer in your local area and ask them to make one for you to your own specification?

I don't think you should buy unseen. I also agree with Elainel and Hetty58, we measured very carefully and still our furniture seems big. Luckily the sofa came in 2 parts, otherwise we wouldn't have got through the door.

Update on Sofa - Just a little moan here. After thinking carefully about all your comments I decided to arrange an 'away day' to look at sit on said sofa. I checked details this morning on their web-site only to discover said sofa has increased by £1100. I am utterly shocked and dismayed at this increase. I know everything is going up in price but this is not acceptable. It has, however, made up my mind I won't now be buying said sofa - so disappointed.

We bought a sofa online for our conservatory, it was a good price, made in Wales and as it was for occasional use we didn’t particularly mind what it was like, bought it for the looks really.
It is so comfortable, much better than the one we have in the sitting room, which is too new to bin.
Far cheaper than our John Lewis sofa which sits opposite it but just as comfy.
Both were in a sale, the JL one was £699 and the Sofa Sofa one was £199.00.

Chantilly I wonder if the price to you went up because you had looked at it so many times, although that usually means a couple of hundred pounds, not a £!,000 plus, which would put anyone off.

Sometimes this ploy is automatic in the software and is most common on holiday and travel sites.

A second vote for the SofaSofa firm, but, for me, it's the dimensions of the seat depth that makes for comfort. I have short legs ( well, short everything, really) and the trendy sofas with extra deep seats make me sit (literally) on the edge. My tall friend has the opposite problem