New sofas

My neighbour has had her corner sofa thingy for almost 17 years.
Its still all intact, structurally, so it was an excellent buy, I think.

I would also like some new sofas, not neccesarily Ikea though. But can someone please tell me why the given measurements are always Height, presumably from ground, to top of sofa back, Width, length from side to side, and Depth from front to back, but they don't tell you how high the seat is, from ground to top of seat cushion. I need higher seats now, but most are not high enough when I do actually get into a store to try them.

My son has Ikea sofa's ,he bought them a few years ago and they have always kept their shape (ie: cushions) you can also buy new covers for most of the sofa's when you want to ring the changes and the covers are very reasonable.
We have had ours from DFS for over 10yrs and as good as when they where delivered,they also have higher seating on some models.

My friend has had the Poang range of chairs and sofas since her 4 children were small. The eldest is 34 now and the chairs and sofas are still going strong. Very well made.

I ended up buying the only sofa and armchairs that would not look out of place in my house. I found that most were too big.

I was told that rooms in the north of England on the whole are larger compared with rooms in London.

I went around the store trying to find something comfortable and one I would not have to scrabble to get out of. I agree, a lot are too close to the floor.

If you go to a proper furniture retailer, particularly an independent you will get good advice and will be able to try different models. It is not always as expensive as you may think.
You will have a choice of fabric and a choice of fillings for the cushion, far better to get exactly what you want if you can afford it.
I used to sell quality furniture for a living and we were accustomed to people bringing a book and spending a good 30 minutes testing a sofa!

DD has furnished her home with Ikea, the sofa and chairs are comfortable and the beds better than my expensive 'big name furniture'.

I have a chair from IKEA which is comfortable but I recommend DFS armchair and sofa I bought ( not the same range) are both very comfortable and are wearing well. I bought them on interest free credit which made things more affordable for me to have exactly what I wanted.

DD2 has DFS sofas and they have not lasted well. The frames are still sound but the filling is very badly diminished - she said hse won't buy from them again.

Ikea furniture is good for the price, but the cushions tend to be a bit lacklustre in my experience.

Funnily enough, I was reading this the other day - www.gbfoamdirect.co.uk/replacement-cushions-for-sofas-sofa-cushion/

Perhaps you could buy an Ikea sofa and change out the cushions if you're looking for longevity in it?

We bought a G plan sofa a couple of years ago, as it was the only one with a high back. From the amount of furniture stores still around, some people must change their furniture very often!

Our son has had an Ikea sofa for 14 years. Still very comfortable if too low for me. We have two small sprung armchairs that used to be in my office which are at least 18 years old. Springing still excellent, they are on their second set of (pale cream) covers. Sadly not available now as the covers could do with changing again. Many of the Ikea sofas have washable covers, a real bonus if there are sticky fingers (or messy husbands ) about. We have some G Plan and also a sofa we bought direct from a manufacturer, all good seat heights. I’d say go and sit in them and see, it is fairly easy to change the seat cushions if you need to.

I purchase a GP sofa which I particularly wanted and managed to get it with a huge reduction because it was on display in the showroom.
Oh my it is so so comfortable.
You can't beat comfort.

I agree Gplan furniture has higher seats and backs very comfy and well made.

www.ercol.com/en-gb/living-room/sofas-armchairs/
Have a look at Ercol made in UK sofas, more expensive than Ikea but beautifully made and last for years. My sister has the Costanza in blue and loves it.
I have a Danish sofa made in 1960s which has been reupholstered it’s gorgeous and very comfortable. My DD has an Ikea sofa and is really happy with it. It depends on your budget. So, shop around and try them all out!

I have had my ikea bed settee for 5 years. Its usec daily as asofa and maybe a month a year as a bed. Still as comfy now as the day i brought it. Bargain.

Nice to hear that I'm not the only one who likes a higher seat now. We used to have a lovely furniture store in our small town, but now we have to drive to a retail park to see anything like that, and they are not always easy to get to. I agree that G-Plan and Ercol are good makes, our dining room furniture is G-Plan, and we've had it for 57 years!!
In a couple of months, we are going on holiday, and in the town there is a super family run store. I may come home with a new suite as my souvenir.

We bought a Parker Knoll Westbury suite recently. Like you I needed a higher seat and not a very deep seat as I like my knees to coincide with the edge of the seat. The suite isn’t as big as the modern ones tend to be. My daughter bought the Parker Knoll Canterbury which is bigger. When we looked at the specs I am sure they gave the seat height (House of Fraser). There is a choice of filling. They had two suites with different fillings on show to try. We opted for the fibre which is standard but there is also foam.

We have purchased very much of our seating furniture through the Laura Ashley stores and though I would class them as perhaps mid range in price, they have certainly stood the test of time.
Whilst our Ercol wood furniture is almost as good as it was when bought some 40/50 years ago,our only one complaint,we now favour the ivory look and when we do move .........a massive downsizing project...........I hope those looking for second hand quality furniture will be happy to buy and I can then fulfill my dream and go for the lighter French inspired look!

P.S Sadly we too have heard that DFS settees do NOT stand the test of everyday wear and tear.

Slightly off subject, but we've got an Ikea opening in Exeter in May. I am so excited as I've only ever been to an Ikea once, somewhere up north.

Sorry a bit off topic I just wonder whether anyone with G-Plan sofas have had them cleaned? Ours is in perfect condition and comfy but it’s looking decidedly grubby in places I’ve toyed with the idea of washing the cushion covers but it’s not advised and will only make the other grubbiness show more I’m sure. Really don’t want to pay out ££££££s for a new one just yet.

Anyone got any recommendations?

My problem isn`t just that I need higher cushions, but it isn`t always possible to know about sinkable inableness, sometimes I sit on a sofa and just can`t get out of it, and it`s so undignified having to be pulled up!

A solution to higher seats on furniture you might already have could be ‘elephants feet’ — that is what my friend and I call them - big cups you put under the feet/legs which raise them. You can get them in medical equipment stores -we bought them for my friend’s mother. Another friend had the occupational therapy team put a contraption under his sofa but it is all joined together and a nuisance when you want to pull the sofa out to clean etc.
There is a co-operative called Sofa-sofa based in South Wales which sells direct the sofas made by the Welsh furniture companies. You can order from their catalogue or go to a shop if in the area - they deliver to all sorts of places and their fees are reasonable. I have two of their sofas and the covers are removable and washable -sort of a chenille fabric.
I have a sofa and armchair from Marks which is well over twenty years old and still going strong - it is upholstered in Wedgwood blue Bayer velour which is perfect and withstands a good scrub and dry off with a clean towel.

We are sofa hunting at the moment. We have had our existing sofa, from the late lamented MultiYork for over 20 years, but one of the legs has come off and is not repairable.

Our biggest problem is that we have low cottage ceilings and a book case behind the sofa so that we do not want the back to be too high