New sofas

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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