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If you’re in the market for asofa, you face a paradox: There are a dizzying array of options on the market, some at unbelievably low (or high) prices, but it’s never been harder to synthesize all that information into an understanding of what sofa you should buy — what’s durable and comfortable with fabric that doesn’t pill and cushions that won’t sag, and that has adesign you genuinely enjoy looking at. I’ve been covering sofas for over three years, and I can attest that great, affordable sofas are out there. I found mine througha lot of searching, but this week is all about simplifying the process.
To find the sofas worth your money, I visited six showrooms across two boroughs, talked to people who design new couches and people who resell used ones, and sat on a grand total of 41 sofas. My intrepid colleagues and I also tested five couches under $1,500 in our own homes — from Queens to Cleveland, Ohio — and talked to experts about all the ways they slipcover, guestproof, petproof, and deep-clean their sofas. We received dozens of questions from Strategist readers about your specific sofa hunts, which we’ll answer on ourInstagramover the next several days. Welcome to Couch Week! Let’s find you a sofa you don’t hate.
There’s been a vibe shift in the way shoppers talk about their ideal couch, writes Schwartz. A good sofamustbe comfortable. “Friends who bought chic little wood-framed daybeds ten years ago now want something they can full-body flop onto,” Schwartz writes — and that’s a good thing. Read their full essay on the state of couches (and couch buyers)here.
Three years after our first installment ofIn Situ, “Steal My Couch,” writers Lauren Ro and Erin Schwartz have returned to tasteful peoples’ living rooms to find out what large L-shaped seats two dozen designers, photographers, artists, and other cool people have in their own homes. See their picks, and how they style them,here.
Sleep writer Amelia Jerden has a comfy but saggy hand-me-down couch. To lounge comfortably for more than an hour, she often needs to tuck a throw pillow behind her back — effective but adds bulk to the sofa and limits sitting room. While testing the Buffy Wiggle body pillow, she was struck by an idea: What if a body pillow is the best back support for a couch? Read her reviewhere.
Strategist senior writer Lauren Ro compiled a kaleidoscopic collection of cushions in all sizes, shapes, and styles, including some altogether nontraditional (but deeply fun) options that challenge the very idea of what a “throw pillow” can be. Check out all 100 optionshere.
If you’ve tried to buy a new sofa sometime in the last two decades — or if you own a mailbox, or have gone to a mall, or searched the wordfurnitureonline — chances are you’ve come across Crate & Barrel and West Elm. We broke down the differenceshere. (And, yes, we have a favorite.)
Strategist home writer Erin Schwartz has sat on a total of 98 couches, and these are their 16 favorites — including some new picks, like a striped retro sofa from made-in-America company Sabai and aflop sofafrom Room & Board. Read morehere.
When Strategist writer Brenley Goertzen and her boyfriend became first-time pet owners of a basset hound named Ringo, she didn’t anticipate how hard it would be to protect her apartment from accidents, pet fur, claw marks, and odors. And while training pets to stay off the couch is probably the easiest way to keep your sofa clean, cuddling with them — especially a 10-month-old basset hound — is way more appealing. She spoke to 11 pet owners about their tipshere.
Strategist writer Kitty Guo talked to six households who regret their sofa purchases, from an always-rumpled RH Cloud to a deflating Living Spaces leather couch. To avoid their fate (and indulge in a little bit of Schadenfreude), clickhere.
Sleep writer Amelia Jerden offers her tips for making the dreaded sleeper-sofa mattress more comfortable, from mattress toppers to a permanently installed support board. Read all her recommendationshere.
The past several years have seen a vast expansion of sleeper sofas that manage to square the circle of being nice-looking enough to live in your living room, and well engineered enough that you don’t dread setting them up or sleeping on them. To find them, Strategist writer Erin Schwartz consulted experts and interior designers, called on their colleagues to test some of the top picks in their own homes, and tested out several top picks themself. Read morehere.
Strategist writer Erin Schwartz had been hearing good things about the Bissell Little Green for years but never had the chance to test it. Luckily, they bought a ’90s vintage sofa from Facebook Marketplace around the same timeCouch Weekwas conceived, so they gave it a go — because how dirty could a secondhand couch from the 1990s be? Find outhere.
A constant refrain on the furniture beat is thatcouchesare getting both worse and more expensive, and that a really high-quality sofa will run you at least $3,000. But what about those of us who don’t have two months’ rent to drop on a piece of furniture? We tested five couches all under $1,500 to see which are worth your money. Read our findingshere.
If you own a couch with threadbareupholsterythat is otherwise structurally sound, don’t curb it yet — consider a slipcover. A good one can breathe new life into a tired sofa, and even the fanciest options on the market will still run you less than the cost of a brand-new couch. See all our pickshere.
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The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
