Why are most sofas so bad?
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Why are most sofas so bad?
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Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#2"Most important piece of furniture" is a heavily loaded ideological claim. It points to the rampant American culture surrounding media consumption.
I've been pretty stunned during my travels to find that it's really only Americans who obsessively talk about or reference TV shows and movies in their small talk. No other culture seems nearly as interested, and some actively discourage it in favor of more real, personal topics. It's one of those things where once you start noticing it, it just gets cringier and cringier.
Not everyone lives in sitcoms or spends all their free time watching TV...
The only time I'm on my couch is when I have a few people over. And even then we're usually doing other things than just lazing about.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#3Are any sofa manufacturers out there that still produce good quality for around $1000, preferably from Europe ?
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#4"Most important piece of furniture" is a heavily loaded ideological claim. It points to the rampant American culture surrounding media consumption. I've been pretty stunned during my travels to find that it's really only Americans who obsessively talk about or reference TV shows and movies in their small talk. No other culture seems nearly as interested, and some actively discourage it in favor of more real, personal…
I'm not sure this is really sofa-related, but...
> I've been pretty stunned during my travels to find that it's really only Americans who obsessively talk about or reference TV shows and movies in their small talk.
It's a slight exaggeration, but yeah. I've really started noticing it on HN and some news-ish sites too, over the past couple of years: where a book would normally be used as a reference point, now a film is more commonly used instead.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#5"Most important piece of furniture" is a heavily loaded ideological claim. It points to the rampant American culture surrounding media consumption. I've been pretty stunned during my travels to find that it's really only Americans who obsessively talk about or reference TV shows and movies in their small talk. No other culture seems nearly as interested, and some actively discourage it in favor of more real, personal…
I'm not sure this is really sofa-related, but... > I've been pretty stunned during my travels to find that it's really only Americans who obsessively talk about or reference TV shows and movies in their small talk. It's a slight exaggeration, but yeah. I've really started noticing it on HN and some news-ish sites too, over the past couple of years: where a book would normally be used as a reference point, now a film…
Weird, I saw similar conversations in SE Asia many years ago, especially around popular soap operas.
Maybe it's hindsight bias on one of our parts.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#6Are any sofa manufacturers out there that still produce good quality for around $1000, preferably from Europe ?
$1k just ain't what it used to be. My wife and I just spent $5k on a sectional from West Elm a year ago and the fabric is already starting to pill.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#7Are any sofa manufacturers out there that still produce good quality for around $1000, preferably from Europe ?
You have to buy an old one and have it reanimated professionally.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#8"Most important piece of furniture" is a heavily loaded ideological claim. It points to the rampant American culture surrounding media consumption. I've been pretty stunned during my travels to find that it's really only Americans who obsessively talk about or reference TV shows and movies in their small talk. No other culture seems nearly as interested, and some actively discourage it in favor of more real, personal…
> The only time I'm on my couch is when I have a few people over.
You make it sound like this is not merely a rare thing for you, but that it should be rare... I don't just passively sit and watch much television and yet I have spent an incredible amount of time in my life sitting on either my couch or the couch of a friend -- or even one of many couches at an office -- talking and laughing and having fun with other human beings. If I had to choose only one: a couch or a dining table, I'd go with a couch. Now... bed? That's harder for me, but I can totally see people deciding couch (as you can sleep on the couch but it is awkward as hell to invite people over and only have a bed to use).
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#9I've posted about our ~$2000 West Elm sofa that disintegrated within 2 years in a similar previous thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37393399
The whole thing is just stapled together OSB.
I ripped the dust cover off and added 3 new frame stretchers made from 2x8 construction lumber (and tied other loose joints back together) and its done pretty well since then: https://imgur.com/a/bqlLgW3 (wish I'd gotten a few more pictures, but I was tired by this point). Just shocking how terrible the construction is.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#10Are any sofa manufacturers out there that still produce good quality for around $1000, preferably from Europe ?
Buy something used on ebay. I picked up an &Tradition Cloud sofa on ebay a few years back for ~30% list price.