Has anyone found good options that are between stapled together cardboard with cheap foam that will fail in a couple years or $5000 and up designer brands? I love buying high quality goods that will last a lifetime but who has $5k for a couch/sofa?
Why are most sofas so bad?
461–470 of 762 posts
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#462Earlier quoted context omitted.
Please give us an update on how stuffed pillow guy is doing these days.
It was some how relevant. I had a similar job making sofas in similar price range. We also had a crazy person stuffing everything. I asked why his job was not in the normal task roulation. They said for that job you have to be insanely strong, have insane endurance and you have to be insane. The guy tried it one time. How hard could it be? After 3 hours he literally couldnt lift his arms.
>They said for that job you have to be insanely strong, have insane endurance and you have to be insane.
Lmao. There's some jobs like that. Always heard (less surprisingly maybe) the morse code operators on ships tend to be kooky as hell too.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#463Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think IKEA is sort of like the Toyota of furniture. It doesn't look amazing, but it's higher quality than the price would lead you to believe because they work very hard to design things economically.
It’s also engineered incredibly well. There are no weak points or flaws in the design. It feels like someone poured their heart and soul in to producing the absolute strongest and most practical item possible given the budget.
Please tell me you’re not still talking about IKEA.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#464Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can still get made in the USA sofas with real hardwood, not rubber wood, which is fine, or worse, soft pine or particleboard or OSB) North Carolina was and is the center of solid wood furniture), and they still cost several to many thousands of dollars, and they will still last 100+ years with a couple reupholsterings or so, but most furniture comes from Asia now and is sold for 10x less, and is not worth reuphol…
Room and Board sells great sofas that are made in the US. We've been very happy with ours. It's made from solid wood and stuffed with real feather down. It's several years old now and has shown no signs of aging.
Glad you mentioned this. When I did previous research before the quote that convinced me was that Room and Board couches have the highest resell value among furniture brands. I cannot find the source now but anecdotally it has appeared to be true.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#465Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s also engineered incredibly well. There are no weak points or flaws in the design. It feels like someone poured their heart and soul in to producing the absolute strongest and most practical item possible given the budget.
Please tell me you’re not still talking about IKEA.
I am. So many other companies products seem to have one weak spot that completely ruins an otherwise strong design. Meanwhile ikea stuff seems perfectly designed for the material budget.
This chair for example is way stronger than it has any right to be. I’ve seen it used in a ton of cafes so it clearly holds up to heavy usage https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/taernoe-chair-outdoor-foldable-...
The look and price feels like it should be a flimsy piece of junk but in reality it’s incredibly solid.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#466[dead]
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#467Earlier quoted context omitted.
IKEA is beloved by many in the US and generally one of the most specifically in-demand brands in the market for used contemporary furniture. You might just be in an unusual region or had some other reasons why your listings didn't perform the way you expected. That said, I am one of those people who doesn't get a lot from them so I can speak to some of criticism. Part of it is just the aesthetic, and theirs doesn't m…
The quality of IKEA budget products is far higher than you should expect for the price.
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Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#468Earlier quoted context omitted.
And even the cheapest crap you can get from IKEA doesn't seem that bad to me. I've had one of those 5-euro LACK coffee tables for around six years and it really only has some minor surface damage on the top. Far away from throwing out. Although at the same time, I think I'm on my third MARKUS chair because of the gas spring leaking. Thankfully they do have long warranties, so you can exchange them if it doesn't last…
Oh man… need to check my chair :( How did you discover this?
There was a black puddle under my chair.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#469Twenty some years ago I used to work at a business that made and delivered sofas. They've got showrooms in key large cities in North America, fancy schmancy top end stuff. The factory was a real place; the frames were made of solid wood and plywood, there was a sewing floor and even one (incredibly kooky) person whose sole job was to stuff the pillows. This guy was in a little room full of feathers all day, and they'…
I think the problem I've noticed is - the furniture that is built to last very frequently fails the partner test - "that looks like old fart stuff". Same sort of issue with cool remote controls. For example, la-z-boy has pretty good controls - remotes have better designs, have lots of adjustments, and motors seem to move faster. And they too fail the partner test - "that looks like old fart stuff" I kind of like some…
Ugh this - my partner hates the sofa that I inherited from my mother, one that she told me she used to play on in the 1940s. It's a beast, with claw and ball feet that have stubbed many a toe, but I am fighting for its survival.
Re: Why are most sofas so bad?
#470Ok, but I have no clue - either before or after reading this article - how to go about finding furniture that isn't junk. Truly, I can't figure it out. I've been to every furniture store in town and tried to figure it out via the internet, to no avail. For somebody who prefers to spend more money less often on actually good things that last a long time, but has neither the time nor inclination to be a hobbyist vintag…
You honestly might just have to have one custom made. For ex. Ecobalanza makes very high quality and nontoxic furniture.
I don't really even want new furniture though. I want a way to find high quality used furniture that isn't super time consuming. The best options seem to be "go to all the vintage shops every week" and "check facebook marketplace / craigslist every day", and I just don't have that level of dedication.