Sofa Roundup

Sofas are one of the more difficult pieces of furniture to buy. Unlike a mattress, they need to functional, comfortable, and stylish. When we bought our first couch, we searched for 6 months and I sat on every couch available to me. Since then, I’ve become a bit more daring in my purchases and have started trusting brands a bit more (even ordering some online before trying them out) - but either way, it’s a big, expensive decision and one it’s best to get right.

Growing up in my mom’s house, she had a sofa in basically every room (including my bed room). Which I thought was very strange as a child, but now I get it. It’s a function of buying and changing your mind and rotating out the old and in with the new. We’ve done this a few times in my home (we currently have a sofa in our bedroom that is a bit too large for the space, but I just don’t want to part with it).

To help guide you, here are a few that are tried and true in the Wood household - have worked well for both of us (Brian is 6’4’’ and I’m 5’3” so we have very different preferences in a couch), and I will return to again and again in the future.

Lounge II from Crate and Barrel

This is my absolute favorite couch that is currently living in our unfinished basement because it’s too large to fit in any of our living spaces. When we first started dating, I had a regular sized couch and a matching loveseat (never again) that we would push together to make “Super Couch” for movie nights (basically a giant bed). So I really wanted something deep that would solve for ultimate relaxation. We have it in the 46” depth, which for me, is basically like sitting on a bed and for Brian, functions more as a slightly deeper chair. Ours is in the Taft fabric in Steel which has held up really well against time and a large dog who has free reign of the furniture.

The Lounge II is a C&B staple. It comes in tons of different fabrics, sectional options, and sizes, and two depths (41” and 46”). Oh, and it’s versatile. It can transcend styles across more modern and more traditional homes.

Room & Board Linger Sectional

This is the sectional we chose for our renovated attic space. It was the middle of the pandemic, supply chain issues were pushing orders of everything back months, and I was late on ordering. I took a total stab in the dark here and lucked out big time. All I had to go on here was the shipping turnaround was fast and I know that Room & Board makes quality furniture. But I hadn’t sat on it and for an expensive piece, that can be a risk. Turns out, it’s absolutely perfect for the space. We went with the standard depth for this couch as we wanted to match the depth of the built in art wall and cubby area and not have it stick out too far. The customizable options allowed us to get the exact length for the corner sectional that we needed. And - it shipped fast (like, within 3 weeks fast which was almost unheard of at the time).

One other weird thing that we have to consider with our sofa purchases is that one of the favorite pastimes of our Goldendoodle, Fitz, is to shove a ball under a piece of furniture with his nose, and then bark at it until we retrieve it for him. He lives for this game, we do not. So, we need furniture that’s low enough to the ground to prevent this (I also have a couple other hacks that I’ll share later on). This one hit the mark there. Sorry, Fitz.

The customization is huge with this couch. There are a million different fabric options, 2 depths, and completely customizable lengths. We went with the Summer Ivory (because it was available) and it turned out to be super durable and fairly dirt/stain resistant. So far we’ve had everything from pencil marks to pizza sauce on this white couch and I’ve easily been able to get it out.

West Elm Axel Sofa

We have this classic brown leather sofa in our bedroom currently, but it started in our living room. I really love this sofa aesthetically, but I’m not sure it’s a great pick if you’ll be using it every day. If I could do it all over, I’d have gone with a smaller version of this for my office.

First, the things I love about it:

It’s absolutely beautiful. The leather is super soft and it patinas really well with wear. It doesn’t get overly cold in the winter (although I’m always wrapped in blankets anyway) and the thing is really well made. I also love the color - it’s perfectly modern and classic at the same time, works well with all sorts of colors around it, and is complimented perfectly with a few fabric throw pillows to soften it up. Also, you’ll see a version of this at almost every furniture store. My preference for the West Elm one was really about the lines on the arms, which I prefer over other options. Another great feature is that the back cushions have velcro on them (otherwise they would likely slide around). It also held up to our dogs well.

Then, what I wish I knew before I bought this:

Leather take a lot of maintenance. I was cleaning this with leather cleaner and conditioner about once every couple of weeks (when I say I was cleaning it, really I mean Brian was cleaning it as he was much better at it). But, it shined up beautifully and looked almost as good as new after a cleaning…almost.

Dark jeans will stain this couch. Brian has a few pairs of really dark jeans - the kind where the dye comes off on everything (hands, clothes, furniture, etc.). It was subtle at first, but over time, his side of the couch started to tint blue and no amount of cleaning would get it out. Ultimately, this was the reason I ended up relegating it out of our living room and into the bedroom.

Finally, the replacement to our leather West Elm couch…

West Elm Haven Sofa

Last but not least - this is in our formal living room currently and I really love it. It’s a bit firmer than the Crate and Barrel option above, but still comfortable and breaks in well. The best feature of this is that it has STORAGE. The chaise opens up to a ton of storage where we keep pillows and throws. This keeps the rest of our living space looking clean and provides for lots of functionality. I’ve linked the exact version we have, but there are many options (size, color, and they even have a pull out bed version).

This one was another online only version. I’ve had mixed results in the past with the comfort of West Elm couches (sometimes they air on the side of fashion over function). But, again, we got lucky here. It works perfectly in our space that was pretty restrictive due to some corner built-ins and we were able to maximize our sitting space in what was, at the time, our main living room.

The durability is big on this one. Here’s the thing, our dogs come in from outside with wet or dirty paws and jump right on the couch. This has held up exceedingly well. I do use our upholstery cleaner on it as needed, which it handles well.

Additional Links

My favorite upholstery cleaner: Little Green Machine by Bissell

Leather cleaner & conditioner (make sure to use both!): Chemical Guys Cleaner & Conditioner

Under the couch blockers for toys & pets (I try to get these in a size that can fit just under the couch in the gap so you can’t see them): Gap blockers for toys/pets