Shopping Guides 10 Sofa Buying Questions

Date Published:

15/08/2008

Create a seriously stylish living room with a sumptuous sofa in a formal stripe. Hazelton three seater sofa in Zoffany Rossini, £4,395, Aldsworth chair in Zoffany Mineral, £2,530, Hazelton sofa table in Zoffany Mineral, £805, all Wesley Barrell.

3) What about a test drive?

Visit a store if you can, rather than ordering from the internet. To check whether a sofa is well made, there’s no substitute for sitting on it and handling it. It should be weighty and if you grab the back and arm, you shouldn’t be able to twist the frame. Sit on the sofa with someone else, to check that you don’t roll together. And if you’re short, make sure you can sit right back and still have your feet on the ground.

4) What should I ask in the shop?

How is the sofa made? The best quality frames are made from hardwood, and are dowelled, glued and screwed in place. Cheaper frames are in softwood and may be glued and stapled. In the smartest sofas, individual coil springs are hand tied into the base and back, while mid-price versions use zigzag or serpentine springs. The cheapest sofas use webbing instead of springs. Layers of padding form the shape of the sofa and add to the comfort level. Top notch sofas use wool, felt, hair or cotton wadding for padding, while the others make do with a heat resistant type of foam.

Can the sofa be made up to the size you need; can you choose cushion fillings or leg style? Can you buy an extra loose cover for it?

How long will you have to wait for the sofa? Ask about guarantees, delivery times and charges.

Love pattern? Choose the Ektorp sofa and change the removable cover whenever you get bored of the design. Ektorp 2 seater sofa, in Hovby white/black cover, £270, Ikea.

5) Cushion options

Do you favour firm or squashy? You’ll sink back comfortably into expensive duck feather or feather and down filled cushions, but when you get up, they’ll need plumping. Cheaper foam is firm and supportive for your back and good for seat cushions, but will compact over the years. Combinations such as feather and polyester fibre, or fibre wrapped foam are mid-priced, and keep their shape better than feather cushions.