Finding the Couch of Your Dreams (Without Breaking the Bank)

Buying a stylish yet comfortable sofa online is like trying to hit a baseball with your eyes closed. There’s A LOT of information you need in order to make a successful sofa purchase that just isn’t possible to attain behind the barriers of a computer screen. I’m talking information like 1) How soft is the fabric? 2) Is the cushion too hard or too soft? 3) Can somebody comfortably crash on this sofa and sleep the entire night through without getting irreversible back pain? You will never be able to know unless you know a guy who’s had your dream sofa and lets you try it out, or if you go to the store to test it – which, what is this, the 1800s?

We’re here to be your internet friends who actually did that thing people did before technology – we went to all our favorite sofa stores, sat in all the coolest sofas, and we’re dropping the full review right here, right now on this blog. It’s a bloggy blog world, so let’s get into it so you can online shop for sofas and have some fricken’ peace of mind.

Affordable Sofas from a Swedish Furniture Store

Side note: we almost did this post about 1,000 different times over the last 2, maybe even 3 years, but never got around to it until today. WE FINALLY DID IT! So this post has been a long time coming, and Jess, Ajai, and I are all very excited to share our findings with you guys.

Now let’s start out with those incredibly affordable sofas from that one Swedish furniture store enigma that every person wonders, “Is this cool or will it break in 2 days?” Time to investigate.

This pretty little lady caught our eye upon entrance into the sofa section. She’s a rich blue velvet that looks far more expensive than she is, and she’s got some nubby little legs that make her very attractive. When we plopped onto this gal, we were immediately comfortable, but we had some debates on the depth of the seat.

As you can see from Jess’s and my demonstration above, as a guest coming into this house and sitting on this sofa, you might be a little unsure if you should sit at the front of the sofa, feeling rather proper while having no back support (photo on the left), or if you should just full-on LOUNGE (photo on the right). We decided it’s a great couch for the loungey people or for the people who like to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce on their sofas rather than have their feet on the ground. Or it would be great for extremely tall people like Ajai and her husband – she noted through our entire day that they MUST have a deep sofa in their family since everyone, even extended family, is very tall and will feel awkward on a narrower sofa cushion (more on that later).

I did the sleep test on this sofa though, and I give it a 10/10 for someone who’s down to crash on a couch. And here’s why: The back of the sofa is filled with pillows that are super easy to remove, making your sofa-bed double the width so you probably won’t fall off. Also, I’m 5’7″ and noticed that there was plenty of clearance width-wise to sprawl my entire body across it, which is a major plus. Last thing I’ll say is that the velvet was VERY soft, and the cushions were a great medium firmness – not too soft, not too hard – so it’s truly the ideal crash pad for a guest if that’s something you’re looking for in a sofa.

Price-wise, it’s a little more than we’d expect for something from IKEA – like, at this point, you might as well check out West Elm or CB2. But this sofa does LOOK a lot more expensive than £1,600, so we still think it’s a fair price for what it is. 8/10.

Other Budget-Friendly Sofa Options from IKEA

This sofa is in a similar price range as the blue velvet beauty, but instead has a more mid-century leather vibe. Good back support, depth is standard, sort of firm – if you’re older, you’d probably like sitting on this because it’s not too soft where you sink into it and then it’s hard to get up. Ajai said her 6’4″ husband would want a deeper sofa for sure.

The leather isn’t the best quality – if you’re looking for the same style but better quality, try the Article sofa we’re all very obsessed with. All their leather is REALLY good quality – very legit. Lastly, the one thing we were a little unsure on was the leg-sleeves happening. Kinda looks like the sofa legs were a little chilly, needed some extra warmth maybe. We were a little apprehensive about those, but otherwise, the sofa was not bad, not great. Maybe a 7/10.

This is THE sofa that made IKEA the woman she is today. Its wildly affordable price has been something people have loved for years, and if you don’t love the legs, you can swap them out very easily through pretty pegs or various Etsy shops (also, just realized you can do this with the Morabo sofa above if you’re also unsure about the leg sleeves). Ajai loves this sofa and has used it multiple times for different clients. It’s very classic and iconic. People love it because it’s modular, and it comes in a bunch of different fabrics and colors, so you can really personalize it and make it your own. Also, the depth is really good on this sofa. It’s a perfect lounger-ploppable sofa, so if you’re looking for a cozy, den, movie night sofa, this is probably the best bang for your buck. 9/10 – some of us thought it could be a little less firm, but if you like a medium cushion firmness level and an affordable price, this is the one for you.

This is a new sofa at IKEA, and we were all wildly impressed with the design. Remember the first sofa we tried out at IKEA? The blue velvet lady? Well, we felt awkward sitting down and having a drink because it was too deep for us, but if you’re a tall person, that might’ve been very comfy for you. This design lets you have BOTH – let me explain.

The back cushions are modular, so you can move them down and double-stack them, or you can stack them on top of each other, changing the depth and sitting position. It’s genius, honestly. Now, tall friends and short friends can enjoy a drink together on the same sofa. It’s kind of hard to tell what the heck I’m talking about from these photos, so here’s another close-up from the IKEA website to show you in further detail.

Pretty cool, right? Again, you could totally switch out these legs if you wanted to. The comfort level on this sofa was a 10/10 as well – not too hard at all and was definitely more cozy-squishy than the Soderhamn. The only thing that was a downfall of this sofa was the fabric – it looked dirty on the showroom sofa, most likely because it’s that kind of fabric that gets little dirt particles stuck IN IT. So, other than the fact that it looked not the most clean, it’s a great design and a good sofa – might just need to be cleaned more often or get it in another fabric.

A Budget-Friendly Sleeper Sofa Option

We had to include AT LEAST one sleeper sofa, and what better sofa to review than the one all of my friends had in college? YOU GUYS, this sofa is so well-designed, the chaise lifts up to a bunch of storage underneath, and then the main part of the sofa comes up to create an entire full-sized bed. The design is VERY smart for small space living, so it makes sense why everyone would have this in their college apartments.

The only major con to this sofa is that it’s EXTREMELY firm. I’d kinda equate it to sitting on a rock. But for £600 and for how smart the design is, I think that might just be part of the charm. I mean, check out this design and watch the video of how it all works on the IKEA website – it’s SMART.

Dream Sofas from West Elm and CB2

Need a big, comfy, ploppable sofa that every single person would want to snuggle up on? THIS IS FOR YOU. The Harmony modular sofa from West Elm is so classic and so comfortable, you’d have to be a monster to hate it. It’s practically unoffendable, other than the fact that it’s a white fabric that could get dirty, but then you could just get it in a different color, guys, so it’s really unoffendable.

This comfy sofa shape will pretty much never go out of style, and it’s perfectly soft yet feels structured enough that it won’t wear too quickly. And even if it does wear a little, I think it’s so forgiving that it will be that cool, casual look that instantly makes people feel comfortable in your home. We are big fans, especially Ajai, who has a sofa that looks pretty much identical to this one.

West Elm is really good at nailing the “corporate 30-year-old who lives in Brooklyn and loves MCM” kind of vibe, which is a good thing because their sofas are all really versatile in size and scale, meaning a lot of their sofas could fit into a Brooklyn apartment, but a lot of their sofas are also made to fit in a large house and go with different non-MCM mid-century modern styles – lots of modular options and different sizes, which is great.

This sofa is a little higher off the ground, which would bring a lot of airy-ness to a room if you have a lot of low, chunky furniture and want to mix this kinda thing in. She’s sleek, she’s sexy, and she has some very nice legs you can customize and choose which color legs you want, which is fun.

It’s definitely more of a cocktail sofa – your friends will be very comfortable sitting on this and chatting in like a living room, but it’s less “snuggle-watch-a-movie” than the giant modular sectional before, obviously. It’s definitely more firm than a lot of the sofas we sat on, but not uncomfortable, like the IKEA sleeper sofa uncomfortable. 6/10.

This is a great mid-century modern sofa that’s a little more sophisticated than the others. It’s a good amount of cushy and plush. Definitely great for small places. We’ve been talking a lot about the den/lounger sofa versus the cocktail/living room/formal sofa, but what if you are in an apartment and can only have one sofa, like me, Ajai, and Jess? This one is a great in-between – comfy enough to lounge, not too deep to the point where guests feel uncomfortable, and stylish yet classic so you won’t have to rebuy a sofa because it was too trendy. 9/10 – SO classic.

How could we not sit on this classic gal? She’s THE perfect apartment sofa when you’re low on space, investing in your first big piece, and want to make sure you’ll love it and other people will too. It’s that sofa that is a sure-fire buy. Pretty much unoffendable. A lot better quality than the IKEA version of this sofa, and all in all, a really comfortable 9/10.

A surprising turn of events – we really loved this sofa too. It’s very beautiful. The fabric is like a woven grey that’s VERY pretty. It’s got foam core and is fair-trade certified, yay – really good back support and totally works for tall and short people because the cushions in the back are squishy and can be compressed easily. She’s not cheap – £1,800 for the sofa version and £3,400 for this sectional, but we all agreed that if you’re going to invest in a nice sofa, this one is definitely worth it, because it’s SO comfy, and the legs are really pretty. REALLY PRETTY. 10/10.

If you love Eclectic English Grandma style, but want to do it in a hip and sexy modern way, buy this sofa. The back has those nice lines, and it’s VERY comfortable. Plus, it’s velvet, which we believe is the easiest to clean and live with on the day to day. You’ll notice with pretty much all of the CB2 sofas, they’ve been doing really cool, interesting designs which makes their sofas super unique and fun.

Even More Beautiful Options from CB2

If you want more of the trendy, statement sofa, these next few are for you, and they’re my favorite for sure. Btw, this sofa also comes in a more neutral sand color that’s very cute.

There are a bunch of sizes for this sofa/sectional – the 80″ sofa version is very cute, and the color options are cognac leather or this very cute boucle. This sofa is definitely on the firmer side, but with its shape and back support/cushion softness, it makes it the perfect sofa for sitting and chatting for hours. Ajai and Jess literally said, “Wow, this makes me just want to sit and talk to you,” so if that’s the vibe you want, this bad boy is for you.

Jess found this one quick, and LOVED it. It’s definitely on the firmer side, and the leather itself is coated, so if you’re more into the patina, weathered leather look, then this one might take a while to get there. Ajai did the scratch test, which made me incredibly nervous – basically, she scratched the sofa and then rubbed it to see if it would come out. It did, thank god, but boy, I was sweating. Good to know though, if you’re considering buying this sofa, your scuffs and scratches will rub out fairly easily. Also, that cool chrome detail on the side makes the whole thing – we are in LOVE.

Personally, I think all of these CB2 sofas have been worth their £3,000-ish price point – they’re unique, comfortable, and make a big statement, which we always say, “Splurge on the statement/conversation pieces in a room,” and these are all certainly statement pieces in the best way.

Mohair is definitely back in again – what do we think about it? So we were excited to sit on this cool, trendy, and well-designed sofa. She’s got great bones and is definitely a statement piece, which if you’re gonna spend £2,000 or more, it’s gotta either be VERY comfy or a cool statement, so this really fit the bill. I love it personally and think it would be awesome in a loungey, sexy living room or bar space. It also comes in a brown/grey color. Love.

When we found out this was a sleeper sofa, we were shook to say the least. The pretty little leather straps on the side unbuckle, and the top seat cushion folds to the floor to create an entire floor mat, and it’s DOPE. A genius design, a comfortable sitting experience (maybe a little firmer than a plop-down, watch-a-movie sofa, but who even cares because it’s SO PRETTY). This was one of our favorites. 10/10.

For comfort AND style, this one gets high praise. We really weren’t unimpressed by any of the sofas at CB2 because they all clearly served a statement-y, awesome purpose, but in terms of ploppable comfort, this one wins for sure. We loved the curved sides, and they added a level of comfort since it wasn’t just a right angle that’s awkward for your arm placement or a lean. It also comes with a chaise (not pictured here). Ajai, though, was worried about the shape of the cushions staying in place – keeping their shape, since each seat and back cushion are actually one piece.

Comfort is King with Interior Define

Okay, Interior Define has one very important thing down to a science: comfort. And as they say, “Comfort is key.” If you’re not familiar with Interior Define, their sofas are what they do, and they do it well. Jess actually had an Interior Define sofa in her last apartment that was VERY comfortable, so we love them and are excited to review this company.

Basically, here’s how it works: they have 3 levels of cushion fills – double down (softest), down alternative (medium), and standard down blend (firmest), but still cushy. I liked the down alternative the best. Ajai and Jess were big fans of the double down – they said it needs to be fluffed the most, but was SO comfy to the point where you might not want to ever get up, which is a plus for some people. We sat on all of them, so we’ll show ya.

Oh, and by the way, you can customize any of the sofas to be any fabric you want with any leg you want – here are just SOME of their options.

Here are the beautiful Ajai and Jess