We left our tired, well-used sofas on the street as we packed up our house in New York. Which means we now have very little to sit on and are in couch shopping mode. Here are four I’m considering:
1) The Florence Knoll Sofa in fabric by NJModern pictured at top.
2) The Bucktown Sofa by Chiasso. 
3) The Bantam Sofa by DWR.
These are all between $1100 and $1800 — about what I expect to pay for a good quality sofa in not-extravagant fabric. For a total bargain, there’s also this simple silhouette:
The Buse Sofa from JC Penney. More of an over-stuffed feel than I’m looking for, but you can’t beat the price: on sale for $499.
Thoughts?
Just want to warn you that tufted bottom cushions and children aren’t the friendliest combination – it’s really a nightmare to clean if there is any kind of accident (and believe me I know – my son has somehow managed to puke on our tufted couch more than once!). Also a big catch-all for crumbs.
I like the one from JcPenny’s because the arms look low and soft. I would check to see how it was made first though. You wouldn’t want to get it and have the wood break early in it’s life.
The top four are cute, but are they comfortable? They look a little lean. Is the one from JCP a nice marriage of fashion and function?
first! have you considered a modern sectional?
I like the bucktown and bantam best, they are modern but still soft and warm because of the wooden legs. The metal legs are too industrial and cold.
the first! (Ha, I don’t know you but I love your blog.. and that’s the sofa I would buy)
The Bantam has the cleanest look.
The abby for the living room and the jcp sofa for where the kids watch tv (or the kitchen if you have room — I love a kitchen with a sofa). Both for under $1700.
the abby!
lovesacs
The Bantam… what beautiful legs!
For sure, the #2 Bucktown sofa. Love it.
I like the second one. It’s a bit contemporary, a bit traditional. The others are a bit too modern for my taste.
I love the Abby sofa, but the bargain hunter in me says to take the $499 deal.
ooh,, I like the abby sofa, but I’m not uber-crazy about the thin metal legs.
All would be gorgeous, good luck!
I like the Bucktown…also the suggestion to check out Room and Board is great advice. we have 2 sofas, and 2 chairs and a buffet from them. We love their furniture. I think the legs on the Abby make the sofa look awkward. Just my 2 cents :)
I have been eyeballing sofas as well. I really, really want an awesome sofa, but having kids…I just don’t know what to choose. I want something that looks great, but not easily destroyed. I would love to know what other people do.
And honestly, I can pretty much control my kids, but it’s other people’s kids that come over and go crazy…
We have and love the Bantam. It’s very comfortable and we get lots of compliments on it. We have had it for about two years and it is holding up really well.
I’ve had the Bantam since 2005 and never, ever thought of it as a “comfortable” sofa, let alone “very comfortable.” I’ve always loved the lines, and it’s not that it’s uncomfortable (I fall asleep on it a couple times a month), but it’s not the sofa normal people sit on and say, “My what a comfy couch you have.”
Forgot to add that I do believe you get what you pay for in a sofa and the Bantam is built like a tank. The only wear I’ve seen is that the single cushion has gotten a bit wrinkly and misshapen over time.
I say, go Bucktown. It combines the modern asthetic elements with some desired comfort.
Slightly more “stuffed” than the other 3 but not as “stuffed” as the Bruse. The perfect in-betweeny. (My husband would say go for the Bruse…he thinks comfort and price all the way! Plus, with 5 kids…he may have a point.)
Can’t wait to hear which one you choose.
I like the grey color. Nice and neutral and yet it’s a lovely shade to look at and it hides dirt well, I bet. Fewer upholstery buttons means less to replace when kids pry them off or accidentally get caught on them. The couch I’ve got now has upholstery buttons on the seat panel and I find that my hair catches on them occasionally when I sit down or adjust my position.
Grey, one row of buttons versus two. Otherwise, good choices.
I’d go with the Bucktown – but since so many people are saying that having one cushion is not very good as far as wear and tear go, I’d still buy it, and just get a stack of floor cushions for my kids to sit on. I’m a sucker for looks over function.
Don’t get the JCPenney sofa. I have bought a few pieces from them and was a bit disappointed. I use them and they are holding up but they didn’t *shine*. I like #2.
We have a sofa with arms similar to the JCP one. They are the perfect height for resting your arm on when watching a movie, reading a book, nursing a baby or what have you.
I agree with one of the previous comments that the JCP sofa would probably look a lot less overstuffed without the two side cushions.
Love the Abby Sofa!!! Great Choices!
The Bucktown seems the most timeless and comfy, too.
Although I love the look of the brown sofa and it’s not the color -it’s the style – love the back and love the feet! Any sofa with only one long cushion to sit on won’t wear near as well as multiple cushions. Even two seat cushions get worked far sooner than 3 cushions and that poor middle person is split in half.
I’m not just some schmoe – I’m an interior designer and home stager.
I distinctly remember in a class where a now custom furniture bulder came to speak. He had worked both at a mid range furniture store and an extremely high end furniture store before he went out on his own and amongst all the knowledge he gave us on good, better, best qualities/building methods of sofas was that advice on seat cushions. Even though a single long cushion can be a sleek look – they wear terribly.
Can’t get excited about the JC Penney sofa unless it’s going in a play room for the kids that isn’t seen by most guests. It looks tired already (especially seeing the other snappy considerations).
Love the Bantam by DWR, have gone and sat in it several times and may order this when we go to replace our current couch. Have a similar couch from Crate&Barrel, have you seen their Petrie sofa? Also, to be aware the Bantam is only 73" long. The majority of couches are 80+ inches long. We live in a tiny space so the 70+" couches work best for us. At both C&B and DWR I have experienced excellent customer service.
i assume you are sitting on them to test them first hand. i would never buy a piece like that without having tested it to my own body.
i love tight clean lines of the modern sofa and the Knoll one is a design classic. is it comfy? can someone take a nap on it? big consideration for me!
can’t wait to see what you choose.
I vote for the Knoll!
I swear to you this is THE MOST comfortable sofa you will sit on in your entire life!!! It is MUCH sleeker looking than in the pictures.
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=251084&CategoryID=35377&LinkLoc=29391&LinkType=SiteAd&AdID=505380
And it looks great too, the pictures really don't do it justice! My parents bought this with a chair/ottoman 2 years ago and they're still in pristine condition after being thoroughly enjoyed! We made many trips to macy's to "test" it out and after looking at every possible option in DC she always went back to this one.
we got a great looking couch. It’s low it’s small and super nice. It’s perfect for our toddler. Someone broke up with her boyfriend, was in a rush to move out, and asked us if we wanted it. We said yes and we love it. A month later we found out it was all leather. Maybe you’ll score something like that too. good luck.
That bucktown one is cool. The arms might be a little high to comfortably lie against (a pet peeve of mine) but it wouldn’t take much of a pillow to address.
I got a great knock-off/DWR look alike at Macys. It starts with a c…the name is escaping me but it’s super comfortable and a great price point- on sale for $650.
You’ll know it when you see it…it’s identical to the ones you posted about!
I got a great knock-off/DWR look alike at Macys. It starts with a c…the name is escaping me but it’s super comfortable and a great price point- on sale for $650.
You’ll know it when you see it…it’s identical to the ones you posted about!
I just bought the one from JC Penney’s and I LOVE IT! Totally comfortable!
Gabby,
In my experience with a couch that will be sat on by lots of kids, the most important element is the durability of the fabric. No matter how stylish a couch is, food stains and sharpie doodles will spoil the magic so get one that is somewhat stain proof. Ours is covered with microsuade (Room & Board) and though it certainly doesn't look new anymore, I've managed to remove all of the sharpie "drawings".
I have learned from experience to never buy a sofa with removable back cushions. They end up getting misshapen and ugly with time.
#1 Knoll is the most versatile and has the most class, I think. you must tell us what you end up with!
knoll
The JC Penney one for sure. The others seem kind of cold.
You have to pick what you like!!! But, for my family it would be the one from good old JcPenny’s for a couple of reasons. First is the price~I have a house full of boys and as careful as they try to be~~there always seems to be a spill or a stain!! I could see getting the less expensive sofa now and in a few years~~upgrading to something more expensive/chic. Second, our family loves to snuggle down on the sofa and watch movies, read books, tell stories. I can see the JCP sofa being more family friendly in that respect. No matter what you get~~happy shopping!
Love the Bantam! If you’re looking for a bargain version, the Corona at Macy’s is very similar. I almost bought it as my first couch when my bf and I moved in together, but he said it was something his grandma would have in her house and not “cushy” enough :) Boys just don’t get it.
The Knoll ~absolutely. It’s a classic. You know it will have good bones.
i personally like the Buse sofa from JCPenney
I like number 2 and 4!
That looks great! Casamodern offers wide range of Modern Sofa.
I’d stay away from sofastablesandmore.com We purchased a sofa from them, and the stitches were seperating within a month, and this was not a very good experience. We got blamed for it. How can we be blamed for stitches coming apart on both sides of the sofa? I’d stay far away, they will take your money and snub you the minute you say something. Get this..they even lost some of our personal property…no compensation whatsoever!