The discounts may be deep, but will the seating really work for your household and in your home?
The choice of sofas available can be mind-boggling.
From curvaceous creations such as Sense by Studio Roche Bobois, a luxury design that also factors in different seating depths, to much more structured designs that have a higher seat, the possibilities are endless.
It all depends on your budget and your physical needs.
Like a bed, some people prefer a softer seat to others. Some of us need more back support. People of differing heights will want something to fit their own form.
Curated by MRD in Dun Laoghaire sells a range of sofas with movable backs so that you can have a shallow or deep seat, depending on your hip-to-knee length.
If you love the comfort levels your current sofa gives but want to give it a new lease of life, consider having it reupholstered.
This isn’t necessarily cheaper, but if that’s what you want, and are selecting loose covers, consider having two sets made, one for a summer mood, the other for a cosier winter vibe.
The Sofa Factory offers a full reupholstery service. So do many others.
Buy in person
We spend a lot of time on the sofa. Go do a tour of the sofa shops and spend about 10-minutes on each one that you’re seriously considering bringing home.
It needs to perform its essential functions and be a comfortable place to sit.
Buying a sofa online means you get distracted by good-looking forms, reasonable pricing or fashionable colours and fabrics.
A sofa commands prime real estate in a home. In a small home, you cannot afford for it to sit idle, to be the seat no one wants to find themselves on.
It needs to feel good and be supportive of you and your partner’s needs. It also costs a lot of money.
At the high-end, brands such as Flexform’s webbing suspension, available through Minima, need to be experienced to be believed.
Its Loungescape, pictured above, is a new 2025 model designed by Antonio Citterio. At the medium range, MRD’s custom-made Italian designs offer incredible comfort and support.
DFS is an affordable option. The chain is a giant because it pays attention to comfort.
Size matters
Your seating needs to measure up. Consider what its size and volume are. Will it fit through your front door?
If not, does it break down so that you can bring it in pieces and reassemble it in situ?
If you live in an apartment, will it fit into the lift and if not, have you notified the delivery firm that its people have to schlep it up x number of flights of stairs?
This will likely add to the cost, but may be the best money you ever spend.
Otherwise, that job will fall to you. They will simply deliver it to the lobby of the apartment block.
Those living in smaller homes should look at the range for sale on Pieces.ie It specialises in seating for small spaces.
Spillages
We now live all of our lives on the sofa, eating TV dinners on it, drinking coffee or wine, and sharing snacks. All this grazing can lead to accidental spillages.
Can the fabric on the sofa be spot cleaned, and, if so, how? Might it come with removable covers?
At the affordable end of the price range, Ikea’s traditional-look Vretstorp or contemporary Soderhamn have covers that you can wash.
At the other end of the price scale, so too does the Savoy modular design by Bensen, available at Lost Weekend. You can also opt to have the sofa sprayed with a fabric protector.
It does change the colour of the fabric slightly, but if it’s going into a hard-wearing environment, it might save on expensive cleaning.
This can be done in some of the stores if you ask for it before you buy. It can also be done as a service by professionals at home. You can also try steam-cleaning.
Ask about materials
A polyurethane foam seat will lose form and bounce over time.
Many mid and upper-end models offer a feather wrap to their foam cushions that gives the seat more of a sense of give. Also, the cushions can be fluffed up a bit.
Ask where the sofa is made and what its frame is constructed from. Ideally, you want it to be a solid timber or steel frame, depending on the style of the sofa.
Finline Furniture is just one of several quality Irish-made sofa companies.
What to do with the old solfa?
Good companies will take away the old model and recycle it through their verified sustainable channels.
If you’re not doing that, it can be hard to find a home for your cast-off seating. Oxfam Home and some SVP shops accept some furniture.
The list for SVP is here. Call ahead to find out more, as they will likely want to see photos first.
