Shopping for a sofa? Here’s how to choose one that will last long

Seats are among the major pieces of furniture one invests in, so it is important to ensure that you get durable ones. It  is important to test a piece of furniture before you buy it. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • A sofa is one of the main investments in a house.
  • Unfortunately the thermal X-ray vision that buyers should have when buying one is normally blurred by alluring advertising gimmicks such “what’s hot” and “Get it for Sh100,000 this week instead of the Sh200,000 it was going for last week”.
  • While sitting on an ideal sofa, your feet should touch the floor with your knees bent at a comfortable angle. The width and height of the armrest should also be comfortable.

I recently went shopping for a sofa, and it took me a whole 45 minutes to pick one.

You might think that’s an inordinately long time, but I wanted to be sure I was getting the best.

So I sat on it, trying out various positions to feel the back and arm rests, lay on it, bounced on it and even asked two shoppers to join me in what some considered theatrics before telling the salesman that I would take it.

My actions might have seemed juvenile,  but not  to interior designer Sam Abara of Mall to Mall design, who says it  is important to test a piece of furniture before you buy it. 

A sofa is one of the main investments in a house.

Unfortunately the thermal X-ray vision that buyers should have when buying one is normally blurred by alluring advertising gimmicks such “what’s hot” and “Get it for Sh100,000 this week instead of the Sh200,000 it was going for last week”.

Mr Abara gave  DN2 tips on choosing furniture that can last up to 15 years.

CHECK THE FRAME

Thanks to art and craft lessons in primary school, I know something about joining wood. Mr Abara says this knowledge is crucial in determining how strong a sofa is.

“A frame connected using  wooden dowels (solid cylindrical rods, usually made of wood, plastic, or metal), double wooden dowels or wooden corner blocks  is built to last,” he says.

Dowel joints are rods made from one piece of wood inserted into holes in another piece of wood, much like one insertts a computer cable into a port.

Be careful not to buy a sofa that is put together using staples, nails or glue alone. 

In fact, these are the things I was testing during the  activities mentioned earlier. It is what is known as a tush test in furniture construction circles.

While sitting on an ideal sofa, your feet should touch the floor with your knees bent at a comfortable angle. The width and height of the armrest should also be comfortable.

Get one or two other people to sit on it with you to see if can accommodate your weight without sagging. Bounce on the seat to know whether the suspension is firm and does not squeak. Try moving the seat from side to side.

“A good frame would not wobble while you are at it,” says Mr Abara.

Do not be afraid to turn the sofa over and inspect the upholstery seams to see if they are straight and the stitching tight.

Check the wood  as well; hardwoods such as oak are pricey, but they are kiln-dried to rid them of moisture so they will not warp or crack after some time.

QUALITY FABRIC

A good sofa can be attractive, but let the look incorporate fabric durability.

Mr Abara advises that you look at stain resistance, the pattern on the fabric and the price when considering durability.

Cotton and linen are  good choices (although they are hard to clean), as is synthetic microfibre. But if money is not an issue, Mr Abara says,  go for wool or leather.

If you love of playful florals, choose patterns that are woven into the fabric than  those printed on the fabric.

Some people prefer to come up with a design and then take it to a carpenter. Such people sometimes also buy the fabric to be used. An simple test  to determine whether you will still love the seat’s look after a few days is to place the fabric against natural and artificial light for a couple days in your house exactly where the seat  will be placed  and see whether you still like it as the days go by.

DESIGN

Many houses, especially rental ones, have limited space, so buy a sofa that takes up the smallest space possible.  In this regard, Mr Abara recommends an L-shaped sofa.

“It can fit  into a corner very snuggle and  does not waste space,” he says.

Sofas come either with a pillow back (where the back has removable cushions or pillows) or a tight back, where the upholstery is tailored to the contours of the  back of the seats.

Sam recommends the pillow back because  you can change the covers should you want to.

When it comes to cushions, unzip them and check that they have a extra padding and dacron fabrix between the foam and upholstery.

After making all these checks, you can get the ideal sofa. 

Oh, and remember to check the warranty.