Help me get a great deal on a sofa

nickhardman

Hi there! Thanks for reading this, hopefully someone can help me get a great deal on a sofa.

My sofa purchase process:
1) Choose a make
2) Choose a model
3) Decide mechanical options
4) Choose a material to cover the sofa
5) Locate the best deal which can match my requirements

I purchased my current sofa from Argos, which lasted about 3 years before it broke. I opened it up and saw that it was made of chip board, and the supporting wood was thin and had knots in it which caused it to break. I made a repair over the knot which had broke, which lasted me another year until it broke again in another place. This time, I put in a new beam to support the weight across the whole front which makes it far stronger than it was. I'm no sofa designer - but trust me, the argos sofa has not been designed by anyone who knows what they are doing.

A friend of mine has recently purchased a la-z-boy sofa, which is really good. Looks good, feels nice, has a great recliner mechanism. I have done some reading about them, and my wife and I have decided to purchase a la-z-boy sofa.

STEP 1 COMPLETED

We set out to SCS to choose a model, and our favourite two are the Manhattan and the Arizona. To make sure we had considered all the models, we looked at the la-z-boy site, which advertised a whole bunch of models (none of which were available at SCS) Searching the web, we found a bunch of UK shops which sold models - none sold the SCS models and none sold the USA models. Looking on the la-z-boy site turns out that "FURNICO LTD" make the uk la-z-boy sofas, and also make the sofas for DFS and SCS. From what I can tell, they rebrand the same sofas to different retailers to stop you comparing prices.

STEP 2 - FAILED

Unfortunately, the la-z-boy sofas at SCS have two options - either the electric recliners (which we ruled out in case a drink is spilt on it) and the ones with the big levers at the bottom (which we ruled out as you have to reach too far for the handle). We want one of the ones with the small catch near the top, but we were advised that la-z-boy didnt make these. (BTW - absolute rubbish, my friend recently purchased some from a retailer down south).

STEP 3 - FAILED

We asked about the grades of leather in which the sofa could be covered. They offered 2 options (A or . What does this tell you about the leather? NOTHING!!! Reading the wiki on leather turns out there's "Full Grain", "Top Grain", "Corrected Grain" and "Split Leather".

STEP 4 - FAILED

I'm in a position where I want to get a new sofa, which I am prepared to pay for (expecting to pay approx £3000 total for a 3 seater recliner and a 2 seater sofa bed). Have failed to find anywhere which can help, and have just become really frustrated!

STEP 5 - FAILED

If you have any help or advice, please discuss here!

Thanks

Nick

ormus

try thomas lloyd or saxon of bolton.
real leather sofa makers. on the premises. not imported.

daveyjp

Avoid the large sheds who pile high, advertise cheap and sell expensive. Find an independent furniture store who will give proper advice and source what you want.

Of large outlets I would only consider John Lewis and M&S.

Emmzi

if you want cheap, Tesco are fine

if you want good, DFS and SCS are not the place to go. small, family run, sells Stag and Parker Knoll is what you are looking for.

I would expect to pay more than £3k for sofas that will last a lifetime.

Ionkontrol

I recently purchased 2 leather sofas from these people.

http://www.denelli.co.uk/sofas/sofas/cat_32.html

Excellent quality.

nickhardman

Thanks for the advice people - the thing I am really after is a reclining leather sofa! The links / companies provided dont seem to offer these!

Do you think that perhaps I should give up on the la-z-boy brand completely and go for a uk model?

ormus

maybe theres a reason why the decent furniture companies dont make em.