What Sofa - DFS/SCS or pay more for branded?

TanDiy

After 15 years of loyal service our sofa and chairs finally need replacing. Having spent the past few months looking around we are now totally lost as to what to buy. We were looking at a three piece suite in DFS and then watched it be reduced from £1200 to £900 and now down to £499 and then, at the other end of the scale we found GPlan asking a whopping £4000+. I am assuming that the likes of DFS are still making money when they sell a sofa at £499. So the dilemma is whether to buy something cheaper on the basis it might not last so long or to pay more in the hope it might last longer. I notice that LazyBoy are not reduced much so maybe they are good? Also came across a company called TCS which had some nice leather suites..

just wondered if anybody could recommend any particular brand or name of suite that they have purchased and are happy with. We are ideally looking for 3 seat sofa and two armchairs in either cloth or leather. Thank you so much

Auntie-Dolly

I've just bought new covers for my Multiyork sofas that I have had for 19 years. If they weren't such good quality I would have been happy to replace them with something cheap and cheerful from DFS knowing they wouldn't last more than 3 or 4 years. So much depends on whether you get fed up with your furniture and like a change or prefer longer lasting quality items. I wouldn't buy an expensive sofa from DFS.

casper_g

I wouldn't buy from DFS. We bought cheap leather sofas from sofasofa 7 years ago and are still very happy with them. My sister-in-law bought from DFS at the same time, had all kinds of trouble with the delivery, has already replaced it and now the frame on the new one has collapsed. I'd either buy something really good or go to sofasofa again for something cheap. Most likely I'd do the latter as we have a toddler at home!

Paully232000

I know people complain about dfs on here but we have had our two sofas for about 7 years with one move of house and still are looking not too bad considering. This is withheld children and the mess and use that sofas get with them. I would consider another sofa from dfs based on my experience.

sniggings

If you have £4000 to spend why on earth are you looking at £499 sofas?

If it's all about lasting then clearly you would be very unlucky if 8x£499 sofas didn't last as long or longer than a G-Plan but you seem to be not
acknowledging what elase you get with a more expensive sofa, things like style, better filling giving more comfort, quality of material and yes longevity.

If you can afford a G-Plan just get it.

Dr._Shoe

Have you ever seen what's inside a sofa?

Strip away the upholstery and the padding and all you're left with is a load of chipboard held together with the cheapest pine you could possibly get. Even then the padding is just cheap foam and bags of polyester fluff.

Yes, of course they can make a profit on a £499 sofa, they probably only cost about £70 to make. The £1,200 original asking price is just price conditioning.

adandem

Some of the Parker Knoll sofas are really nice if you like their colours/style.

GwylimT

I'm writing this sat on my fifteen year old leather DFS sofa, no sag in the leather or the actual cushioning. The only damage/wear is a small scratch on the back from our previous cat. It hasn't been treated very well either, food and drink regularly spilt on it, small children climbing on it while wearing shoes, a bulldog regularly jumping on it.

teddysmum

If you like the shape of yours and the frame is still stable, you could ask an independent craftsman for a quotation to recover and refill.


Our first suite , which was faux leather lost all its coating (We assumed the dogs had done it but later found that it was a manufacturing fault; friend getting free replacement) and we had the recovered (another type of faux), with some new padding by a local. The price was good and the suite lasted for years, until the covers faded, but didn't tear.


The replacement was £4000 leather suite, from Frayling, which no longer exists, but it's still in good condition some 25 years later. This was a British made suite and the company's products went downhill, after they outsourced abroad ; eventually they had to close down..