Purchasing a sofa, spine disability...

henrygregory

Hi there,
My girlfriend and I have recently got a home together and we are keen to get a sofa and or chair which will help with my long term chronic back pain caused by scheuermann's disease, slight scoliosis and leg length difference.

We have visited many of the main sofa show rooms (which has been absolutely exhausting in itself):

• DFS (Always have sales on)
• Furniture Village
• Next
• Marks and Spencer (Currently have a sale on)
• John Lewis (Currently have a sale on)
• SCF
• Harvey's

...and we have come to the conclusion that the best chairs and sofas which offer the level of support I am finding comfortable seem to be rather expensive models. We had planned to go with a material upholstery option, but we found the leather models to offer far better comfort, rigidity and good posture options.




We are not confident that we could fit a sofa and a chair in our lounge area which is why we have been looking at the sofa options.

At this present time, we have found a good electric chair from both Furniture Village and Harvey's. The latter is slightly cheaper, but both are over £1000 which is a large amount for two new property renters.

Models such as the following, I found to be the most comfortable for me:

• http://www.harveysfurniture.co.uk/collection/bailey/#/bailey-3-seater-recliner-sofa
• http://www.furniturevillage.co.uk/Inventory/Upholstery/Cressida/3-Seater-Sofa.aspx

My question is, of those forum readers reading who have disabilities (preferably similar to mine), have you found any of the above outlets to be of use? Was the quality good?
We have stayed away from the more specialist disability showrooms as the wares on offer tend to be all aimed at the older generation. Being in our 20s, we are keen to get something which looks ok, nothing special, but nothing to out of keeping, but gives me the comfort I need.

Thoughts, suggestions and experiences would be greatly welcomed.

Ames

I have problems with my joints, in particular lower back and hip. I'm under investigation but current best guess is some form of arthritis. I got a DFS sofa, I bought it in November and it was delivered mid December. I chose it because out of all the stores open in the retail park (Harvey's was closed) it was the only one with a high plain back and where the seat was high enough to get on and off easily. I also paid extra for anti stain coating (I have frequent twitches and spill things easily).


It fits my expectations regarding getting on and off, but it's already starting to show signs of falling apart. The other day I sat down and the arm wobbled. I knew when I got it that DFS quality is terrible, but expected it to last a bit longer than this! They have a 10 year warranty but something tells me there'll be lots of get out clauses...


So (in short) - don't buy DFS!


I also want/need a couple of armchairs. I'm currently looking around for when I can afford them. I won't be going to DFS.

henrygregory

Ames wrote: »

I have problems with my joints, in particular lower back and hip. I'm under investigation but current best guess is some form of arthritis. I got a DFS sofa, I bought it in November and it was delivered mid December. I chose it because out of all the stores open in the retail park (Harvey's was closed) it was the only one with a high plain back and where the seat was high enough to get on and off easily. I also paid extra for anti stain coating (I have frequent twitches and spill things easily).


It fits my expectations regarding getting on and off, but it's already starting to show signs of falling apart. The other day I sat down and the arm wobbled. I knew when I got it that DFS quality is terrible, but expected it to last a bit longer than this! They have a 10 year warranty but something tells me there'll be lots of get out clauses...


So (in short) - don't buy DFS!


I also want/need a couple of armchairs. I'm currently looking around for when I can afford them. I won't be going to DFS.

Thank you for your post. Sorry to read about the quality of your sofa. Yes I was aware that DFS quality is not the best. I started off there today and, like you, found only one in store I thought adequately worked with my back. I then moved along to Furniture Superstore, where I found a large range of adequate sofas which felt far better constructed. Only trouble was that they were considerably more money. I did look into the warranty, but as far as I could see, 10 year ones such as the one you mention, are based on covering the frame of the sofa. There seem to be lots of clauses and terms. If you got it December 2014, it would certainly be worth raising it as an issue, as it is not even a year old. Thanks very much for sharing your experiences.

Richie-from-the-Boro

The usual high street stuff is pretty poor even for the non disabled, you get what you pay for. In this case any chair designed for the disabled could not possibly come in at under £600 and £1200 for a 2 seater sofa, warranties are not worth the paper they are not written on. The relaxer type mainstream sofas offering arm rests, footrests heat and massage facilities are usually eye candy marketing, if the quality of the build and materials used are not good enough to stand up to 5 or 6 times the normal able bodied wear & tear they will go wrong. LLoyd stuff will look and be as good in 10 years as it did the day you bought it and its non-disabled.

Seat width and depth are critical but the height correctly measured is the most important 20x20x20" for a chair and 20x20x40" for a 2 seater which would be £1000+ and not even in leather. There are many websites that cater to the disabled and offer VAT relief before payment, anyone not offering VAT relief I would avoid. Getting £200 discount per £1000 spent is an important part of the decision. M&S or John Lewis .. .. maybe .. .. only because of their returns policy the others I wouldn't have a new one free. You are between a brick and a hard place on price v performance, and yes I know I'm lucky, but you are just starting out financially - best of luck.

devizes18193

http://www.toughfurniture.com/product/stokesay

My kid's ot raves about this company depending on the budget might be worth a look for someone .
We have one of their beds . Great piece of kit

teddysmum

There are sometimes really good quality leather settees on Ebay; cheap because they have only a local market, due to delivery costs.


Try this site's Local Ebay Deals Mapper link.

faerielight

I got a 2 seater and 3 seater leather sofa set from Argos , I've had it 7 years and it is still perfect.. I have arthritis and they recline and are just the right level of firmness and the leather is such good quality! mine look similar to this .. I've has dfs ones before and they fell appart, the argos ones are so much better, in my opinion..here's one similar to mine http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3300721.htm
I don't work and am using the sofas all day and they have lasted so well.

GwylimT

My wife is paralysed and she is required to sit in a certain position with firm support, while it wasn't cheap we have a G plan Washington in leather, its odd because it looks old fashioned in fabric yet modern in leather.

Fen1

Could you consider going to a proper furniture maker and get a chair specifically made for you? You could then pick up a free sofa or suite from Freegle. There are always a few on offer my way. Some charity shops also sell furniture, and will deliver locally for a small fee. I've picked up some excellent quality furniture from charity shops, just a bit old fashioned.

teddysmum

I certainly wouldn't buy from somewhere like Argos, where you are not able to try before you buy.


I could highly recommend our Frayling suite, having spine problems myself, but the company went out of business a number of years ago (too much investment in foreign production, which was poor quality and lost them custom). However, as mentioned in my earlier post, good quality furniture, including Frayling goes cheaply on local Ebay and being local, you would be able to view before buying..

carlislelass

How about HSL?