|
|
|
|
| Uncommon Sense | My uncomfortable quest for a $500 sofa
|
The search for kiln-dried, coil-spring perfection -- at a reasonable (to me) price -- turns up a sobering reality: Cheap doesn't cut it.
By MP Dunleavey
I've been trying to buy a sofa for months now. Aside from my used Toyota, I've never made a purchase of this size -- and not only is it stressful, it requires a certain amount of financial reckoning. Unfortunately, there's still a gap between what Im willing to pay and what a good quality sofa costs.
I think a sofa should cost about $300. Maybe $500. It's wood, cotton batting, some springs, foam and fabric, right? You can find sofas for that amount, many of them in the futon genre. Or at Sears. Actually I haven't been to Sears. But even at Macy's, on sale, most sofas run about a thousand -- and that's cheap.
The succulent, fluffy, yacht-size sofa I want is $1,693, including tax and delivery. I asked my friend Marjorie if she thought that was an exorbitant amount to pay for a mere couch. "I wish I did," she sighed.
Now having polled several people about how much is too much to spend on a sofa, the verdict seems to be that a well-built, cheap sofa, like a good man, really is hard to find.
Blame it on home size
Over the last decade or so, you've probably noticed that the average American sofa has grown rapidly -- in tandem with the average American car (now known as an SUV). Randy Culler, president of RCR Development Corp., a furniture design company in High Point, N.C., says that if the typical seat depth for a sofa in 1978 was about 20 inches, today it's as deep as 25 inches. "Sofas are larger, and that's because of the scaling of the homes."
In the last 30 years, the average size of a new house has grown by 50%, according to the National Association of Home Builders. "And living rooms are vanishing," says Gopal Ahluwalia, an NAHB researcher.
Increasingly common today is the combined kitchen-dining-living area known as a great room or family room. The scale of these spaces has required (and inspired) furniture to go super-size over the last decade. And seating is a big part of the big-house trend. "In many houses you see two family rooms," Ahluwalia says, "one downstairs and one upstairs for the children. You see master bedrooms built to include a sitting area. Home offices may include room for a sofa. Look inside the model homes -- there are sofas everywhere."
But will the price tag shrink?
According to Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president of public relations and marketing for the American Furniture Manufacturers Association (AFMA), furniture sizes -- and prices --are actually coming down. "Many products that used to be made domestically are now sourced overseas, so manufacturers are able to pass along that savings to the consumer," she says.
I'm not sure that fits into the Shop-to-Boost-the-Sagging-American-Economy campaign, but whatever. The point is that it should actually be easier than ever to buy a moderately priced sofa. Hirschhaut says that manufacturers are trying to provide smaller units and more flexible furnishing options. "Instead of buying a sofa and a loveseat, many people are buying two loveseats -- or a sofa and two chairs."
I can't afford two chairs, so that doesn't matter to me. But I'd love to find a $500 sofa. The trouble is, then you come up against the price vs. quality issue.
Price vs. quality
I met Jenn Janaskie while I was sofa shopping. She admitted that she wanted to replace the inexpensive Ikea sofa she and her husband bought just a couple of years ago, because as affordable as it was, now the fabric is wearing thin and the cushions are falling apart.
In fact, a survey by the furniture manufacturers association found that 6 out of 10 Americans wish they could repurchase a piece of furniture because they didn't really know what they were buying, or how to get what they wanted, the first time. Conveniently for the manufacturers, more than half of consumers said they'd willingly pay more for their furniture, if they were better informed about its construction.
The AFMA Web site (see link at left) has a lot of great information on sofa construction and home decorating (although I found their furniture-finder tool uninspired). Ideally you want to pay for kiln-dried hardwood, and eight-way, hand-tied, coil-spring construction. But another quick quality check is to sit on the sofa of your choice and make sure it doesn't wobble and all four legs are balanced on the floor ("Don't laugh," says Hirschhaut, "you need to check sometimes."). Then ask a salesperson to make sure the frame isn't stapled, and look at the underside "for interior corners that are braced with corner blocks," the AFMA Web site advises.
Many of the inexpensive sofas I'd seen scored a Perfect 10 on the ugly scale. I could satisfy my wallet and learn to live with a homely piece of furniture, but I decided that I'm willing to pay a little extra for attractive design.
On the other hand, was it worth it to pay $1,693 for the sofa of my dreams? Was I overpaying for mere beauty? How much of a premium is good design really worth?
My sofa epiphany
What I decided is that I was willing to pay a modest premium if I could find a sofa of solid construction that would also be easy on the eye.
Several Web sites seem to offer deals: sofaweb.com, Room&Board and the eternal eBay (see links at left). L.L. Bean's site now carries lightweight modular sofa units that can be combined into a sofa, loveseat or sectional -- but even that adds up, as I discovered. Besides, how can you know what you're really buying from any of these Web sites when you can't sit on it? Hirschhaut says that's the primary reason online furniture companies aren't booming.
That said, my sister-in-law is a big fan of Web sites that have sale pages (many do now). If you have seen a model you want, you might find it on the sale page, if the Sofa Goddess is smiling on you. If not, you may find only pieces of sectionals for $99, as Deirdre did. "They were all corners," she said sadly.
Buying a used sofa can be a reasonable option. Poke around on eBay, and check your local phone listings for thrift stores and consignment shops. In the latter, you'll sometimes find high-end pieces, but prices for the better items aren't always cheap.
Other than that, keep your ear to the ground. Friends who are moving, or redecorating, can be an excellent furniture source (if you like their taste). The magic words for me were: floor sample sale.
A saleswoman at the store where I'd been hopelessly ogling the $1,693 sofa I was never going to buy, let me know that a sample sale was coming up. Maybe I'd luck out with a floor model.
The Sofa Goddess smiled on me -- and I did. I found a sofa I liked on sale for $1,200. It's more than I wanted to pay, but it's well-constructed and it should last for a while. At least, I certainly hope so. I don't want to have to go through this again for at least another 20 years.
|
|
|
|
