We usually handle the reviews here in the comments section, and we can be brutal. Check out the comments on some of the ads, especially the vapes and VPN suites.
And welcome to BoingBoing!
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3 years life expectancy for a sofa is fucking criminal! We have an Ethan Allen sofa purchased 18 years ago from a thrift store for $50. It was at least 10 years old back then. Every 6-7 years or so, we re-cover it with tough canvas cloth and it holds up remarkably well. At around those same 6-7 year time increments, we shop for new sofas, and always decide we’re better off keeping the $2k and re-covering the old one. Another advantage is if the kids puke on it, we can remove the covers and wash them.
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Oh we usually take care of that in the comments. It’s a hobby.
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It really depends on what you get. They have cheap stuff sure but they also have pricier good quality things as well.
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Also, I’m told that due to the excellent EU consumer protection laws, the “cheap crap” versions that you often see in America are not sold here.
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If you get the stuff actually made of wood instead of the pressed wood it’ll last youa good number of years. Especially if you’re handy and can find L brackets and things.
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We purchased our couch a decade ago from a great store that has since folded. The salesperson was the best. “Don’t sit there, use it. Put your feet up on it. Treat it like a couch.” And then proceeded to leave us alone.
After they closed a West Elm popped up down the block. Good to know I can continue to avoid their furniture. Buy a couch every three years. What terrible advice.
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Elmer’s glue is actually a respectable white glue. Not suitable for anything that has to be waterproof, but it’s a cheap alternative that’s fine for wood projects.
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I just want to point out that elmer’s glue, even the white stuff kids use, is actually quite strong and durable as wood glue (like most wood glues, will cure about as strong as the wood if used properly). The main difference between it and conventional brown / tan carpenters glue is that the purpose made wood glue cures faster and is more water resistant. For an indoor couch it would be perfectly fine.
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Shortly after purchasing our home my wife and I purchased a sofa which we still have, and although its well worn it is nowhere near worn out.
The sofa was purchased in 1992, making it 25 years old. If we had purchased said West Elm sofa, and optimistically each had lasted 2-3 years we would be on our 8-12th sofa, and would have spent 10000-14,400 over 25 years.
Instead we were very fortunate to have had the money to buy a high quality piece of furniture. This means steel subframe and down/poly cushions, 100% wool transportation cloth upholstery with moth treatment, with fully zippered covers for cleaning. We spent $9,000 on our sofa in 1992 which I admit is a lot of money for anybody to spend on a sofa. But clearly it was the least expensive sofa we could buy as it will easily last another 25yrs.
If anybody else wishes to spend their money wisely, we have a Duc sofa (design Mario Bellini) manufactured by Cassina.
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Perhaps it’s connected to the proliferation of online businesses whose names end in -ly: Feedly, Bitly, Grammarly, Freshly…
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The -ly names are almost all trochees, as are many many other internet properties. I’m not sure why they’re so compelling, but there must be something to it. I couldn’t stop noticing them for weeks after I first saw that xkcd.
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I have an Ikea sofa I bought in 2008 (on clearance, it had been a floor model) that is still going strong - though now on its 3rd slip cover (different colors when moving/redecorating).
I also have a couch/loveseat set I bought in 2013 for $900 at a place called “Extreme Discount Furniture” that seem to be magic - anything spilled on them wipe right up, cat and dog fur don’t stick to them.
I once had a west elm chair (picked out by an ex) that was way overpriced (close to $600), not comfortable, stained if you looked at it funny, and the fabric wore out in less than 2 years despite not getting used.
The other thing I can’t understand is how uncomfortable most sofas, regardless of price, are. I mean really, is it that difficult to make a cushion people would actually want to sit on? Quality and price for furniture, and often clothes too, are very nearly uncorrelated except at the extreme high and low ends.
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Aren’t you supposed to move from Ikea to Restoration Hardware? Their prices are insane, but when we often find ourselves exhausted from searching for the write piece of furniture, so we break down and pay the ransom. We call them Desperation Hardware.
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At first glance, I thought the article might be suggesting that the couch was featured in the “Black Lodge” episodes of Twin Peaks.
It didn’t suggest that, but if it did, it might be correct.
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The CEO of Ikea once gaffed “Half of Europe was conceived in an Ikea bed”.
He’s wrong, but not by as much as you’d think.
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“…Ahhh… The west elm of the shore…”
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Who doesn’t love a jerker?!
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Don’t forget that trochees will Make America Great Again…
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Yes, the expectation that a piece of furniture, a sofa, would last one year is INSANE (and horribly wasteful).
I’m not going to argue that Pottery Barn is an especially great brand (it isn’t) but my PB sofabed was bought in 1999, has been moved twice, and is in fine shape. The slipcover’s a bit stained, but I’ve never even bothered washing it (or replacing it).
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