The family room sectional
March 27, 2014
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I mentioned in the paint colors post that question I get the most is about the color of our family room.
A pretty close second is about our sectional we purchased a few years ago:
This is it for “real” – pillows smushed and back cushions smashed.
We got this sofa three years ago after paying off our massive debt. It was our first big purchase that we paid cash for and it was a GREAT feeling. I searched for months to find the right, quality sectional that would fit this room. We ended up with the Lansbury sectional from Arhaus and we LOVE IT. It rocks my world, still.
Many have asked how it’s held up and how the cushions do and that photo above shows that, yes, the back cushions do get smashed:
Mostly totally because of this guy:
It’s rare that he sleeps ON the seat cushions and not the back.
As you can see above they do get pushed out of shape:
But thankfully it only takes a few minutes to get them looking good again. I LOVE this about this sofa.
I just put them on the floor and push my fists around on them to get them fluffed up again:
I work the filling back into the areas that need it. It takes less than a minute to get each one fluffed up again. And honestly, I rarely do this. That level of smush is from about six months of the dog and cats walking and laying on the backs of the sofa. So it’s not something I do often.
I am also in love with the fabric that we picked. I shied away from micro fabric, but when we were searching so many of you talked about how much you loved it. Our sofa is covered in micro denier, which is slightly different:
I’m not sure exactly what the technical differences are but I’ve noticed two differences as far as using it – it’s incredibly soft, seriously like bunny butt soft. And it doesn’t leave quite the shadows that the micro fabric does. You know, the light and dark when you wipe your hand over it?
But this stuff is very much like microfiber in that it cleans up incredibly well. Every few months or so I’ll take a wet rag and just scrub any spots I see and they disappear. Here’s some frosting that I found, and how it looked right after I wiped it off:
I never use any cleaners or chemicals on it – there’s just no need. Plain water gets everything out. (Although I have had it cleaned a couple times when we’ve had the carpets done over the years.) We’ve not had any major spills like red wine, so I can’t speak to that. But liquids do tend to bead up and not soak in, so that helps.
Also, our dog will occasionally “dig” at the cushions and so far we haven’t seen any damage from that. Also, the cats claws haven’t caused any issues either. It really is an incredible fabric and I would highly recommend it if you have animals or kids!
So after about five minutes of punching and rolling the stuffing in the back cushions, they’re back to looking brand new again:
This sectional was probably our biggest furniture purchase ever – well, it was for one item. We spent just as much for a sofa and love seat (that obviously offer a bit more seating), but this one is easily the best purchase we’ve ever made. It will stand the test of time, I have no doubt in my mind.
I wanted a quality piece that we wouldn’t have to change out for years and this is it:
When we were on the hunt for a new sectional many of you shared your experiences with different brands on this post – check out the comments for some helpful info! At the time I was looking into Pottery Barn and IKEA as well.
Do you have a sofa or sectional you love? Any you’ve had good or bad experiences with?
We have a very similar sectional that we purchased in 2002. It has held up amazingly well! It's now our basement couch. When our Boxer was a puppy, we came home to couch cushion foam on the floor, I thought our couch was ruined. To our surprise, our dog unzipped the cushion to get to the stuffing! At least our lopsided cushion comes with a good story.
ReplyDeleteHi! I have the Pearce sectional from PB and it really looks a lot like yours...including the smush! Ugh! But also like yours it just takes a few minutes to fluff them up again! So I'm happy to know that it's just not mine! We love it though, and fight for who gets the wedge...my favorite spot! Xo,, Kathy @The Daily Nest
ReplyDeleteI have the Pottery Barn Comfort sectional that is slipcovered. My dogs lie on the back cushions and it drives me bananas. I can beat them into submission (the cushions, not the dogs) but it is such a pain. But the sofa is like sitting on a cloud, so it is totally worth it.
ReplyDeleteI love that you found furniture that you love and that will stand the test of time. I have a leather sofa that we got from American Signature Furniture over 11 years ago. It has held up well and is probably my favorite piece of furniture we own. In fact, I have been meaning to write about it. But it was our most expensive purchase , well still is, and it has survived being written on with an ink pen by my toddler son, along with everyday use! I think Amer. Sig. quality has changed over the years but you can still get some nice pieces from them.
ReplyDeleteI sold my leather furniture and bought a white Ikea sofa and chairs. I have mixed feelings. It does get dirty easily since it's white, but I've spilled coffee and red wine on it several times that I've been able to bleach out. It looks amazing when it's clean, but I'm too busy (lazy) to wash the slipcovers regularly. I can't say I wish I had something else because there are pros and cons to everything!
ReplyDeleteYour couch is a hard working one... looks great too! For us it is leather all the way (I just can't relax with a fabric couch... would ask the children to change their clothes after school if they wanted to sit on it kinda thing! lol. We have had a leather Karlstad sectional from IKEA for over 10 years now (it looks pretty much the same as the day we bought it). We have tried other "cheaper" big box store leather couches... never again as they don't hold up AT ALL. So Karlstad leather couch #2 for a different room (with the chaise attached) was purchased this past fall. Again, no complaints. LOVE LOVE LOVE that I can wipe it down and live on it without stress.
ReplyDeleteI have a Huntly Grand sectional from Crate and Barrel that cost us a fortune at the time, but 13 years later (and a slipcover) it is still going strong. Although I am tired of having a sectional in our family living space, once I do get around to getting new sofas, the sectional will be relocated to our playroom/loft area. It's too good to get rid of even after all these years.
ReplyDeleteWow that looks comfy.
ReplyDeleteI have a large sofa I bought from This End Up in 1997. They had introduced a fully upholstered collection a few years before they went out of business. I was looking for a sofa big enough to sleep a guest without it being a sofa bed. Without the back cushions, it is about the size of a twin bed in width! I did make a slipcover for it as the fabric faded and was starting to wear in a few places, but that is to be expected for a 16 year old sofa. It is still very comfy and holding up amazingly. The only thing I don't like about it is that it has T-cushions and I'd rather they were square.
ReplyDeletewe have a very similar couch & chair (that's big enough for me to snuggle into rather than just sit on:)) that we bought in 2007, have 2 dogs & a cat, so it needs vac'd weekly (though it rarely gets it that often) & love that plain water gets everything out.
ReplyDeleteI love your sectional! And such a timely post as we are moving April 11 and need a new sofa. Do you happen to know the dimensions of your sectional? I'm trying to get a feel for how it would look in my living room which is small 13x15. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI LUV that basket you have for the blankets! where did you get it and what is the size?
ReplyDeleteHomeGoods, a few years back. I always see them though!
DeleteWhere did you find your sofa? Love it.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I love the size of your sectional - it would be perfect for my livingroom. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for one like this when we are ready to shop for a new sofa (hopefully soon).
ReplyDeleteMarie@The Interior Frugalista
I just looked up your sectional at Arhaus' website and they only have a 3 pc sectional with a chaise. Did you get the chaise also or did they maybe discontinue the arrangement that you have? I love it!
ReplyDeleteKaren when we got it you could get it in any configuration you wanted -- I'm pretty sure you still can, you may just have to go in to the store to do it.
DeleteI love your site! It’s now 2020 and I still have an Arhaus Baldwin sectional in Godiva, two Baldwin Sofas and a Baldwin Chair and a half from 2009 and 2012. One sofa slipcover was even dyed from Cream to a medium gray. They all still look FABULOUS! BTW, Arhaus sells replacement cushions but my chair and a half needed help in the fluff department so I inserted a quality king sized pillow into the bottom of the cushion to push up the original cushion and, like magic, it’s new again!
ReplyDeleteI have a house FULL of Arhaus and most came from The Loft - Arhaus’ outlet store, here in Cleveland.