Seeking a special sectional.
May 16, 2018 2:06 PM Subscribe
Mr. Millipede and I seek a sectional couch--specifically the kind that is sometimes called an "L shaped" or "corner couch." As always, we have a lot of requirements and we'd like your help.
Here are our requirements. They are all absolutely required, so "this couch meets x but not y" is not helpful for us at all:
1) It must be available to try out in a brick and mortar store in New York City. This is key. We are not ordering a couch without sitting on it.
2) It must not be leather. Fabric is good.
3) It must be rather sleek and modern-looking (nothing puffy or with a fabric skirt or something).
3a) I usually don't like couches without arms, but i could be convinced. i LOVE couches with arms that are as high as their backs (tuxedo couches?)
...here are where things get harder....
4) It must have a narrow/shallow seat depth and be low-ish to the ground. Mr. Millipede is not a couch-flopper but rather a couch-sitter-straight-up-onner--he sits on a couch as though it is an office chair (in fact, he currently watches TV from an office chair because our couch is so uncomfortable). Thus, the couch must be of the size that a 5'7" human male can sit on it with his feet flat on the floor and his back flush against the back of the seat.
4a) Despite 4, it must have a cozy little corner nook for me to curl up in and read. I am very tiny so I don't think the narrow-depth will make this impossible, but if you disagree with me, let me know.
5) It must be very firm. Firm enough that Mr. Millipede should be able to close his eyes and almost believe he is in his beloved office chair.
6) It must be of reasonably high quality so that it will not fall apart or become otherwise ruined with regular wear-and-tear over the next, let's say 8 years.
and yet...
7) It must not be ten thousand dollars. Because we found one that reasonably fit our criteria but it was ten thousand dollars and we weren't quite in love with it enough to spend that kind of money on it. I'm not sure it is possible for us to love a couch that much. Let's assume it is not.
It seems the shallowness, lowness, and firmness combination is the tricky part.
Luckily, dimensions aren't an issue, as we have a big room.
Any suggestions?
Here are our requirements. They are all absolutely required, so "this couch meets x but not y" is not helpful for us at all:
1) It must be available to try out in a brick and mortar store in New York City. This is key. We are not ordering a couch without sitting on it.
2) It must not be leather. Fabric is good.
3) It must be rather sleek and modern-looking (nothing puffy or with a fabric skirt or something).
3a) I usually don't like couches without arms, but i could be convinced. i LOVE couches with arms that are as high as their backs (tuxedo couches?)
...here are where things get harder....
4) It must have a narrow/shallow seat depth and be low-ish to the ground. Mr. Millipede is not a couch-flopper but rather a couch-sitter-straight-up-onner--he sits on a couch as though it is an office chair (in fact, he currently watches TV from an office chair because our couch is so uncomfortable). Thus, the couch must be of the size that a 5'7" human male can sit on it with his feet flat on the floor and his back flush against the back of the seat.
4a) Despite 4, it must have a cozy little corner nook for me to curl up in and read. I am very tiny so I don't think the narrow-depth will make this impossible, but if you disagree with me, let me know.
5) It must be very firm. Firm enough that Mr. Millipede should be able to close his eyes and almost believe he is in his beloved office chair.
6) It must be of reasonably high quality so that it will not fall apart or become otherwise ruined with regular wear-and-tear over the next, let's say 8 years.
and yet...
7) It must not be ten thousand dollars. Because we found one that reasonably fit our criteria but it was ten thousand dollars and we weren't quite in love with it enough to spend that kind of money on it. I'm not sure it is possible for us to love a couch that much. Let's assume it is not.
It seems the shallowness, lowness, and firmness combination is the tricky part.
Luckily, dimensions aren't an issue, as we have a big room.
Any suggestions?
We are in the market for a similar couch, but not yet having success.
We have however found it useful to measure the seat depth of couches; I am going to be happier if the depth is 21-22”; by 24” it’s too deep for me. Just knowing that number has knocked out a lot of couches;no point in sitting on ones I already know are too deep.
We do quite like our American Leather sleeper, but it isn’t a sectional and their sectionals may be fairly costly.
posted by nat at 2:30 PM on May 16, 2018
We have however found it useful to measure the seat depth of couches; I am going to be happier if the depth is 21-22”; by 24” it’s too deep for me. Just knowing that number has knocked out a lot of couches;no point in sitting on ones I already know are too deep.
We do quite like our American Leather sleeper, but it isn’t a sectional and their sectionals may be fairly costly.
posted by nat at 2:30 PM on May 16, 2018
I went into this question thinking "there will be requirements that fail my couch" but nope, if you have access to Big Lots or somewhere else that sells Ashley furniture, the economy end of their catalog, go check it out. We bought the 2008 version of this, and it is quite firm, which I love but some people wouldn't.
We did need to reinforce the bracket that holds the two pieces together as it started getting real loose where it was anchored, and I'd suggest doing that early before whatever it's screwed into gets chewed up from the original screws getting loose.
I'm otherwise still happy with it. It gets slept on by dogs every night and the fabric still looks basically new.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:32 PM on May 16, 2018
We did need to reinforce the bracket that holds the two pieces together as it started getting real loose where it was anchored, and I'd suggest doing that early before whatever it's screwed into gets chewed up from the original screws getting loose.
I'm otherwise still happy with it. It gets slept on by dogs every night and the fabric still looks basically new.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:32 PM on May 16, 2018
Sleek-looking, firm, and low says DWR to me, but I'm realizing that this might be the "Saw one for 10k" that you mention. Does a chaise-style sectional meet the L-shaped requirements?
posted by supercres at 2:38 PM on May 16, 2018
posted by supercres at 2:38 PM on May 16, 2018
(To be clear, that one is almost certainly too deep, so not sending as a likely candidate. Also not as firm-looking as other options.)
posted by supercres at 2:41 PM on May 16, 2018
posted by supercres at 2:41 PM on May 16, 2018
We bought a couch at Macy's that we really love - its a grey, fabric sectional, that isnt too high, or puffy. It has the nook where I like to curl up, but is also long enough to lay across in both directions. It has been a while since we bought it, but I *think this might it?
Plugging Macy's as a place where you can go sit on couches, they aren't a million dollars, and have a short delivery window. We tried Crate and Barrel and West Elm, and all of them had 8 - 12 week delivery windows.
posted by something_witty at 2:50 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Plugging Macy's as a place where you can go sit on couches, they aren't a million dollars, and have a short delivery window. We tried Crate and Barrel and West Elm, and all of them had 8 - 12 week delivery windows.
posted by something_witty at 2:50 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have the solution to your problem but you can't sit on it first. But hear me out.
Home Reserve will sell you a great couch at a great price. You'll have to put it together yourself (much easier than it sounds) and the one I've got is nice and firm, lowish to the floor, comes with hidden storage, and is holding up great. Give them a solid look- we LOVE ours and saved a bundle.
posted by vrakatar at 3:04 PM on May 16, 2018
Home Reserve will sell you a great couch at a great price. You'll have to put it together yourself (much easier than it sounds) and the one I've got is nice and firm, lowish to the floor, comes with hidden storage, and is holding up great. Give them a solid look- we LOVE ours and saved a bundle.
posted by vrakatar at 3:04 PM on May 16, 2018
I have the sectional of your dreams in my house! They key to the configuration you are describing is to combine a 2 or 3 seater straight piece with a chaise.
Per your requirements:
1) Available at Ikea Brooklyn (free shuttle)
2) Damn indestructible (looks new 2 years in, despite best efforts from tornado boy + two young cats with claws).
3) Very sleek and modern including stainless steel legs.
4) Low to the ground; not shallow but works great for my 5"6 height (it's my office i.e. feet on the ground, laptop on lap).
5) Awesome corner nook if you push the chaise long side against the main piece.
5) Very firm.
posted by rada at 3:12 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Per your requirements:
1) Available at Ikea Brooklyn (free shuttle)
2) Damn indestructible (looks new 2 years in, despite best efforts from tornado boy + two young cats with claws).
3) Very sleek and modern including stainless steel legs.
4) Low to the ground; not shallow but works great for my 5"6 height (it's my office i.e. feet on the ground, laptop on lap).
5) Awesome corner nook if you push the chaise long side against the main piece.
5) Very firm.
posted by rada at 3:12 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: @supercres: no, chaise-style is not what we want (also, we went to DWR, since it is a few blocks from our apartment, and nothing in there was nearly firm enough for us, nor shallow enough). Our 10k couch was jensen-lewis.
posted by millipede at 3:26 PM on May 16, 2018
posted by millipede at 3:26 PM on May 16, 2018
Room and Board have a showroom in Chelsea, and you can select from a variety of styles, all of which come in two depths. A corner sectional will run around $3500 depending on your options.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 3:29 PM on May 16, 2018
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 3:29 PM on May 16, 2018
Joybird furniture.
It's all online, but the quality is really good. They will send you fabric swatches. And you can customize the length and other aspects to get just what you want.
I have a bench from them in my livingroom and I get tons of compliments on it. My stepmother also ordered from them and has been thrilled with the end result.
posted by brookeb at 3:57 PM on May 16, 2018
It's all online, but the quality is really good. They will send you fabric swatches. And you can customize the length and other aspects to get just what you want.
I have a bench from them in my livingroom and I get tons of compliments on it. My stepmother also ordered from them and has been thrilled with the end result.
posted by brookeb at 3:57 PM on May 16, 2018
Well, I had your couch delivered two years ago from Dania, and it was too shallow, and not slouchy enough for us. It was the Camilla. It would be perfect for you. It was so firm, and had a nice corner nook. It doesn't look like Dania sells it anymore. But they may have another one that is right for you. Their prices are just above what you'd pay at Macy's. Hopefully there's a Dania near you?
We ended up getting our sofa from Macy's. It was super firm to begin with, but two years in, it's definitely sagging. I think we'll get new foam put in. I like my cushions firm!
posted by hydra77 at 5:18 PM on May 16, 2018
We ended up getting our sofa from Macy's. It was super firm to begin with, but two years in, it's definitely sagging. I think we'll get new foam put in. I like my cushions firm!
posted by hydra77 at 5:18 PM on May 16, 2018
To add to my Dania comment, the Laura looks similar to the Camilla we had.
posted by hydra77 at 5:20 PM on May 16, 2018
posted by hydra77 at 5:20 PM on May 16, 2018
We have had our Mitchell Gold/Bob Williams couch for about 8 years. It fits all of your (non-sectional) req's - firm but relatively shallow cushions, sleek, fabric (and everything is customizable on their sofas, btw). It looks like they make a sectional that looks like our couch but is probably a little bigger overall.
Link with full dimensions- MGBW Hunter Sectional
Here's one with one inch deeper seat depth, but it has the high arms - MGBW Graham Sectional
One more that could be worth testing is the Carson, which has slightly smaller dimensions overall.
Looks like there is an outlet in Brooklyn, and two locations in NYC. Bloomingdales carries a lot of their stuff, which is where we got our sofa during a 40% off sale.
posted by hiker U. at 7:48 PM on May 16, 2018
Link with full dimensions- MGBW Hunter Sectional
Here's one with one inch deeper seat depth, but it has the high arms - MGBW Graham Sectional
One more that could be worth testing is the Carson, which has slightly smaller dimensions overall.
Looks like there is an outlet in Brooklyn, and two locations in NYC. Bloomingdales carries a lot of their stuff, which is where we got our sofa during a 40% off sale.
posted by hiker U. at 7:48 PM on May 16, 2018
Something from Gus like the Jane Bi-Sectional sounds right for you. You can try one at a store in NYC and then they'll order the exact model (fabric, size etc) if you buy one.
posted by cushie at 9:19 PM on May 16, 2018
posted by cushie at 9:19 PM on May 16, 2018
Response by poster: For future readers of this question who found the question because they desired the same thing: Our dream sectional turned out to be at BoConcept.
posted by millipede at 11:42 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by millipede at 11:42 AM on May 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by slide at 2:17 PM on May 16, 2018 [1 favorite]