Budget Loveseat

May 4, 2017 8:28 AM

I need a cheap couch (loveseat) but not a terrible couch, what should my budget be?

I'll be in my 2nd year of working post-grad school soon, and I am ready to spend some money for a more polished look. My current loveseat is a pullout sleeper bed type that is a hideous green and was my dad's before the 3 years I've had it. I want another loveseat but need to stay under $1000. What kind of budget can get me a decent but not anything special couch? A few years but not 10+ years couch.

posted by Aranquis to Home & Garden (15 answers total)

I completely love my Home Reserve couch that I bought with similar requirements. It's flatpack and springless- but it feels really sturdy, looks pretty decent, and and the foam they use is pretty darn comfy. Added bonuses: good warranty, made in the US, replaceable washable upholstery, and there's built-in storage. I didn't expect it to last so long, but I've had mine for about 10 years now and it really looks as good as it always has, even after moving with me (in the back of a Geo Metro, no less) twice.
posted by piedmont at 8:45 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

If you have a Big Lots, they carry a lower-end range of Simmons, Stratolounger, and Ashley furniture in the $200-800 range. It's not the hottest colors or anything, but we have a sectional from them that is maybe 8 years old and still looks good and mostly feels good (there's one spot where there's some funky internal structure and it happens to be the place I usually want to sit in this house because of where the TV is), the fabric has survived some pretty gross dog stuff, and it's been through multiple box-truck moves.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:53 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

Do you need it to be a pullout? We love our IKEA sofabed (also first post-grad-school purchase of a new couch, high five) but it might be a bit big if you're really space limited.
posted by quaking fajita at 8:54 AM on May 4, 2017

Response by poster: Definitely don't want another pull-out bed. They are freakishly heavy.
posted by Aranquis at 9:00 AM on May 4, 2017

I have done a lot of couch shopping recently! We went to a lot of furniture-type stores in a bigger metro area and you could find a good loveseat-type couch in the discount area for $400 if you weren't picky about style or color. If you wanted something where YOU got to pick the fabric and etc, you could pay $800 if you were cost-conscious. $1000-2000 would get you a brand name custom made in the US fancy-ass couch with throw pillows delivered to your house. I've been surprised that he stuff at Big Lots is so decent but it often is. So a few thigns to think about

- delivery (costs maybe $100 where I am, worth it if getting a car for this is a headache)
- custom shit (always costs more, don't go for upsells like insurance, special sun fabric, extra custom pillows)
- choice/style - you can often save a TON of money buying from discount areas of nice furniture stores and getting something that someone else returned. This is often better than going for a discount furniture place to begin with since their craftsmanship often isn't as good.

I balked like CRAZY at buying new furniture but I am totally happy I did, I love the couch I sit on every day, I hope you love yours.
posted by jessamyn at 9:22 AM on May 4, 2017

If you have some time to throw at the problem and you live in a relatively populated area, craiglist is probably also worth a try. As someone in a similar situation (just finished grad school last spring!), I found a beautiful and hardly-used leather West Elm couch for around $600. It did take a month or so of scrolling through hideous super-poofy couches, and I had to pick it up myself in a rented u-haul, but it's much nicer than anything I could have afforded new.
posted by dizziest at 10:14 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

I've had good luck at Ashley Furniture Home Store and their outlet. Also, if you live near a Rooms to Go, my friends got a great deal on the world's most comfortable couch there.
posted by radioamy at 10:21 AM on May 4, 2017

I went through ALL of these options and can unequivocally tell you that the answer to this question is a new or gently used Ikea Kivik.

You can put fancier feet on it, but the thing is light as a feather with the feel and dimensions of a real couch for a fraction of the price! Plus you can buy new slipcovers for it, or wash the one it comes with, so it will always look new and crisp! Apparently, Ikea will provide new cushions if they wear out, I have not needed to do this.

It's $600 for the sofa new, and I picked up a used one in a fabric I adore for $200 on craigslist and it is in perfect condition. The loveseat is even cheaper.
posted by jbenben at 11:32 AM on May 4, 2017

I just got done shopping for loveseats and that budget should be plenty - we spent about $600 on ours and I saw lots of nice ones for lower. Try Value City Furniture, Ashley homestore, etc. We got ours at our local massive-warehouse furniture place that carries a lot of different generic brands, and I'm expecting to get five years out of it.
posted by cpatterson at 11:43 AM on May 4, 2017

My rule of thumb for buying low-cost but acceptable-quality furniture is to go to Ikea and buy the second-cheapest item in that line. Never buy the cheapest they have; it'll be made of cardboard and will collapse in six months. But the second-cheapest usually works pretty well.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:45 AM on May 4, 2017 [3 favorites]

Seconding Big Lots. We have a Simmons sofa that we got at Big Lots about 7 years ago and it has held up better than the slightly more expensive furniture store one we got around the same time. Also, it is relatively light.

That Home Reserve site is intriguing – I hadn’t heard of them before.
posted by Kriesa at 1:26 PM on May 4, 2017

We got a large, nice sectional, with all bolsters and pillows, from Rent-A-Center for less than $800. They sell gently used rental furniture. Might be an option for you.
posted by mmw at 3:03 PM on May 4, 2017

I am a cheapskate and I like nice stuff, so I troll craigslist endlessly for my dream couch (or dream shelves, or dream desk, etc). Often I'll search for specific manufacturers, like CB2. You'll find a $1k couch on Craigslist for anywhere between free and $800, so depending on how picky/specific you are, it can take a while to find the right thing. But if you're just looking for a solid, serviceable couch, you should be able to find something dreamy in the next week.
posted by tapir-whorf at 5:15 PM on May 4, 2017

I recently looked through furniture (incl. in the free section) on craigslist and I was surprised by the amount of furniture from high-end brands on there. If you're not time-pressured, I'd just set CL alerts for any brands you like (west elm, cb2, etc) and wait until the right thing surfaces - in a populated enough area, it probably won't be long. End of the month is a particularly good time.
posted by R a c h e l at 6:56 AM on May 5, 2017

I've had a mid-priced Ikea sofa for a few years (Karlstad, retails for $400). It's comfortable and has held up well. I think you'd need to pay a lot more to get truly better quality. If I was looking for a budget loveseat, I'd go to Ikea.
posted by plonkee at 2:33 PM on May 5, 2017