Couches are one of the most important pieces of home furniture. It greets people in the living room, you sit on it every day, and it determines how comfortable people will be while they gather around watching something on TV. Suffice to say, every time you walk into a living room without a couch in it, things just don’t feel right.
When it comes to buying a new couch, it’s not a bad idea to splurge a little. Every extra ounce of comfort and every extra nudge in aesthetics will simply make your home that much more inviting. Well-made couches tend to last a long time, as well, so you’ll absolutely get your money’s worth in the length of time it will serve your household.
A few years ago, most good couches will fall in the mid-four-figure price range. And homeowners willingly paid the price, considering how important a sofa is to anchoring your home. However, with the rise of direct-to-consumer furniture makers and flat-pack startups, it’s now possible to get really good quality couches at a much lower price.
These are our favorite couches in the market today.
Steelside Ainsley Vegan Leather Sofa
Need something affordable to help you keep your budget in check? Well, we love this faux leather couch from Steelside, with its durable build and stylish vintage looks. Seriously, this thing looks way more expensive than its actual price. It’s comfortable, too, with its flexible high-quality spring coils, foam filling, and solid wood frame providing all the support you’ll need. The back is cushioned and rises around mid-height, so while it won’t support your shoulders, you should be able to push your back into it for a reasonably comfortable upright posture. Because of the solid wood frame and legs, the couch is able to support up to 660 pounds, so it can accommodate three people pretty easily.
West Elm Oliver Sofa
Available in 72- and 82-inch widths, this couch has a deep seat that lets you sink in comfortably, as well as medium-firm cushioning that delivers comfortable support, no matter the posture. We love its modern silhouette of straight lines and splayed legs, which allows it to fit in seamlessly with any contemporary home. The 72-incher can handle 500 pounds and the 82-incher can do 750 pounds easy, making them suitable for two and three occupants, respectively. If you have the room, we recommend going with the 82-incher, as it not that much more expensive compared to the smaller model. It only comes in two upholstery options, though, so you have limited option on that end.
Sand & Stable Warrington 82” Upholstered Sofa
We love this reasonably-priced classic sofa, with its combination of wooden frame, foam fill, and sinuous spring supports. The classic style, with its rolled arms and straight back, should fit in handsomely with most any interior, too. Designed for small living rooms, this couch offers cushy support for two people (you can probably fit three, but it has a 500-pound weight limit), with removable foam cushions that should make cleaning easy. Oh yeah, the cushions are reversible, too, if you don’t have time to clean and need to hide the dirty side. It comes with a high seat height that’s idea for taller folks, as well as a standard seat depth that will have you sitting upright, albeit with some room to lean back and lounge. They also offer it in over 50 upholstery options, although these are made-to-order, so you’ll have to wait a bit before it ships to your home.
Sabai The Essential Sofa
Designed for the environmentally-conscious, this three-seater couch uses an FSC-certified wood frame, 100 percent recycled fiber fill pillows, and 100 percent recycled fabric upholstery. Sabai also allows you to buy replacements for any part of the sofa, so you can easily swap out any damaged part instead of having to buy something entirely new. They’re able to do this because the couch is designed to be assembled by the buyer, so it actually comes in numerous parts, making it easy to replace any single part that ends up being damaged. Oh yeah, assembling isn’t that hard, either, requiring you to just use the included wrench to lock the parts into place. Is it the most comfortable sofa? Not really. There are no springs on the seat, so you don’t have that bounce that comes with traditional couches, while the low back rest and shallow seat depth makes it hard to collapse in a lounging posture. If you want a sustainably-built sofa that’s designed to be repaired rather than thrown out, though, it makes for a really interesting offer.
Burrow Block Nomad
We love the simple yet stylish look of this sofa, which should allow it to fit well with any type of modern abode. What really makes it special, though, is Burrow’s modular design, which allows you to assemble it as a single-seater, a two-seater, or a three-person couch. You can even add replace the third seat with a chaise lounge, in case you want extra lounging room and have a little more space to fill. Because of its modular design, it’s shipped in boxes, so you’ll have to assemble it much like a desk from IKEA. Don’t worry, it’s pretty straightforward, with a design that lets you put the whole thing together without using any tools. If there’s any real downside, it’s the limited upholstery options, as you can only choose among five fabric options.
Petrie Midcentury Sofa
If you like midcentury design, then this piece from Petrie will make for an excellent anchor to your living room space with its tufted cushions, tapered legs, and upright frame recalling the classic furnishings from the era. It comes in four sizes, from 65 to 100 inches in width, so you can outfit your home with the right size of sofa based on your space and needs. It’s designed to sit you deep, firm, and upright, although it also has a slightly slouched back rest, in case you want to lean back and chill. Features include kiln-dried hardwood frame, hardwood legs, button-tufted cushions, and slim track arms that will not get in the way.
Lark Manor Rasberry 81-Inch Upholstered Sleep Sofa
Need a sofa that can make for a comfy bed in a pinch? Consider this one, which can transform into a queen-size bed when needed, giving you a spot to sleep overnight guests whenever it’s needed. It’s 81 inches wide with a weight capacity of 750 pounds, so it can easily accommodate three people on the regular, while the high backrest and the rolled arms ensure comfortable lounging at all times. Do note, the darn thing is heavy at 223 pounds, a direct result of its being able to pull double duty as a proper bed. As such, this is not the kind of couch you will move from the living room to any other spot in the house. Once you settle on its placement, you’ll probably just want to keep it there till the day it gives out. It comes in genuine leather upholstery, with a selection of 13 color finishes.
