Recs for an indestructible couch?

[lessel]

Only half-kidding on the indestructible part.

We're either looking for an L-shaped sectional or sofa/loveseat combo for the family room in our new house. DH and I aren't lightweights and we have two boys and a dog. This will be our main living area, so high traffic. Definitely need something that's durable and washable. Would love something that's easy to wipe down spills.

We have a microfiber sofa in our basement that seems pretty good resisting spills and stains...is there anything better lately? (That sofa is 8 years old...not sure about the latest in sofa fabric technology.) My complaint about the basement sofa is that the cushions went super squishy and floppy pretty quickly...so anything that's got some more resilient seating would be nice.

So far I'm looking at Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn. Life is so hectic lately, I was hoping to just buy online, but I think I need to get to a store and look at fabric samples/colors/etc.

[pierogigirl]

If you go to a furniture store that does the upholstery when you order, you can often upgrade to hand tied springs and extra firm cushions. This will reduce the sag. it costs a little more, but I think it's worth it.

[just]

We have Ikea's Kivik loveseat, chaise combo and kind of love it. The whole thing is machine washable, and we have 4 dogs and it vacuums well. We have 3 colors of covers (all from ikea though I think you can by third party ones too) and just cycle through every 4-6 months.

It takes the two of us about 30 minutes to change the fabric on the structure, but obviously you can just wash the cushions too.

[brooke77]

Leather? My dog destroys everything. Our leather couches still look and feel great after 8 years with the dog and 2 years with a kid.

[lessel]

Jul 22, 2019 14:30:09 GMT -5 brooke77 said:

Leather? My dog destroys everything. Our leather couches still look and feel great after 8 years with the dog and 2 years with a kid.

I typically would be open to leather, but the room the sofa is going in has wood floors and a lot of wood paneling that we probably won't be able to deal with for a few years. It would be a lot of brown in the meantime.

[devonpow]

We got a sectional at Ethan Allen 5 years ago - it has a sunbrella fabric in a cream color. 5 years with 2 boys and a dog in the most used room of the house and it’s held up remarkably well! It’s very easy to clean and the cushions are still perfectly firm. We have gotten it professionally cleaned a few times but it’s been easy and not expensive to do it. I thought we were crazy for getting a light colored sofa but the Sunbrella fabric makes a big difference

[devonpow]

I don’t know if it’s this exact couch but this is very similar at the least
www.ethanallen.com/en_US/shop-furniture-living-room-custom-quick-ship-shop-all/retreat-roll-arm-four-piece-sectional%2C-quick-ship/657430G4.html#q=Sectional&lang=en_US&start=1

[lessel]

Jul 22, 2019 14:37:24 GMT -5 devonpow said:

We got a sectional at Ethan Allen 5 years ago - it has a sunbrella fabric in a cream color. 5 years with 2 boys and a dog in the most used room of the house and it’s held up remarkably well! It’s very easy to clean and the cushions are still perfectly firm. We have gotten it professionally cleaned a few times but it’s been easy and not expensive to do it. I thought we were crazy for getting a light colored sofa but the Sunbrella fabric makes a big difference

Our current top contender is a Sunbrella fabric on the Pottery Barn Comfort (square) style. Holy $$$! But I want it to last. Grumble.

[lessel]

Jul 22, 2019 18:56:28 GMT -5 spearmintleaf said:

I’d do top grain leather and paint the wood paneling to get you through a few years, personally.

It’s going to be a big job to paint the wood and potentially involve new windows. There are custom fiberglass windows that mimic the wood and can’t be painted. Kind of a pain.

[Deleted]

We have an IKEA L-shaped sofa with a removable and washable cover. There is a similar Pottery Barn version that’s more expensive, but also seems a lot sturdier.

[nicolewi]

We have the Crate & Barrel's Axis sofa in the Douglas coffee color (one of the stock colors). It's held up very well for us. The fabric is fantastic. It's some kind of microfiber, but doesn't go dramatically light/dark if you run your hand over it. It's been super easy to keep clean and a couple things I thought would totally stain left no mark.

[arch01]

@villainv, just, how long have you had your Ikea couches? I am looking at them for my new house but I haven't loved my Ektorp chair-it definitely has some sagging after irregular use. Do they have any sagging?

[af1212]

Jul 22, 2019 20:33:27 GMT -5 arch01 said:

@villainv, just, how long have you had your Ikea couches? I am looking at them for my new house but I haven't loved my Ektorp chair-it definitely has some sagging after irregular use. Do they have any sagging?

I know you didn’t ask me but we have three Ektorps. One is from 2006, one from 2015 and one was a hand me down so not sure when it was from.

The 2006 one definitely needs to be replaced. The 2015 is in great shape. The other one is in our basement and never gets used so looks great.

I would love to buy another one but we need a sectional and their ektorp one doesn’t fit our space.

[Deleted]

Jul 22, 2019 20:33:27 GMT -5 arch01 said:

@villainv, just, how long have you had your Ikea couches? I am looking at them for my new house but I haven't loved my Ektorp chair-it definitely has some sagging after irregular use. Do they have any sagging?

We’ve had it for about 4.5 years, and have moved once. Every time I think it’s sagging, I wash the covers, which seems to fluff up the cushions, and it perks up again. I am hoping to get 3 more years out of it. The covers hold up great too! We’re on our second set because we wanted to change colors when we moved to the new house.

[steph96]

Jul 22, 2019 20:33:27 GMT -5 arch01 said:

@villainv, just, how long have you had your Ikea couches? I am looking at them for my new house but I haven't loved my Ektorp chair-it definitely has some sagging after irregular use. Do they have any sagging?

I’ve had the Ektorp couch for about 2 years and it looks great. Like another poster said, washing the covers seems to perk it back up. Also, I’ve seen tutorials on adding stuffing to the cushions to make it look like new.

[sparty04]

We have an awesome Flexsteel sectional with Kashmira fabric. It feels like micro suede but it’s super durable. Easily washable (like spot clean or with a upholstery cleaner) and we have yet to poke any holes. It looks brand new even after 2 cats and 3 rough boys. The only downside is that the cost is comparable to leather, but it’s worth it for the quality.

[scout8]

My flexsteel sectional has also held up well. I think the fabric is starting to show a little wear and tear, but we've had it for close to 10 years now. Other than the fabric, it looks the same as when we bought it. No sagging at all and the cushions are still firm.

[doxies]

Jul 22, 2019 22:07:57 GMT -5 sparty04 said:

We have an awesome Flexsteel sectional with Kashmira fabric. It feels like micro suede but it’s super durable. Easily washable (like spot clean or with a upholstery cleaner) and we have yet to poke any holes. It looks brand new even after 2 cats and 3 rough boys. The only downside is that the cost is comparable to leather, but it’s worth it for the quality.

We have the same and it has held up with 3 dogs and 2 kids.  I've spilled red wine on it and just blotted it with a paper towel and it came right off.  It's been a great purchase.

[preppy]

Jul 22, 2019 20:49:33 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

We have a sofa from lovesac. Its sold in pieces that can be reconfigured. If one piece is destroyed, you can replace it. The covers are machine washable. Ap far we are very happy with it.

We also have had one of these for 4 years with 2 kids and a dog and it still looks new. I just washed the covers this weekend. Ours is white which we could only do because everything is washable. 

[devonpow]

Jul 22, 2019 20:49:33 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

We have a sofa from lovesac. Its sold in pieces that can be reconfigured. If one piece is destroyed, you can replace it. The covers are machine washable. Ap far we are very happy with it.

Question - are the Lovesac sofas the same as the beanbags in that you have to kind of knead and fluff them for a long time to get them the right feel, or is it totally different? We have a giant
Lovesac beanbag and it was a huge PITA doing all the work to get the lumps etc out and we never got it to the softness of the store model we tried out. We have been eyeing the sofa for our playroom because the modular aspect of it seems perfect but I'm a little wary after our beanbag experience

[mala]

Jul 22, 2019 20:49:33 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

We have a sofa from lovesac. Its sold in pieces that can be reconfigured. If one piece is destroyed, you can replace it. The covers are machine washable. Ap far we are very happy with it.

Second these. We have one too and I can't recommend them enough. With a giant breed dog, two kids, and two adults that abuse the hell out of this couch and it's held up remarkably well. I do agree the covers are hard to get on and off, but it's not impossible with a little practice. The one complaint I have is that the backs are kind of low, which is also because the same piece doubles as the arms. 10/10 would recommend and would buy again.

[justkly]

We have an Ashley Bicknell sectional that’s held up super well with 3 dogs. We use our steam cleaner regularly on it and it looks brand new every time and was less than $1000 (with matching ottoman). also, I HATE Ashley furniture, but this seems to be an higher quality than they usually have.