Help,need to make quick sofa decision! 2 contenders

10 years ago

Help me! Have to make decision in 2 days!!

Anyone have any experience with either a Rooms to Go Cindy Crawford or and Ikea Ektorp sofa?

Or just want to help me weigh it out?

We don't want to spend too much (obviously) -- this is for a beach place, several friends come and go, but overall it only gets used about 3 months out of the year. Everyone who comes is pretty civilized except one group, but they are related to us, so whatcha gonna do!!

Like the idea of the reclining sofa, and though I'm not in LOVE with the look, I think I could handle this one. Really trying to decide what will be the most comfy for us, and not get too hung up on the look. And the configuration of 2 big reclining sections will make it a good place for our family of 4 to watch movies, which is a big deal for us at the beach. The pseudo-leather (they call it leather, I know it's not super quality) will be easy to clean up, won't have to fool with washing covers after spills,etc. I'm pretty sure we sat on this last year in the store, it was comfortable. I wasn't yet ready to give in to the recliner sofa look, but think I might be now.
(Cindy Crawford Auburn Hills)

Second option is the Ikea Ektorp sofa. (I'll post the picture in an add'l comment below.) It's fabric (prefer the look), but the covers are washable and eventually replaceable. But I just wonder if the sofa itself would even hold up long enough for the covers to wear out! Also, though, I don't see four of us on this one, someone would be left out of the comfy zone. Probably me, haha. I've sat in this sofa, it sits fine (for what it is) and comes in a "natural" color that I like. I like that it is about 5 inches shorter, which will be a plus in this room where you don't want to block someone's view from any direction.

So.....help me?

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Comments (5)

macyb
Original Author
10 years ago
Here's the Ikea sofa.
wormgirl_8a_WA
10 years ago
I got an Ektorp chair for free from someone who was getting rid of it. It is surprisingly comfortable. However their pug sat on the back cushion for several years and this created an unfixable dent. (My cats adopted this dent as their own.) Ikea does not sell replacement cushions. Despite this the chair is still comfortable and in good condition. If I really wanted to I could get new cushions made at a foam shop, because you can remove the slipcovers. In my view this is also handy for keeping the chair clean. Remove the slipcover from the dryer when still slightly damp and put it on immediately, this makes it easier and less wrinkled.

I have no experience with the other sofa. However I have had several cheap pieces made of bi-cast leather (a chair from Fred Meyer, dining benches from World Market) and was severely disappointed in how fast the foam inside broke down with use. I mean, crazy fast! And on my furniture, there is no way to replace that foam. So the pieces became uncomfortable junk quickly. So check out the construction and consider that when making your decision. Believe it or not, the Ektorp may win in terms of durability.

You might try googling for reviews of each sofa. I am confident you will find many bloggers who have reviewed the Ektorp - it is a very popular Ikea classic. If you are lucky you will find some reviews of the Cindy Crawford too.

A few other thoughts: How does it work to have 4 people on a sofa that has two reclining sections? That seems a little tricky. My ex had an old reclining sofa that I absolutely hated - it had sharp things poking out with age and the metal frame was easily felt through the padding. It prevented us from snuggling because the frame was in the way. And it was ugly. And, it was kinda broken in the reclining department. I must say visually I prefer the Ektorp. And theres less stuff to break on it.

Hope that helps....
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macyb
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks so much for your input! That does help, definitely, especially your confidence in the Ektorp. I did try googling for reviews on the Cindy Crawford one. All I could find were really old ones from like 2008 and 2009.They weren't good, but so old I thought I'd like to hear from someone more current.

I'm totally with you on the visual appeal of the Ektorp vs. recliner. One big attraction on the reclining one though is that we've always had a couple of old recliners in there, and because of a redesign there's not going to be room for those plus a real sofa. So this would still give hubby a place to nap.

Ugggggghh. I've had all the time in the world, and now I'm down to the wire. Indecision is my worst enemy, haha!
macyb
Original Author
10 years ago
Oh, yikes!! I just found a whole bunch of long, detailed and recent complaints about RTG, as far as customer service, lots of damaged goods delivered, terrible peeling leather. While I know that people are more likely to complain than to write in and praise a company, it is really putting me off.

Not to sound like an idiot, but can anyone tell me about a chain that is above the quality of RTG, but maybe not as expensive as, say, Haverty's? (By the way, Haverty's doesn't have anything I like.) I may still go with the Ikea sofa, but the fam really would like a reclining sofa! I've checked La-Z-Boy, but will check again.
macyb
Original Author
10 years ago
La-Z-Boy Colton... maybe i'm making progress. Would still love input. Trying to escape the really poofy recliner sofas, though they are soooo comfy. Just not my style.