Sofa Dos and Don'ts

If you are planning to buy a rental home, or you're thinking about what to do with one you have just acquired, this is the place for any questions about starting out in the rentals business.
Laurel
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Sofa Dos and Don'ts

Post by Laurel »

Hi,

We are in the process of buying our first holiday home :D and are in the fun stage of browsing for furniture etc. As sofas will be one of our bigger expenses, we want to try to get it right first time.

We have welcomed the advice in previous posts on LMH about avoiding sofas with flat arms to discourage balancing of wine glasses and coffee mugs. Wouldn't have thought of this one and wondered what else we should be keeping in mind...

In your experience, is it wise/necessary to buy sofas with completely removable loose covers (and spare sets) or can you get away with having 'tight covered' sofas with washable cushion and arm rest covers? There's loads more choice in the tight covered versions but we're not sure they're a good choice.

How likely are we to get nightmare accidents or spillages that mean the whole sofa has to be recovered? Do people find that their sofas get grubby and need the covers changing or washing quite frequently? We are going to be encouraging guests with pets and kids so need to be realistic about wear and tear!

Thanks for your help
starcana
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Post by starcana »

Hi, we have tight fitting covers because it was an almost new sofa that didn't fit the house when we moved so put it in the barn - the two matching ones went in our house. We're in our fourth season as it still looks very good.,BUT we have couples only and no pets. If I was replacing it is go with Ektorp as all the LMH recommendations.
Where in Cornwall are you? We're just outside Constantine. Good luck. It's a great place to let, pretty easy for bookings for us for a 1-bed.
Pamski
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Post by Pamski »

We have/had tight fitting covers on two sofas (from Divani) for about 8 years, they had a checked pattern so didn't show the grubbiness that must have been there but I began to get a bit concerned about them. Sofas are still fine so 3 years ago I managed to find a similar shaped sofa in their catalogue which had loose covers and bought sets of those. Sofa company were a bit iffy about it when I explained what I was doing as they thought might not fit but they were fine with a bit of extra fitting by me. I now wish that we had bought the sofas with loose covers in the first place and bought two sets of covers at the same time.
We don't have flat arms on them - but rounded ones and I think they take up too much room!
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

I'd never have anything but loose covers. I have the Ikea Ektorp sofas in my gites and have to change them a few times every season because of various spillages.
If I lived in the UK I'd buy sofas here because they are a much better quality and a lot more comfortable than Ektorp - and not much difference in price. Unfortunately they don't deliver to France.
kg1
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Post by kg1 »

We bought from M&S. Told them it was for a rental property and the sales assistant was very knowledgeable about which fabrics would stand up to heavy use and be more resistant to staining. We were advised to buy matching loose arm covers for both chairs and sofa and although I was concerned that they were a little old fashioned they have been brilliant at taking the inevitable grubby arm marks and coffee drips, just pop them in the dry cleaners. We were also advised to buy extra fabric in case we got really bad stains or tears so just the damaged area could be replaced. Would definitely buy there again.
Beachcondo
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Post by Beachcondo »

I have Ektorp and wash these once a year, when I'm over. Then I spray so much ScotchGard on them that you have to be out all day or you will be high as a kite!
But it seems to keep them ok. They look crisp when I return the year after.
Pessimists only get positive surprises.
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

You can wash Ektorp covers at 40°C too - another advantage. No need for dry cleaners (but they are a PITA to iron).
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wallypott
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Post by wallypott »

ektorp and spare covers here. Very satisfied. Ive got cheaper jobs and no spare covers in the small gites and we have to use throws on them which are changed at every changeover as they are not really "clean" underneath.
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French Cricket
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Post by French Cricket »

Ektorp here as well. I've made arm rest covers from left over bits of curtain material - just rectangles that drape over and are held in place quite well by the back cushion - which can easily be washed (and ironed - agree that the covers themselves are a PITA to iron). It's the arm rests that seem to get the grubbiest.

Whatever you go for Laurel I'd say loose covers are a must.
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Ju
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Post by Ju »

We have Erktrop as well, but I wouldn't buy them again. One of the sofa frames split in the midle and on investgating we saw the the whole frame, and weight of the sitters, is held up by one piece of chipboard (and not particularly good chip board at that).

Also the covers are fading with washind and several of the zips have failed.
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

Ju wrote:We have Erktrop as well, but I wouldn't buy them again. One of the sofa frames split in the midle and on investgating we saw the the whole frame, and weight of the sitters, is held up by one piece of chipboard (and not particularly good chip board at that).

Also the covers are fading with washind and several of the zips have failed.
Yes, the quality is definitely poor. I've had to repair a sofa (I was pretty horrified about the chipboard too!), but for the price and the hammering they get they haven't done too badly. The dark blue covers I bought have faded too - the beige ones are better.
Pamski
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Post by Pamski »

sofa.sofa.co.uk - because they are a much better quality and a lot more comfortable than Ektorp - and not much difference in price. Unfortunately they don't deliver to France.

LV - this is where ours came from and they have done very well - we were able to move them to France in one of our huge part loads when we brought out things like that and a flat pack kitchen. I was certainly able to give them another lease of life by putting loose covers on them - and they are still unbelievably cheap.
Laurel
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Post by Laurel »

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Definitely loose covers then!

Great Sofasofa recommendation LV and Pamski. There's lots of choice and excellent prices :D just what we were looking for.

One extra thing that's complicating our choice is that we need to fit 6 seats into a large but quite narrow lounge. We're looking for a corner sofa to seat 4 -5 and I'm getting irritated that most of the ones advertised as 'Corner sofas' are actually normal size sofas with a chaise longue bit stuck onto one end. See: [http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st ... er=1860373].

Doesn't actually increase the number of seats but is obviously much cheaper to manufacture than a proper corner sofa like: [http://www.forrestonline.co.uk/catalog/ ... 2ec25932b5]

Starcana, which Constantine are you near? The lovely beach near Padstow or the really pretty village with the tardis-like off license near Falmouth? We have a family holiday caravan at Treyarnon and used to live near Falmouth so know both well.

I'm buying with my Mum and the property we're looking at is near St Austell (we have family in that area and want to use it as a second home to be near nieces/nephews/grandkids aswell as renting it out). It's a nice cottage in a tucked away place but I don't want to say too much until it's finalised as I don't want to tempt fate...
starcana
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Post by starcana »

Sounds great. Hope it goes through ok for you. We're just outside Constantine village, near Falmouth. Been here four years and love it.
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wallypott
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Post by wallypott »

Erktop do a proper corner sofa.

For info there were two manufactures of the Erktop - one with and one without chipboard. They are guaranteed for 10 years I think. Of course that does mean taking them back to the shop which would be a vast shag.
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