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[camwyn]

Currently considering my options re: replacing my couch. It's an Ektorp three-seater from IKEA that I bought used on Craigslist in... I dunno, 2011? 2012? Before moving out of Hoboken, that's for sure. I replaced the contents of one cushion last year with new foam but the OMG FEATHERS that spewed all over the place when I did so meant that trying to replace cushion #2 went poorly. #3 has not been replaced. I cannot deal with that many feathers unless I take the damn thing on a boat and open it at the rail. The middle of the couch is sagging at this point and IKEA no longer sells Ektorp couches in this country. I think they might still do it in Australia, but don't quote me on that- anyway, point is, I don't want to get the replacement models they carry now because their design doesn't allow cushion flipping. Also because I don't want to deal with new-furniture smell from outgassing.

I'm looking at couch options on sabai.design because I'd like to get something sustainable, decent quality, and low VOC. Nine-tenths of what I've heard about Sabai's couches has been great and most of the rest has applied to people having trouble with putting them together. The only reviews I've read for them that mention smell have said that they smelled like whatever wood was used in construction, nothing chemical or weird. I'm good with that. The slipcovers are supposed to be easy to clean and highly resistant to pet damage. I ordered one of their lumbar cushions as a test run. Feels like a decent piece of work. Customer service said on a firmness scale of 1-10 (10 being really firm) the lumbar pillow is about a 5.

This comes up because I'm looking at two couches in particular of theirs. One of them is 86" long (they only just started selling it in that size, previous size was 96" which is way too big for this apartment) and has back cushions, but the height from the top of the back frame to the floor is 26 inches. That's almost three inches lower than my current couch, which would be kind of a problem. Couch #2 has a much higher back- 31 inches from frame top to floor- but has padded upholstery rather than cushions. It's 91" long. The padded upholstery is, according to their customer service, about an 8 on the 1-10 firmness scale.

The seat cushions on the 86", the ones you actually put your ass on, use a foam that's 1.8 pounds per cubic inch in density. They said that starts off as a 7 on the firmness scale but softens to 5 with use. The replacement foam I used on the Ikea couch is 1.6 pounds per cubic inch so at least I have an idea of what to expect there. I am... not entirely sure what an 8 back would feel like but I suspect that I am going to need to heap the cushions on.

... hm. okay. The Sabai rep said that the seat cushions on the 86" are 1.8 lbs/cubic inch density and 28 firmness. If I'm understanding this correctly, the 28 is the foam's ILD rating. The foam I bought from Joann for replacement cushioning has an ILD score of 36, so it's somewhat firmer.

*drums fingers on table*

Not happy with the lack of back cushion on the 91" couch. I have plenty of smaller cushions that can be used to supplement that, though. And the higher back is more important; you can make up for lack of back cushion but you can't make the back frame higher.

Comments

[newredshoes]

Oh dang, I am very invested in this, as I too am looking to replace my doughty but collapsing IKEA sofa, which has done its time. I hadn't heard of this company before, but I like the sound of them! Same concerns about a high enough back, tbh. This gives me a lot of good vocabulary for thinking about how to approach this quest, thank you! Keep us posted about how the search goes.

[camwyn]

Fair warning, Sabai's expensive. Like, either couch costs more than I paid for my mattress. Their entry level couch is ... still expensive, though not as bad, but it's not in the cards for me because of its low profile. From the floor to the top of the back frame on their entry level couch is 25.5 inches. The review I read of that couch on Architectural Digest stated that the reviewer gave the couch a B for comfort but would give it an A if the back were higher. He and his partner were 5'11" and 6' tall, respectively. He did note that it was comfortable enough to take an hour-long nap with his corgi on one side and his partner reading on the other, though.

EDIT: This is the Architectural Digest review in question, which I appreciate because it goes into a great deal more detail than a lot of others, and also because it isn't breathlessly OMG!wonderful in its overall tone. Not that I object to people being enthusiastic about their furniture but it helps to have a calm, neutral assessment of things. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/sabai-essential-sectional-review-2021

For what it's worth, Sabai's furniture is made in the United States- the factory is in North Carolina- and is composed of natural fiber, recycled plastics, and FSC-certified wood. No PFAS forever chemicals, no fire retardants. I found them when I was getting frustrated trying to make my searches at other places show me genuinely Greenguard and Greenguard Gold certified options.