*This is a collaborative post with SLF 24
I’ve been thinking about getting a new sofa for our lounge for a few months now. 6 months ago our old (6 year old) sofa started showing some wear and tear. The stitching in the cushions started to fall apart and the seam had to be hand-stitched. Since then I’ve been using a throw over it just to make sure that it doesn’t get worse. We did use the sofa daily, but it’s wasn’t our main sofa. We have a dark grey sofa in our TV room that gets way more abuse. I guess I still would have expected this one to last a bit longer. 6 years in sofa terms isn’t exactly long, am I right? Anyway, since we are planning to move house in a year or two I couldn’t justify getting a new one for this house. Sofas tend to be expensive and choosing the right size sofa depends heavily on your room layout and space.
You can probably imagine my excitement when SLF24 asked me if I’d like to pick a sofa from one of their current collections in exchange for an honest review on the blog. It almost felt too good to be true. I looked at the sofas online and was blown away by the different styles and fabrics they offer. The prices were pretty incredible too! Everything was explained so well and I loved that the legs were customisable. All sofas are made to measure in Europe and the delivery time is app. 3-4 weeks. You can even order fabric samples before purchasing. I love that they have such a big selection of sofas/chairs from corner sofas to 2.5 seaters and arm chairs. I always measure everything before ordering a new sofa. This also means making sure that it will fit through the door. Luckily SLF24 deliver all their sofas flat packed which means that you have a better chance of actually getting them in the house (especially important if you live in a flat).
So, here is our new luxurious Gosena 3-seater in grey velvet (velluto 15). I love the Scandinavian design with sleek lines and minimalist black metal legs. The design isn’t much different from our old sofa (I love this design!) but the fabric is. The velluto fabric is so soft and luxurious. It has a very subtle shine and all dirt/marks just seem to wipe off with a microfiber cloth or a brush. I haven’t had any major accidents yet (ie. liquid stains) so I can’t comment on that. The sofa was delivered by the Panther Group and they messaged me few weeks before to confirm the delivery date. I received my 2 hour delivery slot the day before and the whole experience was just wonderful. This sofa is an absolute pleasure to sit on and I like the firm cushions (this might not be everyone’s preference though). The foam cushions are filled with polyester fiber and they just seem to spring back. There are few different things you can do to make sure that your sofa cushions don’t lose their shape, but I think I’ll need to devote another blogpost for that.
I had to take a few things into consideration when I was choosing the new sofa. I did a lot of measuring before I found the right style. Our lounge is quite narrow and only really fits quite a slimline sofa. Our old sofa was a bit too narrow though, so I wanted to get one that is few centimeters wider. I also knew pretty much straight away that I’d like a grey sofa again for this room. I’m a lover of neutrals and I wanted to create a relaxing and serene atmosphere in our lounge. Plus I kind of knew that velvet as a material would add enough texture and interest to this space. We get tons of direct sunlight in this room and a darker sofa just wouldn’t work. It would absorb all the light and I want the opposite. Darker fabrics can also fade more easily in direct sunlight and can feel a little hot against skin. So it had to be another light grey couch I’m afraid, but luckily this one is few shades darker than our old one, plus it’s made of smart velvet (best invention ever!)
I found the perfect throw to go with the sofa from Oliver Bonas. I love the chic style and it’s ideal for finishing off the Scandi boho look. Since the colour palette is very neutral, I can use textures and patterns without making the space appear too busy and cluttered. You don’t need to add colourful cushions or a throw to add interest. It’s equally visually powerful to mix different textures together; smooth, shiny, pebbled, matt etc. If you’re sticking to neutrals, mixing textures (like what I’m doing here) is a very clever way of adding interest in a very subtle way. It also has a very calming effect where as bright colours can be more distracting.
I can never make up my mind about cushions. For me cushions are a bit like jewellery. They add that finishing touch to a sofa that makes it stand out. Cushion styling can be a bit tricky though. I always pick the cushions with a specific colour palette in mind. This will be heavily influenced by the colour of the sofa. I used to buy cushions in even numbers but I tend to go for a more relaxed look these days. They don’t have to match but they should complement each other. All the cushions are from Anthropologie.
I haven’t had my sofa long enough to comment on the durability, but so far so good. I know it can be nerve-wrecking to buy a sofa without seeing and trying it, but since I’ve done it before I was fine with it. I’ll try to update this post in 6 months time so you can get a realistic idea what to expect. I have to say that the quality/price ratio is the best I’ve seen. Getting the feet on was probably the trickiest part. It does require some self assembly and the screws aren’t the easiest to put on, but now that it’s built I love it. I’d also say that the colour is a bit darker than on the website but I think that’s a good thing (it will hide little marks so much better). The material feels luxurious and it looks so beautiful. I call this our formal sofa. It’s the prettier one out of the two and I love sitting on it in the evening after the kids have gone to bed. I would say it’s more of a grown up sofa though. There will be absolutely no jumping or drinking liquids on this sofa (unless you’re 18+). Jumping might actually be forbidden for all ages!
Would you ever consider buying a velvet sofa? I know many people admire them from a distance but are quite scared to take the plunge. I might write another blogpost about the maintenance but so far I’m really impressed. Smart velvet is so easy to care for and the short velvet pile seems to hide multitude of sins.
* Please note that this sofa was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review on the blog. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
