As of last friday, we received confirmation that we will in fact be purchasing our new home because the seller (bless her) will be completing all of our requested repairs.  I can’t tell you how relieved I was to finally know for sure.  After we got the ok, I immediately started into some sofa research.  I acquired our current sofa and loveseat for my grad school apartment for free from some people Megan was buying her washer and dryer from approximately 4 and a half years ago, and they came equipped with plenty of cat scratches and some stains.  I actually intend to keep one of them, for our partial third floor/attic/room thing.  But for the first floor, we really need a grown up sofa.

I started by searching some of my favorite online home decor haunts – West Elm, Pottery Barn, Ballard, and Crate and Barrel.  However, after combing through some Apartment Therapy comment boards, I learned that West Elm and Pottery Barn are actually not the best quality, which is surprising given their price tags.  Crate and Barrel is supposed to be one of the better sources of sofas, but they were generally pretty out of my price range, although I had some wishful thinking about the Tailor, since she is so pretty.  One sofa that kept being mentioned on the boards was the Ikea Karlstad.  Although it is Ikea, and everyone else on the block would have the same one, it is apparently very comfortable and holds up pretty well.  And I wouldn’t feel quite so sad if my cat scratched it, because it is literally half the price of the next cheapest one.  I could even use pretty pegs to dress it up which would be super fun.

On Saturday, Corey and I headed up to Hickory Furniture Mart to see what all the fuss was about.  To be honest, things were really pretty pricey there as well.  But we did come out with one sofa, and one brand, that we seemed to like more than the others.  The Berkeley by Rowe Furniture was pretty good lookin, but also really comfortable.  We found out later that there is a Goods just down the road that also has Rowe Furniture, so we ventured up there on Sunday to find the Dorset.  She is a major beauty.  However, I think she wasn’t quite as comfortable as I wanted her to be (really what is it with me referring to the sofas as girls?).  Next up, we will be heading to Ikea to check out the Karlstad in person, but I still think the Berkeley is a good option.

1) West Elm Blake – May not be the best quality

2) Crate and Barrel Tailor – Ever so lovely but out of our price range

3) Ikea Karlstad – Pretty great reviews for such an inexpensive sofa

4) Rowe Dorset – Knocked my socks off but not as comfy as I wanted her to be

5) Rowe Berkeley – Still a possibility

Have any of you guys been sofa shopping lately?  Any major finds or advice for us newbies?