box seats

Although it seems quite popular, I have never been to IKEA.  I have browsed their website, but never saw much in the way of style that appealed to me.  Maybe the actual store would be different?  I do have some ready-to-assemble furniture pieces in my home, of the kid's dresser, entertainment center and computer cart variety, but a ready-to-assemble sofa... that doesn't seem like a good idea.  Or, does it?

Our home has a 12' x 16' living room... relatively small by today's housing standards.  I have a family of six... relatively large by today's family standards.  As we finally moved into the front [remodelled] area of the house, Jen and I started to ponder the most efficient way to offer cozy seating in a tight space for a larger family.  The corner sectional sofa seems the most efficient solution.

I assumed that a sectional sofa was just that... many sections of a sofa assembled in a flexible configuration, right?  Wrong... mostly.  We did some furniture browsing and found that several of the furniture store's "sectionals" where little more than a couch and loveseat with the arms lopped off and shoved together.

So, I went online to explore sectionals.  And, that's when I discovered Home Reserve.  Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, they specialize in ready-to-assemble sofas and chairs, build them from American made materials and sell them exclusively online.  I was intrigued by the company and their website and it looked like a good product at a fair price, but I was skeptical... very skeptical.  After all, it takes a little faith to order a seven piece sectional, give them my credit card number, and watch as the UPS man carries my new sofa to the porch in seven relatively small boxes!

So, I did some fairly extensive research on the company.  They are featured by HGTV and Better Homes and Gardens, just to name a few.  They have an excellent rating with the Better Business Bureau, and a vast majority of independent online opinions are favorable.

I convinced Jen that it was a good idea to further explore.  (After taking 7+ years to remodel this portion of the house, convincing Jen that ANY of my ideas are "good" ideas is more difficult than it used to be!).  But, we scanned the many online fabric swatches, and ordered a half-dozen actual swatches at $1 each.  They arrived on schedule, just as the company stated.  I then called customer service with several questions, and my questions were courteously handled.  The company offers customers to tour the factory and watch their sofa being made, but since Fort Wayne is over a four hour drive, I opted not to conduct on-site research.

The company offers a "risk-free trial" in that you can order a single armless unit to assemble and try in your home.  If you like it, order the remainder of the sectional.  If not, box it up and ship it back and the company will fully refund your money, including shipping. 

We decided to try one piece.  We placed the order and, just like the swatches, the single box showed up on our porch perfectly punctual, just as the website shipping information stated.  I assembled it in under an hour, and was impressed with the simplicity of assembly and the clarity of the instructions.  The finished product seemed sturdy, durable and comfortable.  Our only concern was that the seat depth seemed a little shallow, but this was not surprising, according to the many reviews I read.  The shallowness was not bad, and in a smaller room can actually be an advantage, as some overstuffed sectionals would likely swallow up the room.

After sitting on, and looking at, the single piece for a few weeks, we decided to order the remaining six pieces.  Once again, a very smooth experience.

Seven pieces...seven boxes

Each box clearly labelled... one left, four armless, one corner, and one right

Unpacking the box

A bag of fabric and a vacuum packed bag of cushions

Below that, a bag of hardware and the frame parts, manufactured from OSB.

The clearly-numbered frame parts for an armless section

Each boxed section comes complete with a pair of lightweight gloves to protect the assembler from any possible splinters (splinters were not a problem), and a sanding block, if needed (I only used a sanding block briefly on one piece).

The assembled frame.  Notice the seat bottom has a handle-hole cut into it... each section base doubles as a storage box!

The armless unit with the back and front panel fabric installed... complete, minus the seat and back cushions.  One huge selling point to this furniture is renewability.  Because all the fabric is self installed (and no staples or other attachments are necessary), the fabric can be replaced relatively inexpensively, rather than putting the whole sofa on the curb and starting over.  Also, fabric comes in machine washable options... in theory you could remove 100% of of the fabric and throw it in the washing machine.  The fabric we chose is not machine washable, and after installing all of it, I'm not sure how often I'd care to pull it off and launder it, but, in theory, you could machine wash your sofa... pretty cool.

Seven pieces assembled and ready to use!

It took just over eight hours total assembly time, which, if you've ever assembled any ready-to-assemble furniture, does not seem bad for a seven piece sectional sofa.  It is comfortable and roomy for a larger family, although I think we've already established that the corner is the seat of choice!  The true test of a product is time, but initially, I like this product.  Next, we need to add either a coffee table or some matching ottomans, for kicking back and stretching out, and a corner entertainment center.  The carpet is ordered and I'm wrapping up the trim.  Jen is shopping for accent pillows and window treatments.  I'm looking forward to getting this room wrapped up and ready to kick back and enjoy some good family time.  This sectional gets us well on the way to that goal!