A Reluctant Online Furniture Shopper Orders Article's Most Popular Sofa

We knew we wanted a camel-colored leather style, so that helped narrow things down a little. But we were still swimming in a sea of options. West Elm had some gorgeous sofas but the long delivery times meant we’d be without a couch for 5+ weeks. (Yes, I should have planned better. Shush.) That was out.After tossing around a few different options for a new couch, my husband and I decided to purchase an Article Sven sofa in December of 2016. When we first bought it, we loved the look of it and were happy with it. The down filling and soft leather made for a very comfortable fabric sofa. After having this couch for about a year though, I started noticing how quickly it was losing shape. The seat cushion started hanging over the edge, the leather piping had become crooked and pinched along the armrests, down feathers frequently came out of the seams, but most disappointingly, the back cushions had slouched into a flat pile of worn leather. Down filled cushions will understandably need fluffing, but the issues with these flat cushions go so far beyond a normal flattened cushion. It’s gotten to the point where the back frame has become worn where the cushion has failed to sit upright and it looks ragged. I’ve meticulously cared for the couch according to Article’s care guide; vacuuming weekly, cleaning with a damp cloth, and using Otterwax regularly on top of fluffing and trying to whip the cushions back in shape. Needless to say that in the 2 years since spending almost $2000 on this sofa, I’m really disappointed with my purchase. I feel like I got a defective sofa because in photos that I’ve seen online or on social media of the couch, it has firm, stuffed cushions and the seat doesn’t hang over the edge like mine does. Has anyone else had issues with their Sven? What can I do?!I reached out to Article, totally transparent about my suspicions, and let them know I wanted to review the leather sofa and see if it was actually worth all the hype. They agreed with some majorly confident energy, which implied that they already knew damn well how good their product was, and weren’t worried about the risk of a potentially-negative review. After going back and forth (and back and forth, and back and forth…) about whether to get the Sven in leather or Grass Green Velvet, I finally selected the Charme Tan Leather, convinced it was the appropriate Big Girl Choice for my Big Girl Apartment.And now, my honest review of the quality. I don’t want to be a suck-up, but wow. I was genuinely convinced this would be one of those ~ridiculously gorgeous, but not actually all that fabric sectional sofa, and I was dead wrong. It’s comfy AF, and given that I’m currently working from home, I sit on it basically all day, every day. There’s just the right amount of give when you sit that allows a cushy feel, but the second you stand up, the couch resumes its aesthetically-pleasing, structured shape.

I know it can be scary to splurge on a large piece of furniture, especially for the first time, but I’d definitely recommend the fabric corner sofa to both home-owners and apartment renters. Having such a large, beautiful piece really pulls my home together, and it’s something I know I can take with me wherever I live next. I’m glad I didn’t end up buying a cheaper, low-quality couch for a quarter of the price that I’d eventually replace.

Plus, I finally understand why I kept seeing this couch all over my Instagram feed: it’s so photogenic. I use it as a backdrop for just about all of my flatlays, and I’ve taken many a self-timer photoshoot posing on it. No shame!