Somewhere on the internet, probably the better part of two and a half years ago, I read a story about a guy getting a sofa. He talked about the hassles of trying to find a sofa that would fit into his apartment, which was in a major metropolitan, up a couple of flights of stairs, and not designed for the oversized, overstuffed furniture we find in stores today.
He mentioned a small sofa company that shipped sofas in easy to put together pieces and which was designed to fit through the more narrow apartment doors that many of us have. Considering my vivid memories of several friends hauling a sleeper sofa down five flights of stairs and then up two only to find out it that there was no possible way to turn it into the apartment, this had definite potential and appeal.
I sent away for a brochure.
I wasn’t really in the market for a sofa at the time. Company in La Crosse was rare and generally it was ladies who were happy to sit on their own chair. I had an air mattress for overnight guests and all was well. But then, then I moved back to Chicago. One of the things that came with me was the two year old brochure and after unpacking, settling a few things in, and having a few people over, it was confirmed: I needed a sofa.
Enter Simplicity Sofas. They make chairs and sofas that will fit into apartments. They have a few different styles and a variety of lengths, depending on if you want curved arms or not. You can add a sleeper bed if you’ll be having overnight guests frequently. And you can choose your fabric rather than having it inflicted upon you by a furniture store, current trends, and celebrity designers.
I chose an Ashton Apartment Sofa in the Rebel Tanner (Set 2 of Fabric swatches) fabric. Because I do have that air mattress, I opted against the sleeper sofa.
Within 24 hours of sending my order I got an extremely nice email from the head of the company, welcoming me and thanking me for my purchase. I emailed back and mentioned that I’d held onto the brochure and we had a nice back and forth about the goals of the company–of which customer service is really high on the list.
When it was time for delivery (there is a little delay only because they have to build it rather than get it out of the warehouse), I was contacted by their shipping people as well as UPS to ensure that delivery was scheduled and that the time would work for me. The Philosopher agreed to be the second body on hand to help me haul things about–the UPS guy could bring it to the door but no further. And of course, it was raining and miserably cold that night and he showed up at the very end of the delivery window. Still, this had given us time to rearrange the living room again to make room, vacuum, and wait with nervous anticipation.
The delivery came in two boxes: a flat one for the bed of the sofa and then the pillows and cushions in a wonderfully huge box that Gypsy immediately claimed as her own. (It’s still sitting on the enclosed back under-the-stairs space so she can go play in it. My cat isn’t at all spoiled.) While a little bit awkward, these were easily moved by two people. Putting everything together took less than ten minutes.
The sofa has been deemed highly acceptable and I and a couple of friends can vouch for it’s comfort as a place to snooze overnight. It’s a little bit shorter than I was expecting–the bed/deck of the sofa is right about 64 inches. Not perfect for friends who are over 6′ but manageable should someone need to stay over for a night. This was probably my one quibble–I couldn’t find on the website the length of the bed of the sofa. All of the measurements told me how long the entire sofa was, including the arms. It would be helpful to know that you’re dealing with a 5’4″ bed and it’s just the arms that are a variety of sizes***. It’s a minor detail but one I think could be easily updated.
Shortly after getting the sofa, I received a follow up email from the company to ensure everything was satisfactory. The company went far above and beyond to ensure that this was an excellent customer service experience for me.
I’m exceptionally pleased with Simplicity Sofas, with their customer service and with the sofa. I would say that I would order again soon, but as I think this sofa will be very sufficient for some time, the best I can do is recommend it to others. If you are sofa shopping, please do check them out. If you email me, I have a gift certificate/coupon that the owner sent me during our emails back and forth that I can share with anyone who is interested in purchasing.**
**I am not being compensated in any way for this. I was not asked to blog about this. I’m just happy to share. Librarians, we can’t stop sharing.
***added June 30, I heard from Jeff at Simplicity. Here are their measurements for the bed/deck of the sofa
- All full-size sofas – 66″.
- All mid-size sofas – 60″ (This is the size sofa you have.)
- All apartment-size sofas – 54″
- All love seats – 44″
- All chair and a halfs – 30″
- All chairs – 22″
Hedgehog Librarian 
Dear HL, I am looking to purchase 2 sofas and would LOVE a discount. The stairway opening into my basement is so narrow that I have to break the wall every time I need to get furniture and appliances up and down the stairs. I came across their website and they sent me their brochure and some swatches. I cannot find a negative review about the products and am considering purchasing. IF you still have that coupon and it is transferrable, it would be great if you could email it to me – amatrone@si.rr.com. Email me either way, that would be great.
Thanks and I’m glad you like the furniture, Anne Matrone
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Hi – I was looking for reviews about Simplicity Sofas since I ran across their websit while online sofa shopping. Now that six months have passed are you still happy with your purchase? Is your sofa hoding up well?
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Hi Chris,
I’m at almost a year now with my sofa. I’m still very pleased with it! I did have to take one of the covers off when the cat flipped a plant over on top of it but the dirt washed right out (I handwashed–not machine) and it wasn’t too hard to get the cover back on the cushion. I’ve had several friends sleep over on it and they are big fans. I might get a different fabric if I were ordering again–it’s water repellent which is great but the flip side of that is that the fabric doesn’t really breathe, which can get sweaty if one of sleeping on the couch midsummer. But that is an extremely minor quibble. Overall, I’m very pleased with my purchase.
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Happy to see this positive, unsolicited review. We are moving into an 850 sq ft, 80 year old apartment (a 2nd home for us) and need a sofa for my husband to stretch out on while he watches TV. We’ve had good luck with custom made furniture in the past but never had considered modular furniture. Thinking a Simplicity sofa will be a smart buy for us.
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Hi. I am the Owner of Simplicity Sofas and spotted your comment on this blog. I just wanted to let you know that since Abigail received her sofa we have been busy coming up with new products and improvements to our existing ones.
For example we now have a new style, the Megan, which has a smaller roll arm than our Ashton style (and is priced $100 less.) This style is not yet shown on our website but it is currently being produced and photos are available upon request.
In addition we are now offering T-cushion options for our 4 most popular styles. These feature recessed arms and cushions that extend in front of the arms which allow for more leg room when using the sofas for lying down. Photos are available upon request although these options have not yet been added to the website.
Another big change is that we have discontinued all of our 6″ thick polyurethane seat cushion options which were backed by a 1 year warranty (the industry standard for our price range) and now offer only 8″ thick Ultracel or super-premium Spring-down cushions which are backed by lifetime warranties. All customers with the old 6″ polyurethane seat cushions can have them replaced with the new 8″ thick Ultracel foam cushions upon request at no charge.
In the past few months Simplicity Sofas has also been featured in articles in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times’ About.com blog, the Washington Post, the Charlotte Observer and three separate blogs for Customer Experience professionals.
After more than 1500 customer deliveries the company continues to maintain its record of never having received a negative review. Hundreds of positive customer (and professional) reviews are available upon request.
The Simplicity Sofas Total Satisfaction Warranty remains unchanged:
“If you do not like our furniture for any reason whatsoever you may return it to us for a full refund, including all shipping charges, for a period of one year after purchase.”
Finally, for all readers of this forum, I would like to extend a special $50 discount off any order placed with us. To claim the discount just give us a call at our customer service hotline 800-813-2889 and let us know you read about us on Hedgehog Librarian.
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