
Why Does This One Couch from West Elm Suck So Much? - smacktoward
https://theawl.com/why-does-this-one-couch-from-west-elm-suck-so-much-2fd9e4c7ce77#.p3y47lrlt
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hbosch
I too have a couch from West Elm (not the Peggy). Don't know the name, because
we fortunately got it gratis from my mother in law -- she has a matching twin
but their recently downsized abode couldn't accommodate both.

The couch itself looks nice but is a terrible failure for comfort. The rear
pillows are above half as tall as a normal persons back requires, making
lounging in it a chore unless you have enough pillows to prop you up. My
mother in law suffers from the same button plight as the article suggests:
they seem to pop off like overripe fruit.

The worst part though is the flimsy legs. Every time I rise from my seat it
makes a cracking sound like a wet twig. I know it will give out eventually,
because the same couch at my in-laws' place is already propped up by a paint
can in one legless corner.

I can appreciate this article like not many I've read before. West Elm truly
does suck.

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secabeen
This blew me away: "In both cases, I asked what the expected lifespan is for a
West Elm couch like the Peggy. Both store employees told me that between one
and three years was normal for a couch with light use."

1-3 years for a $1200 couch? Ikea warranties their couches for 10 years, which
means you can reasonably expect them to go well beyond that. 1-3 years is
ridiculously low.

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gdubs
Yea, that's nuts. Our first 'adult' piece of furniture was a couch from Crate
& Barrel which was pricier than the West Elm piece in the article, but sold to
us as something that if we took care of we'd have it a very long time. (It's
been about 5 years and has held up well.)

Furniture and clothing are all over the map though. Some of the most expensive
shirts I've bought, for instance, pop buttons super easily – a problem I've
never had with shirts from, say, J-Crew. And my experience with the ironically
named Design Within Reach* gave me reservations about buying from them again.

* DWR's name apparently comes not from being affordable, but from making mid-century classics available to you.

~~~
acchow
> Some of the most expensive shirts I've bought, for instance, pop buttons
> super easily – a problem I've never had with shirts from, say, J-Crew

And most people would consider J-Crew pretty upscale...

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ng12
West Elm makes a living by being "not Ikea". You have to be willing to drop 4x
the price on any piece of furniture to get something that's marginally better
than Ikea. West Elm sells the same quality (or worse) with a 50% markup. The
only problem is Ikea is too affordable so it seems "lazy".

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soyiuz
West Elm is mass-produced garbage. Quality couches are expensive and you need
to do your research. I highly recommend the Danish "Innovation" brand of
furniture, which sits in a similar price category, but made of much much
better stuff. Check out [http://innovation-usa.com/](http://innovation-
usa.com/). Quality springs are key.

The furniture market in general is extremely uneven: price is all over the
place and does not really correspond to quality. It is an interesting problem.
I truly enjoyed reading the write up!

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eeks
It's maybe pride talking, but Chartreuse is most certainly not an obscure
liqueur.

