Article vs. Poly & Bark vs. Joybird vs. Rivet vs. Apt2B, etc.

4 years ago

My husband and I are moving to New Orleans in June for my job. We are downsizing from a ~750 sq ft apartment to ~425 sq ft apartment. We currently have a used leather chaise sofa and are wanting to ditch the chaise for something more small space friendly. Like many, I've seen several of these companies lovely mid-century modern designs while scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest, but a lot of the reviews seem to be mixed (especially seeing a lot of strong opinions about Article's Sven sofa, which makes me so sad). Curious if anyone has had a particularly positive experience with any of the companies listed below? I'm going to list them with each sofa we are considering. Of note, we do not have kids currently, but do have a 35 lb inside dog who thinks he owns every piece of furniture in our apartment, lol.

1) Article - Sven sofa

https://www.article.com/product/11833/sven-charme-tan-sofa

2) Poly & Bark - Napa sofa

https://www.polyandbark.com/collections/sofas-sectionals/products/napa-sofa

3) Joybird - Briar sofa

https://joybird.com/sofas/briar-leather-sofa/

4) Rivet (from Amazon) - Damien sofa

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QJXW4VD/?coliid=I1X7CPYDPDCNE6&colid=12RGFGMBAH2VC&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

5) Apt2B - Jensen sofa

https://www.apt2b.com/collections/sofas/products/jensen-leather-sofa

6) Edloe Finch - Finley sofa

https://edloefinch.com/collections/sofas/products/finley-leather-sofa

7) Burrow - Block Nomad sofa

https://burrow.com/nomad-leather/sofa?sku=NLSF-CN-3-MD-CM

One other option would be that we have a Restoration Hardware Outlet in our city. We could purchase something there (if affordable enough, haven't been in a while due to pandemics and all) and then have it moved to New Orleans.

Based on my research of at least a couple of the companies above thus far, I honestly feel kind of defeated and like we should just give up and try to fit our chocolate used chaise leather sofa through our tiny apartment door and just deal with it even though I'm really wanting something smaller and a lighter color.

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Ashleah Courtney
Original Author

4 years ago

So as I said before, we ended up going with the Burrard Bella Caramel sofa. It came in a couple of weeks ago, and I’m pretty pleased with it so far. Easy to assemble. Very comfortable. Has also stood up great to my dog thus far. I really haven’t noticed a ton if any claw marks, and that was a concern of mine. We’ll see how long those back cushions stay fluffy. This style compared to the Sven has less complaints about saggy cushions so I’m hopeful. But my dog also enjoys sitting on top of the one on the far left to look out the window. 🙄😂

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Comments (28)

Regina Scruggs
4 years ago
425 sq ft isn't going to hold much by the time you, your husband, dog and bed get in there. Do you really need a sofa at all? How about a loveseat and/or a couple of comfy club chairs?
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Ashleah Courtney
Original Author
4 years ago
It isn’t a studio. It’s a one bedroom with an incredibly tiny kitchen. My husband is pretty insistent on getting a full 3 seater because it’s not uncommon for us to have family over or for one of us even to sleep on it (I’m a physician and work odd hours but hopefully they’ll be less odd with my new job). Our landlord made an Excel map of the place and a three seater appears to fit okay. I’m attaching the map from our landlord.

I should add to the thread, we’ve since become kind of skeptical about several of the brands I’ve mentioned above (still open to hearing any positive feedback anyone has). We’ve ordered some fabric samples from Room and Board and are considering going with them instead. Just unfortunately wouldn’t be leather.
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(see link at the bottom for more). - 'avoiding its use in combination with these plants' i totally agree with that. any extremely acid and humus loving plant probably should not be grown in it. i do not use it with begonias or african violets (only peat mixes for them). the list of plants that prefer highly acidic soils with large amts of humus (peat as subs) can be easily found, it's not arcane knowledge. -'pH too high to allow the use of lime as a Ca/Mg source' gypsum is recommended instead of lime, as i already mentioned. and that is mostly as initial treatment of the mix (same as lime usage). i'll get a link that explains in detail what happens with calcium in coir, just not today - it's a bit involved; but not more involved then what happens with N in bark ;). there are readily available fertilizers that are formulated for use with coir: they are usually sold by sites selling coir. some coir is already sold pre-treated with calcium (after that no extra supplementation is necessary for the same batch). again, in the above study the same fertilizer was used for both peat and coir. the studies i found indicate only initial 1st month 10% extra Ca req. after that you can switch to a reg. fertilizer. clearly coir is very popular for hydroculture: and the fertilizers are not hard to get. hydro-forum has plenty of info and recommendations. i do not consider it my responsibility to find fertilizers for posters: they have to exercise a bit of initiative after all. i am not here to baby-sit everybody. that is to say, there is no rule that says unless i fully educate ev. interested and provide ind. guidance i should not be even talking about the subject! -coir's proclivity for compaction when watering from the top please, provide at least sev links on the subject for reference. i have not come across anything supporting this statement. preferably as compared with peat. most research that i see indicates that even coir dust (=coir peat) compacts less then peat. it also decomposes slower then peat. -'keeping in mind that watering from the bottom ensures a build-up of dissolved solids in media, unless you do water from the top occasionally to flush the medium' i'll get a link to a study i found recently: on top vs sub-irrigation in coir/peat. it stated the following: coir is often used in sub-irrigation which results in most roots developing at the bottom, not the surface of the mix, as with top watering. minor salt-build-up on top therefore does not cause a problem and can be easily resolved with occasional top-watering with pure water. not copious flushing that bark regularly needs, just a reg watering. so can't see a problem . -'unless its advocates offer clear instruction that allows the individual grower to avoid the inherent potential limitations regularly associated with coir' there are plenty of reg limitations of gritty and bark-based 5-1-1 and lots of pics of dried up plants on this forum, despite all the individual instruction given ;). here's my view: each grower NEEDS to experiment. 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Regina Scruggs
4 years ago
Good luck with it. I just moved into an 800 sq ft apartment by myself, and it seems too small to me. Anyway I haven't had a sofa for some years, been looking at some of the same sites as you to buy one with my stimulus payment that's supposed to come this week...
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Shelley Youngblood
4 years ago
I live in 740sq with my two dogs (boxer and rat terrier) and we do just fine. I like the loveseat or club chairs idea. Or maybe custom made? Apartment Therapy has a lot of good ideas.

I’m also looking for company comparison between Apt 2b and Article. So I’m following this!
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Regina Scruggs
4 years ago
Ashleah...any progress on your sofa search?
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jandsmom
4 years ago
I bought the Joybird Elliott queen sleeper sofa in my new build two years ago. It's in my office and doesn't get used regularly but it's very comfortable to lounge on when I do sit on it. The upgraded mattress is surprisingly comfortable too. Lots of color choices and delivery was flawless 😊
Ashleah Courtney
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
We sort of have an update. More about the apartment and less about the sofa. Unfortunately our landlord's job is relocating him (due to covid), and both parties agreed that it was best to mutually break the lease. This allowed us to start our search over, and we are in the process of hopefully signing a lease on a 750 sq ft, 2 bedroom apartment instead. It's half of a double shotgun house so still a bit small and narrow in typical New Orleans fashion, but we love the newly renovated kitchen with a dishwasher (the other didn't have one).

For the sofa, our fabric samples from Room & Board arrived yesterday, and I really love some of the ones we chose. We likely will order at a time when we can guarantee the sofa won't be there until we physically move in which will be late June.

Other than that, I'm also looking into Apt2B. They gave away a bunch of sofas to first responders and healthcare workers that were nominated by friends and family recently and are offering other first responders and healthcare workers white glove delivery/set-up for free, but I think the deadline for that offer would be earlier than when we need the sofa unfortunately.
Regina Scruggs
4 years ago
750 sq ft sounds a lot more doable than the smaller place...
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mstuckey
4 years ago
Following - would love to hear about people's experiences with these companies too.
Jil Shipman
4 years ago
Any update on a couch? We are considering several of the same couches from those websites and have also been turned off by some of the reviews/company return policies... we need to furnish our living room so hoping to make a decision soon!
Ashleah Courtney
Original Author
4 years ago
So we actually just last night purchased the Burrard Bella Caramel leather sofa from Article. I love the shape of the Sven but the Burrard had much better reviews. It won’t be delivered until late June/early July though so I can’t quite yet comment on whether or not I’m pleased with it. We really did want to go for a Room and Board sofa. But their leather prices are $3000+ — and we just really felt like we were not in a place to spend that much at this point. Their fabric sofas were much more within our budget but because we wanted certain fabrics that fell under custom, it wouldn’t be shipped until late August. We also just are so used to leather with our dog that we really wanted to stick with that.
Victoria Armstrong
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
@Ashleah Courtney - how is the couch holding up now, five months in?
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Jil Shipman
4 years ago
@Victoria Armstrong we ended up purchasing the Sven Sofa in Aqua Tweed and it has held up HORRIBLY. We have only had it for about 6 months and it the fabric is super pilled and the cushions look awful. We’ve never had a couch look this bad in such a short amount of time. The couch we replaced with this one was moved to the basement to the kids’ playroom because it was just too big for our living room - but it has seen SO much more use (over 3 years old) and looks much newer than this one. I would personally never buy from Article again. The couch was beautiful when we got it - but we are now counting the days until we can get rid of it. 😩😩😩
Robin S
4 years ago
I’ll chime in on Apt2B for anyone interested. We have had 2 sofas (a sectional and an “apartment size” sofa) for 6 years and they have held up fantastically well with two young kids and 2 moves. I will also say the customer service is phenomenal. A few years ago we noticed a seam coming undone on our sectional and they reimbursed the cost to fix it. After our most recent move, one of the foot ends of the sofa (it has stainless steel legs with these black bottoms) got lost and they Fedexed me a new one within days. They really stand behind their products and their lifetime warranty. The fabrics have some pilling with use but nothing my fabric shaver can’t handle. We are super happy with our Apt2B sofas.
Ashleah Courtney
Original Author
4 years ago
@Victoria Armstrong, I'm honestly really pleased with the Burrard. It's definitely a bit more broken in now (I'll attach a photo below), but still very comfortable and hides my dog's claw marks fairly well, lol. I think the worst part is that the seat cushions occasionally wiggle their way forward and inch or two and have to be adjusted. I'll admit, the Sven is gorgeous, but I watched enough YouTube videos about that style to scare me away.
Hollee Sarah Herman
4 years ago
We purchased a Burrow Nomad King sofa 9 months ago. I hate it. Its definitively the worst sofa we've had. The fabric pills terribly, and I can't clear it up with my sweater pill eater thing. There are always fibers coming out of the cushions - little, fuzzy, white fibers. The cushions posts their density within about 6 months and it feels like we're sitting on a wood chair with a pad. The fabric is loose and looks worn. I complained, and they sent new seating cushions, which is nice, but we still have a pilly, drab, sofa. The sofa makes a lot of noise when we sit or when my kids plop down as well. It simply looks and sounds like it's cheap. We're really disappointed. We saved the replacement cushions and we're researching replacement sofas, and we'll sell this as soon as we can find a good quality sofa to purchase in its place.
Jil Shipman
4 years ago
@Hollee Sarah Herman this has been our experience as well. Our couch looks so drab and cheap and I just can’t wait to get rid of it. There‘a honestly no excuse for a couch that is less than a year old to look this bad!
Megan Gem
4 years ago
I’ve had the Hopson Sleeper Sectional from joybird for over 3 years now. It’s survived 3 moves in NYC and is doing great. I had one tuft come undone on the back cushions about 2 years in and joy bird warranty sent someone to fix within a few weeks. Everyone comments on how comfortable the couch is. We have a 2.5 yr old now who is really messy and it’s holding up great! Will buy from joybird again.
renobook2
3 years ago
Beware of apt2B. the delivery service they use, Metropolitan, is one of the most godawful delivery companies I've ever experienced. Made the purchase highly regretted
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Roger in Phoenix
3 years ago
Hi renobook2. We're considering Apt2B. Is the delivery your only concern?
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Roger in Phoenix
3 years ago
@Robin S We're looking at possibly 2 of Apt2B's Catalina sofas, one in a sleeper. I know you said it was minor, but could you tell me which of their fabrics is pilling for you?
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Robin S
3 years ago
Hi Roger! Our sectional is in the graphite fabric. The pilling is fairly minor and a fabric shaver makes it look brand new. What I absolutely love about the fabric is it is so cleanable. We have had it 6 years with 2 young kids and not a single stain on it.
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HU-960079713
3 years ago
I’m also consider an Apt2B sectional. Any other comments from folks who have a soda or sectional? It’s a big investment and don’t want to get it wrong. Also looking at Maiden Home.
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lizajo15
3 years ago
Wondering if anyone has experience with Apt2B leather and how well it holds up.
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colorfast
3 years ago
I wanted to thank everyone on the board and especially this thread. I bought an Apt2B Harper last spring. It will be a year in May and it looks like new. We got the eclipse velvet. I also love it that instead of corner legs, there is a long piece of wood. It's a tidy look, and also practical -- no popcorn getting under the sofa.

I had a hard time picking seat depth. 23 deep works for us, but I wouldn't want it any shallower. Overall, this is a great sofa for a family room.
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steve g
3 years ago
@Ashleah Courtney - how is the Burrard couch holding up? Article tells me this is a "medium" comfort Article sofa, they have "soft" sofas they have that let you sink in and let the couch take you (Sven is soft).....but, did you consider the softer (20% down feather- 80% foam mix on cushions) Article leather Nirvana Dakota sofa, and choose Burrard over it?.....and what was the vibe/ consensus regarding the Rivet Damien that was on your original list? Thanks for your responses!
Hope Delgado
2 years ago
I really hope more people put their sofa/sectional reviews from any retailers because I’m in the market for either a leather sofa or sectional & can’t decide which is best. I’ve looked at Joybird, Burrow, Amazon, Article & after reading this I’ll try Apt2B. I also liked Campaign but they don’t offer leather
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Article vs. Poly & Bark vs. Joybird vs. Rivet vs. Apt2B, etc.

Ashleah Courtney
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