It’s quite hard to decide with so many reviews giving Pottery Barn such low ratings. But with some objective reasoning, I’ll settle this once and for all.
A few months ago, we reviewed whether the Pottern Barn sofa collection was worth recovering or not – click here to find out.
Today, I’d like to review this more personally, and actually come to a sound conclusion by the end of this post.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Price
As with any product, how much an item costs is almost definitely the first thing you’d consider before making the purchase. Sure it’s subjective and relative at times, depending on your disposable income.
At the end of the day though, what we should really look out for is whether it’s “value for money” and whether it has a good price-performance ratio.
Let’s quickly break down average spending if you were to go to Pottery Barn for a sofa.
– Cameron Roll/Square Arm Sofa: $889 – $2,329
– Beverly Upholstered Sofa: $899 – $2,299
– Carolyn Loveseat: $899 – $1,199
– PB Comfort Roll/Square Arm Upholstered Sofa: $1,099 – $3,099
– PB Basic Slipcovered Sofa: $1,099 – $2,999
This is just to name a few of the more affordable ones as the rest are definitely beyond $1,100, which is way above (my) budget. On average and depending on fabric selection, the minimum you need is a $1,000 and could possibly end up spending around $2,000 if you’re going for a slightly fancier fabric.
Many people would say that you pay for what you get, and I truly believe that Pottery Barn sofas would definitely be of decent quality. By that, I mean I’d expect it to last for a good 10-12 years.
For the most part, I just don’t really like the “classic” round-arm look so as durable as they might be – I’m quite hesitant to part with my money just yet (I would go for their discontinued Solano series, however).
Online credibility
Now with Google and social media becoming our main communications and news feed, it’s very easy to purchase things from the Internet as well as review them. As per my previous investigation on Pottery Barn Reviews, I had found that Pottery Barn was a pretty decent furniture retailer a few years back but because of poor customer service, their name had gradually deteriorated.
Reviews play an integral role in determining whether or not to make a purchase with a brand or not. If Pottery Barn doesn’t improve their digital reputation in the years to come, people will pretty much boycott the brand altogether unfortunately.
Aesthetics
The Pottery Barn sofa series are all very standard and while most people would call it classic, I’d call them a little dated.
There was a discontinued series called the “Solano” which I’d definitely call a timeless piece, regardless of which century you’re in I feel strongly that it’ll work in that living space.
A simple, single seat cushion with square arms, but because it’s fairly rounded it just looks very comfy overall. The closest thing to this would probably be to hack a Karlstad and get a large single cushion instead but alas, the Karlstad has been discontinued and is now an endangered IKEA sofa.
Apart from the “Solano”, I’d probably go for the PB Comfort Square series which look fairly close to the IKEA Kivik. If you’ve checked out our Kivik sofa review, you’d know that we’re a strong advocate and when it comes to price and performance – the Kivik is an incredibly strong contender.
The Pottery Barn PB Comfort Square Arm sofa is pretty similar but the most obvious difference would be the width and height of the armrests: The Kivik has very wide and low armrests which can easily accommodate another person to sit on the sofa should the need arise.
Cost of maintenance
So if you do end up getting an upholstered sofa from Pottery Barn, you’ll realise that it’s going to need cleaning by year 4 or 5 depending on how OCD you are (I’m fairly domesticated with a no food policy on the couch).
Well with upholstery, you’re pretty much out of luck – you either get something to hide the stains (like a custom slipcover) or you’ll basically have to throw out the sofa. Such a waste right?
Most people would get the slipcovered alternative, so when the sofa has become thoroughly soiled – all we need to do is pop out the original slipcover to have it dry cleaned or machine washed, whatever the care instructions are.
The thing is, a typical slipcover from Pottery Barn are just as pricey as the sofa. Taking the PB Comfort Sofa as an example, its slipcover can range from $560 to $1,660 which is about half the sofa’s price. At $560 it’s still reasonable, but at $1,000 you can definitely purchase another decent sofa elsewhere.
Conclusion
All in all, even though a Pottery Barn sofa might not have the most contemporary look, and may have questionable post-sales service – it still is not too bad a product, seeing how popular it actually is. It’s even made its way to Australia!
So while I’ll probably never buy a Pottery Barn sofa, I’d definitely consider one second hand simply because it most likely won’t cost as much.
And if you ever need a replacement slipcover for your Pottery Barn sofa, slipcover makers such as ourselves would be readily available to provide some at a very affordable rate.
Wondering what our slipcovers feel like in person? You can order up to eight fabric samples for free to try them out for yourself and see how you like them.
59 Comments
by Lynch
We’ve had our Pottery Barn sectional sofa for 11 years now. It was $3000 back then which is of course a fortune, but we still get compliments on the couch! We have a tan microfiber which cleans up with only water. I’ve taken the covers off of the cushions to wash in the washing machine only twice and had it professionally cleaned once. It is such amazing quality and I am fearful of purchasing a new sofa anywhere else because this one has been so nice. I do firmly believe that you get what you pay for. My sister has been through three IKEA sofas in the time we have had ours.
by Lauren
Hi,
Wish I could post a picture. Bought a pottery barn York slope upholstered 1.5 years ago. It’s on its second set of cushions-500 bucks- PB replaced then which they should- antways the cushions are firm for about 3 months and then need to be fluffed every single time you sit on it or they collapse to half their size. 3 grand. We don’t sit on the sofa because of how it folds into itself. Three grand for a sofa I can’t sit in without constant maintenance….
by Erin
I purchased a PB Greenwich sofa and love seat in 2008 and loved them, so when I needed furniture for another homein 2012, I purchased the same two items. It’s been a very expensive mistake. When they arrived, one of the pieces had a big lump in the frame. PB picked it up for repair and it was gone several weeks. When it was returned, unprotected and in an unmarked truck, it was absolutely filthy. Clearly, it had been used somewhere, at a party or something while In transit. There were also dark, dirty, hand prints on it from the delivery guys. PB picked it up again and took it for cleaning. It looked decent when redelivered, but over the past couple of years, the fabric has yellowed in general, and there are weird dark spots coming through the fronts of the cushions, as if the down filling is giving off some kind of funky crud. It cannot be cleaned off. So my expensive, down, upgraded furniture looks cheap and dirty all the time. As a side note, it’s just my husband and I in the house, and we leave in the winter for four months. No children at home, no dogs , so it’s not as if this stuff takes a beating. Sad that the quality of PB furniture has declined so much, and after only a few years of part time use, my furniture really needs to be replaced. Never again.
by Lisa fiely
I have 2 pottery barn slipcovered comfort series couches and although I have only had them 2 years they are holding up fine. I have them in my rental property so they take a beating during the summer. I don’ know whether I would agree that the look is dated, it is definately coastal. I would recommend pottery barn as I have always been satisfied with the service. The couches are very comfortable.
I am now looking at the new Soma series and if anyone has any information or reviews please let me know. This is for an apartment.
by Tricia Valenti
I purchased a Pottery Barn slip cover sofa after sitting on sofas for 5 years. Always came back to that big cushy sofa. Didn’t mind making the investment but two things went wrong: 1) Designer told me I needed a smaller sectional for my room. We discussed length being smaller but I never guessed the seat part would be narrow as well. It is the most uncomfortable sofa I’ve ever sat on! And because they went by the date of when they called me to set up the delivery of the couch vs. the actual date it arrived, they would not exchange it. (Yes I said exchange it.). We moved the couch downstairs and moved the old beat up couch back upstairs where we can sit on something comfortable. 2) It’s a slip cover couch. Great idea. Except the slip cover doesn’t fit! It’s now torn on the corners where it comes together on the sides. The slip cover never fit right. Bad decision, bad product and bad customer support. I cancelled my potterybarn credit card.