A Frugalista's Guide to Sofa Shopping

Nate and I have finally received all the swatch kits from our top-choice sofa manufacturers and I thought this would be a great chance to share some direction, insight... and COUPON codes!

We are shopping within the mid century modern aesthetic, to stay true to the original design of this house (so, if you are not interested in such things, this won't be the post for you). We have looked around A LOT and even in a city like Denver, there are relatively few retailers that cater to this style. We spent quite a while at Mod Livin' in Aurora and Mod Mood in Lakewood, CO. While both places have knowledgeable and helpful salespeople, the only thing we actually walked away with was this sweet, vintage coffee mug.

Still, those that do will have many of the brands you can find easily online (convenient for giving your expensive purchase the much needed butt-test). I do recommend shopping local if you can and most of these retailers can order for you at the same price you'll find online, which will benefit you to have a liaison through the order and shipment process. I also wouldn't hesitate to ask them for the same discount the website is offering (if they don't already).

Before I go on, I will make a disclaimer that I am really frugal. As in, I rarely buy anything at full price. And I think that discounts less than 20% are pretty meh. All this is not to say we are in the market for a cheap sofa. We want this piece of furniture to be really comfortable, durable and last for a good, long time, and we know we'll have to pay for that kind of quality.

Without further adieu, here are some of our favorites...

Gus Modern:You'll need to find a retailer to shop this line. When we were looking a few weeks ago, they were running a 10% off sale.

Gus Modern Bloor sofa in Velvet Neptune

Bryght (currently up to 30% on select models thru Feb 14, 2016). While this retailer doesn't have a huge selection of models or fabrics, they do have amazing prices (especially on leather!) and they manufacture in the US. 

Bryght Ceni Sofa in Volcanic Gray

Joybird, which you may recognize because they do a fantastic job of advertising. They have an excellent website and a plethora of positive reviews. They manufacture in the US with mostly sustainable fabrics, and every piece is made to order. Need a sofa 3 inches longer? Want piping on your armchair? No problem (for an extra fee, of course). I have found several coupon opportunities for this site so don't purchase without looking (or asking their customer service directly... you'd be surprised). Now thru Monday, Feb 16, 2016 save 10-25% (depending on how much you spend, discount taken at register) or use coupon code HGTVMAG20 for 20%, no minimum.

Joybird Hopson sofa in Lucky Divine

Thrive has basically the exact same inventory as Joybird and for basically the same price. Their website is not as user friendly and their reviews are more mixed but they are expected to arrive a lot sooner and their sales can be better. Enjoy a whopping 25% off thru Monday, Feb 16, 2016 with code PRES2016.

Thrive Sullivan sofa

West Elm (Love me some WE!) also has a good selection of mid century styles, as well as frequent sales and coupons. I don't buy anything from West Elm without a coupon.

West Elm Peggy sofa in Heathered Weave Cayenne

World Market is probably my favorite store, period. Their aesthetic makes me swoon and their prices are unreal. Plus, I tell people that signing up for their Explorer program is the best thing I've ever done on the internet. Do it. I also never buy anything from World Market at full price. I will say that I don't care for the comfort factor of their sofas but that's reflected in the price. They do carry a mid century line and this arm chair is one of my favorites:

World Market Xander Armchair in Slate Gray

One final tip: Want to take advantage of all the great deals from your favorite retailers but don't want to be inundated with junk emails? I've set up a separate email account that I pretty much only use for online purchasing and I highly recommend it. This way, I don't have a hundred-thousand emails in my inbox and I'm not tempted to buy unless I'm in the market for something specific.

After much deliberation, we will be making our final sofa purchase this weekend to take advantage of the President's Day sales. I'll let you know how it goes!