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Great Stain Resistance
Allform 3-Seat Sofa
Standout Designs
The Inside Modern Sofa
For Sleepers
Ikea Härlanda Sleeper Sofa with Chaise
Well-Made Luxury
Benchmade Modern Tyler Sofa
Maybe you have a hand-me-down couch or a thrifted floral confection that isn’t cutting it. Or maybe your seat cushions are sunken in and worse for wear. If you need a new sofa, you’ve come to the right place. A few of us here on the WIRED Gear team have spent several months testing a batch of couches you can order online—no need to leave the house. These are our favorites.
Much like bed-in-a-box mattresses, ordering a couch online is simpler than it sounds. You simply choose what you want, place an order, and voilà: Several boxes will arrive on your front porch. Assemble the parts and you’re good to go. But it’s important to do your research first. Many couch makers offer sample swatches of fabrics, which you should take advantage of to ensure that the color and feel are exactly what you want. Make sure to measure the area where your couch will be too, as well as doorframes and stairwells for walk-up apartments.
Updated July 2023: We’ve added new picks and highlighted a couch to avoid.
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Photograph: Allform
Great Stain Resistance
Allform 3-Seat Sofa
Allform (the child company of Helix) furniture isn’t cheap, but you can customize it to be up to eight cushions long or get it in custom shapes like an L or U. It’s made sustainably, at least partially. The wood used is certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and excess wood is recycled. Glues and finishes are nontoxic and water-based, the steel components are at least 95 percent recycled, and the seat cushion padding is 100 percent recycled. The packaging is both recycled and recyclable.
The couch is comfortable, with deep-set cushions that have stayed fluffy under heavy use, and the three-seater is long enough for my tallest pals to snooze on. The seats are deep enough that I can comfortably sit pretzel-style, and the detached back cushions allow for relaxed lounging. They also make good elbow rests when visiting with a friend. There are leather options available, but I tried a couch made with Allform’s “performance fabric,” which is designed to be stain-resistant and generally tough—two qualities I can verify. One of my hellion cats decided to ralph up a hairball onto a couch cushion while I slept. It sat there until I woke up. Miraculously, all it took was some cleaning solution and paper towels to completely eradicate the evidence. Persuading my furry criminals to stop scratching the sofa arms is another battle entirely.
Assembly was easy and made easier with this helpful video. One thing to note: The boxes this couch comes in are huge. Allform backs the sofa with a 100-day trial and a lifetime warranty on the frame. You can order free fabric swatches here. —Louryn Strampe
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Photograph: The Inside
Standout Designs
The Inside Modern Sofa
Who says couches have to look boring? You’ll have to spend a little time making sure the colors and patterns don’t clash with your room, but I love the sheer number of choices The Inside offers for its handmade, made-to-order Modern Sofa. I went with the Ink Frida and it looks excellent in my space, though there are more than 88(!) other patterns you can peruse through.
The legs are metal, so you don’t have to worry about one breaking off if you plop down too forcefully, and the frame of the sofa is solid wood with laminated panels and tempered steel springs. The Inside offers white glove delivery, so it arrived fully assembled and all I had to do was make space for the delivery folks to squeeze it through my narrow stairwell and into the living room. Most importantly, it’s wonderfully cozy. The seats are plush and my wife and I have fallen asleep on this thing a few too many times. The covers are removable, though the company recommends spot cleaning.
I love the length. At 89 inches, I can comfortably stretch my 6’4″ body all the way, though we wouldn’t have minded if it had more depth. You will need to add throw pillows for the ends, as the arms are rigid; they help complete the look too. —Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: IKEA
For Sleepers
Ikea Härlanda Sleeper Sofa with Chaise
When I moved into my studio apartment, I quickly realized that, due to lack of space, I’d have to pick between a couch or a bed. But I didn’t want my adult space to look and feel like a college dorm. When my mom suggested a sofa bed, I was wary. I’ve only ever associated those with stiff mattresses. But Ikea’s Härlanda Sleeper Sofa convinced me otherwise.
Since it’s a sectional, you can customize it to include whichever pieces you’d like, depending on the size and shape you’re looking for. You can tack on a chaise, corner seat, extra loveseat section, and more. I chose the three-seater chaise, which comes with storage space underneath for my pillows and blankets. If you’re worried about putting it together, Ikea has a partnership with TaskRabbit, so you can request TaskRabbit assembly at checkout. When you buy it, you’ll receive a link to book a Tasker through the app. (I had my brother and boyfriend put it together instead.) It wasn’t the easiest process (as they like to remind me), and took a few hours, but they managed to piece it together successfully.
I’m picky about my couches. They need to feel cozy enough for naps or all-day TV bingeing. The Härlanda doesn’t disappoint. It’s roomy enough that everyone has a spot during movie night and it’s shockingly comfy to sleep on. It comes with a thick mattress (4.75 inches, to be exact) made of high-resilience foam with bed slats underneath for extra support. It doesn’t feel any different than sleeping on a traditional bed with a memory foam mattress. It’s easy to pull out of the couch and store away. I also love that the couch covers are both removable and machine washable, which makes drinking coffee and eating snacks on them a lot less nerve-wracking. My only gripe? Even though the covers are made of cotton, I wish the material felt slightly softer. —Brenda Stolyar
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Photograph: Benchmade Modern
Well-Made Luxury
Benchmade Modern Tyler Sofa
Benchmade Modern features a wide range of couches for 1950s or 1960s-styled homes. It’s the best-looking and most comfortable couch I’ve ever sat on.
It isn’t just the couch that’s great, though. Benchmade Modern has put a level of polish on the online couch-buying process that doesn’t exist elsewhere (at least in our testing). The company’s website lets you browse colors and resize couches with a slider to see the cushion layout. When you have some idea of what you want, you can also order a full book of fabric swatches, along with a full-size printout of your sofa so you can make sure it fits in your living space. The coach arrived well-packaged in a full-size box. (If you’re upstairs, be sure it will fit up your stairwell.) —Scott Gilbertson
