I know that I might be in the minority here, but I hate Ikea sofas. There I said it! I see lots of bloggers out there sing the praises to a many sofas from the Blue & Yellow mecca for affordable furniture, but I never recommend them to clients. I personally don’t find them to be very comfortable and find that they look very worn quickly.

I think that when you are designing a room a big chunk of your budget should go towards furniture like a sofa. It might not be the biggest impact design wise, because many people tend to go with neutrals and you get more design punch with fabric on window treatments or a statement piece of artwork, but it’s the best place to splurge. You will be seating on it for year after year so it might as well look beautiful and feel amazing.

Now I know not everyone has the budget to spend $2,000 or more on one piece of furniture, but let me tell you Ikea is not the only option. I always head to JCPENNEY for budget projects and let me tell you they don’t disappoint.

Here is a round up of some of the favorite sofa finds from JCP that I’ve sourced for clients and have seen and tested out in person.

The Oasis Darren Sofa is an amazing find. It has great modern lines, looks like it came out of the Mad Men set and is only $900.

Linden Street Danbury Sofa which has lines similar to an English rolled sofa, comes in 14 different colors options and is only $900.

Belgium style design doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Every time I hit a trade show it’s always one of the “new” trends. The Royal Velvet Penelope Sofa is a bit higher than the rest coming in at $1,200, but it is made out of green materials and has a lifetime warranty. It is also available in 16 different colors so if you are tired of the Belgium style design trend, but still enjoy the tufting and high back/arms then switch up the color from this taupe number that screams Belgium. I would love to see it in the black or amber color it’s available in.

The Colette Contemporary Sofa has even more of an English rolled sofa vibe and is available in linen for $800!

The Aubrey sofa does not look like much in it’s picture, but in person it’s a stunning mid century gem for only $700. It’s more feminine than the Oasis featured earlier and comes in this amazing navy shade that designers everywhere love. My only complaint was that the back cushions were a bit over stuffed so you can really feel the stuffing material, but I think once you sit on it a couple of times it would flatten a bit and be perfect.

Tips to remember when checking out your budget find sofas:
– If they come with toss pillows try to just keep the solid ones and introduce your own accent/patterned ones. Just use the patterned ones they send you as inserts for the new covers you get. Or better yet toss them and get down inserts which give a higher end look.
-If they are in that faux suede fabric that tends to be very popular in budget sofa’s try to steer away from the beige color. It’s a tell tale sign that they are mass produced and inexpensive.
-Check the seams of the piece and make sure they are nice and tight.
-Try to stay away from faux leather. It’s very rare when you get a budget friendly leather sofa that looks just like the real thing.
-Think small. For some reason at all of the budget friendly sofa places I have encountered they love to make the cheapest sofa’s the most over stuffed. They might be comfy like a pair of sweat pants, but again the overstuffed pieces scream budget find and they tend to have awful finishing details and won’t last the long haul.

Hope these decorator tips can help you hunt down an amazing sofa deal! Happy hunting!