SOURCES:
Sofa | Checkered Pillow (DIY) | Ticking Stripe Pillow | Boucle Lumbar Pillow | Medallion Pillow | Sage Green Pillow | Plum Throw Blanket | Rug | Wall Art (DIY) | End Table (Antique) | Glass & Brass Box (similar) | Vase (DIY) | Florals
I’ve never felt more stressed about a purchase in my life! Picking a new style for our home’s exterior…easy. Selecting the perfect white paint color…done in a matter of minutes. But finding a quality sofa online that stands the test of time…STRESSFUL! Our previous sofa was the cheapest I could find at the time and the seams were clearly tired and ready to rip. After much convincing, Chris and I agreed to look for a new sofa which commenced my many hours of research. What brands are known for quality craftsmanship? What fabric will withstand daily use, dogs, and occasional spills? What price point is worth the investment? What cushions will retain their shape over time?
You guys even chimed in with your own brand experiences on Instagram and after months…yes months…of research I learned four things 1) Sofa prices have increased dramatically over the past 4 years. Maybe even doubled? 2) There is almost no such thing as “ready to ship” sofas anymore. Everything is custom made. 3) Lead times are no joke. 18-20 weeks is becoming a new normal. And 4) Reviews on social media clarify a lot about the quality of products.
We landed on what I like to call the happy medium of sofa companies – pristine quality, high end (but doable prices), quality fabrics, excellent customer service, and reasonable wait times – introducing Maiden Home. We’ve had our Maiden Home sofa for 9 weeks now and I wanted to test it for a while before writing this review.
In summary, would I buy this sofa again? Absolutely! But let me back track to share a full review of the research, ordering process, and product testing.
Sofa | Medallion Pillow | Sage Green Pillow | Plum Throw Blanket | Rug | Wall Art (DIY) | End Table (Antique) | Glass & Brass Box (similar) | Vase (DIY) | Florals
PICKING A BRAND + SOCIAL MEDIA REVIEWS
While looking for sofa brands, I took into consideration the customization options they offered, the type of performance fabrics they offered (I’ll get into this in a minute), fabric colors, customer reviews, and sofa style of course. I narrowed it down to my top two brands and I *thought* I had made a decision until I checked reviews on Instagram. Let me tell you…the people on Instagram did not hold back! One particular brand (which I won’t name) unfortunately had a lot of negative reviews in their comments relating to customer service and delivery delays. Maiden Home on the other hand had dozens upon dozens of happy customers on Instagram raving about the quality, lead time, and excellent customer service (which I can vouch for that!). That’s ultimately what made me choose Maiden Home – I couldn’t overlook their endless 5 star reviews!
FABRIC SWATCHES
Online sofa shopping could not be done without fabric swatches! I can’t tell you how many free samples I ordered from ALL the sofa companies! It got laughable how many kept coming in the mail. Of all the swatches I received, Maiden Home’s free swatches impressed me the most. Simple things like ensuring the edges of the swatches weren’t fraying, beautiful packaging, and detailed information for each fabric was the attention to detail that drew me in.
SELECTING THE SOFA
My biggest concern with buying a higher end sofa was selecting a style that felt timeless. I knew the simpler I went, the more likely we are to still love it 8 years down the road so we landed on The Warren. It has classic straight lines with a very transitional shape. I would happily put it in a casual basement AND a formal living room. Its’ relaxed but classic shape can work in any number of home styles.
PICKING A DURABLE FABRIC
Given that our previous sofa was ripping at the seams, I was particular about the quality of the fabric we chose. I wanted a neutral color that felt light but wasn’t white. And because we were getting a light fabric, I NEEDED a performance fabric that wouldn’t stain easily. So I looked for fabrics that were finished with Crypton Home (which is known for resisting stains and spills).
After some additional help from their design experts (which was so nice to be able to email them with all my questions), we landed on Performance Chenille fabric in the color “Buff”. It’s a “soft, two-tone weave with a subtle luster. It’s finished with Crypton Home for resistance to stains and spills,” it’s liquid resistant, doesn’t pill, and can easily be spot cleaned with just soap and water. We haven’t had to test the stain resistance yet (thankfully!), but we have had a couple dirty paw marks which have cleaned up easily with just a wet rag.
Fast forward a couple months to when we received the sofa and it honestly was a little lighter than I was expecting which made me thankful we didn’t go with the lighter fabric options we were debating between. Regardless, “Buff” is a perfect light but not white fabric color and I’m so happy we went with it. And now we know for future reference that light fabrics look even lighter in person.
Sofa | Medallion Pillow | Sage Green Pillow | Plum Throw Blanket | Rug | Wall Art (DIY) | End Table (Antique) | Glass & Brass Box (similar) | Vase (DIY) | Florals
CUSHIONS THAT LAST
I was adamant about selecting a sofa with cushions that would retain their shape while also having a relaxed sit. As much as a down alternative cushion sounded dreamy, I knew I didn’t want to fluff the cushions back to their original shape after every use. Instead I went for “a highly resilient Ultracel core that’s wrapped in microfiber” making it a low maintenance yet relaxed cushion.
The main reason I waited 9 weeks to write this review was because I wanted to test the cushions to see if they retain their shape. The design expert informed me this cushion would require little to no maintenance and I somewhat agree. Since it’s considered a medium relaxed sofa, there is still some maintenance involved. Namely wiping my hands over the seat cushions to minimize ripples in the fabric and flipping the cushions every couple of weeks to ensure even wear. We’re seeing some temporary wrinkles in the back cushions but flipping the cushions periodically makes them look brand new again so I’m really happy about that! If you’re concerned about wrinkles and ripples in the fabric, a firmer cushion is probably your best bet for not showing signs of use.
PRICE
If we wanted a sofa that would last, we were going to need to think of this purchase as an investment. We learned first hand that it’s better to pay more for pieces that will last than pay less for pieces that will need to be replaced sooner. The lower end sofas we looked at were still around $1,200 (this is what I mean about sofa prices increasing! Low end sofas used to be $400-$800 several years ago.) and high end sofas were anywhere from $4,000-$10,000. That being said, we didn’t have $4,000+ to put towards a couch so we landed in the middle of that range. Keep in mind that sofas generally have a base rate which can increase depending on the customization options and fabric you select.
BUILD PROCESS + LEAD TIME + SHIPPING
After placing the order, I received several status update emails of the build process from construction, cut and sew, upholstery, to final inspection. To some this may be unnecessary but I thoroughly enjoyed getting notices when my sofa reached the next phase of the build process.
Our sofa came with free white glove delivery and it shipped out within the expected 8-10 week lead time. Especially with Covid delays, I was really impressed that they stayed on schedule. The delivery didn’t run quite as smoothly unfortunately. We knew that delivery could take 2-3 weeks itself, but unfortunately it was a little over 4 weeks. This delay had nothing to do with Maiden Home however; in fact Maiden Home went above and beyond to notify us of updates on behalf of the delivery company when the delivery crew wasn’t keeping us updated. (That’s excellent customer service!)
INITIAL REACTIONS
My initial reaction was that the sofa was deeper than I expected. I measured probably 10 times, but things tend to feel different in real life than they do with just a tape measurer. Turns out our previous sofa was shallower than a standard sofa which explains why this one felt so big. I actually like how deep it is for comfort and after using it for 9 weeks it doesn’t feel as bulky in our small living room.
So would we order from Maiden Home again? Yes, and we plan to when the times comes for a second sofa. Their durable fabrics, exceptional customer service (did I mention the founder hand wrote me a letter to thank me for my purchase!?), durable materials, and overall positive experience gives me no reason not to shop from Maiden Home again!
I hope this review helps you in your sofa shopping endeavor! 🙂
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This was NOT my experience with Maiden Home sadly. I had pilling fabric, saggy pillows, and seat cushions that didn’t fit. Customer service when you have an issue is not great. It’s been almost a year and my issues are still not resolved.
Hi Danica. I am debating between a Maiden home sofa and SixPenny. Do you have any experience with that company? Thanks – Wendy
I don’t have any personal experience with Sixpenny but I’ve heard good things. As for Maiden Home, I’d recommend them over and over again! 🙂
Thx for your comments but our experience does not reflect what you’ve written here: We were so excited when we ordered our new couch and were looking forward to it. However, when the couch arrived, it was nothing like it was promised. The couch was delivered a week later than expected which was less than ideal but we were ok with. When it was finally delivered, there were 2 delivery people who never asked to take their shoes off when entering our residence. They stomped all over our new rug with their dirty shoes. They did not seem to know what they were doing and were justly struggling and yelling at each other. They also told us they placed wrong screws in incorrect places but not to worry because they “should hold.” They did not clean up afterwards nor did they set up the pillows as promised. They even left garbage as they rushed out the door. A “white-glove” installation was promised on-line. This was far from it! After they left, we realized they had scratched up our hardwood floor and even made a deep dent it in that they never told us about! And on top of that, they didn’t even have the complete delivery (one other side of the couch cushion was not delivered)! The furniture is nice but the table end of the couch had significant scratches on it. We called and emailed Maiden Home immediately but so far have not gotten any fruitful responses. They don’t seem to care about the floor damage or that the delivery was suboptimal. For the amount of money we spent, we had high expectations. Instead we are quite disappointed with the entire process. I would not recommend this to anyone!
After my recent experience with Maiden, I am nervous to order from them. There are price discrepancies for the item I want to order and their customer service team was rude and talked over me when I tried to explain that there are 3 different prices being quoted for the exact same item! I was told its a website “glitch” and that the actual price of the sofa I want is more than what the website shows. Website shows $5425. By text customer service told me more than once it’s actually $5500 list price and by phone/email yet another customer service rep told me its even more- $5550! I told her I don’t trust these seemingly arbitrary price discrepancies and she said the higher price IS the price, doesnt matter what the website says or the other customer service rep says- the highest price stands.
If they can’t even get their story straight on the pricing, how are they gojng to get my order right? if they seem to just change their pricing arbitrarily and not honor whats written on their website- why would I trust that they are going to honor ANY of the written policies or product information on their website. Seems like they put out false information and then cal it a ”glitch” and the customer is the one who suffers for it. Untrustworthy company!
I have had an absolutely horrible time with delays related to my sofa and ottoman purchase that I made back in June. Never again, for real.
I’m sorry to hear that! Unfortunately most furniture companies are experiencing unexpected delays due to material shortages so this is a nationwide issue, not just with Maiden Home. I’d recommend checking out quick ship furniture if timing is important. Typically quick ship furniture isn’t made to order so it should take several weeks to ship opposed to several months. I hope you receive your furniture soon!
I can’t say I had the same wonderful experience. While the quality of our Warren sectional is amazing (we chose the velvet in Flannel which is a gorgeous slate blue), manufacturing/delivery took 3 months longer than anticipated. When the delivery crew got here, they put the sofa in place but then had no idea how to connect the two arms of the sectional together, so now I essentially have two floating sectional pieces. I called Maiden Home and am still waiting to hear back.
Oh that’s unfortunate! I know most furniture companies are experiencing longer than usual lead times and delays for a few reasons out of their control, but I’m glad to hear the quality of the sofa is great!
Hi Danica! I’m interested in buying a sofa from maiden home and am looking into upgrading the sofa cushions to a 3 seater instead of 2 only because I’m worried about how it might feel if a third person sits in the middle of the sofa. Do you mind giving me feedback on how it feels to sit in the middle where the two cushion lines meet? Thank you !
Hi Christina! It’s certainly not uncomfortable or awkward to sit in the middle, however being that it’s just the two of us, we rarely sit there. You can also upgrade almost any Maiden Home sofa to a bench seat cushion so there aren’t any cushion seams. Just email them for a quote!
This is super helpful! I ordered this same sofa but while I’m waiting for delivery I occasionally become filled with anxiety haha. I got the same fabric but in a light grey. My worries come in two varieties: that it will be too textured/pill easily, and that the sofa will be too shallow. I debated the Sullivan but I think it’s a little too wide for my front door and a little too tall for the only possible placement in my living room (in front of a big picture window). So your post is reassuring!
Ohh I got those anxiety flare-ups too. 🙂 You’re gonna love it!