A review of Lovesac’s famous “sactional.”
Compared to splitting the atom, buying a sofa isn’t that complicated — but it’s close. When my boyfriend and I set out to get a couch for our new house, we were aware of a few things: we hated our old sofa, we needed something bigger, and we wanted it to be cozy. What we didn’t know was how confusing it would be to enter the land of furniture-buying, and how much we had to learn.
Having lived in New York City apartments for most of my adult life, I was accustomed to resting on tiny loveseats that fit three people, max (assuming one person is willing to sit squished in the middle “crack” spot between the two main cushions). But in our new place — in a much smaller city, hundreds of miles from Manhattan — we had enough room for that mythical creature that so many urbanites can only dream of: a big-ass sectional.
My boyfriend and I started simply, heading out to the mall for a day in which we vowed to “sit on everything”: We stopped at all the furniture stores there, sitting on everything from rock-hard modernist pieces to massive ultra-smushy bed-like sofas that felt like falling into a bathtub full of down feathers. I preferred the latter vibe, wanting a womb-like couch that I could nap on at will. But unfortunately, I’d come armed to this shopping day with plenty of supplemental research. I’d learned that ultra pillowy cushions have one major drawback,in that they’re much more prone to flattening out into pancakes, sometimes over a span of just a few years. Spending multiple thousands of dollars on furniture that would fall flat in less than a presidential term didn’t appeal to me.
Plus, I have kids, by which I mean cats. My two gorgeous hairy feline sons are the light of my life, but they are, after all, animals, and tend to wreak havoc on our furniture. Luckily they don’t scratch, but they do make upholstered furniture pretty hairy and occasionally dirty. And I’ll admit that I have been known to eat and drink while curled up on my sofa, a fact which would probably make Emily Post faint. So I wanted a couch with removable cushion covers, or even removable covers on the whole piece — I need the option of tossing everything into the washer at least a few times a year.
The mall day was almost a total bust. By 4 p.m. we were wiped out, having sat on outrageously expensive cushions with ugly angles, cheap but visually cute sofas with appalling online reviews, and cream-colored beauties that I knew I would spend all my time attacking with stain remover. Where was the middle ground? How could we spend thousands on a sofa we might outgrow someday, or that would eventually become so flat and uncomfortable that we’d want to pitch it into a landfill?
Then we went into the Lovesac showroom.
By far our favorite of the sofas we sat on from a comfort and feel perspective, Lovesac had a lot of other pluses: it came in various pieces and was fully modular (meaning we could arrange and rearrange the various elements in whatever way we wanted, forever), there were a ton of fabric options to choose from, and all the covers were removable and washable. It also had cool optional features, like built-in iPhone chargers and angled sides so you could be sort-of lying down whenever you wanted — man’s ultimate dream. But the coolest and weirdest (in a good way) add-on was a subwoofer you can easily install under one seat, and two corresponding sides with hidden speakers. It’s a Harmon Kardon system, meaning the quality is extremely high and the sound envelops you from all angles. The sofa in the Lovesac store was blasting “Daydreaming” by Harry Styles when we sat down, and it felt like being at an arena show. We looked at each other in shock over this futuristic technology, like the apes at the beginning of 2001.
The only catch? We’d have to assemble the sofa ourselves: meaning we needed to attach every seat, side, and backs to each other, and to wriggle a cover onto each of those oversized pieces.
Still, Lovesac was the sofa of our dreams. And that feeling was only slightly tempered by the order email we got a few weeks later, announcing that our multi-part sectional — which the company calls a “sactional” — would be arriving at our house in 23 (!) separate boxes. The day they arrived, we piled them into the corner of our living room and looked at them with equal parts excitement and fear. Once we got those boxes open, spent several hours connecting the pieces, and sat on this configuration in our living room, we had a lot of thoughts.
Here’s my assessment of Lovesac seating, and whether it might be right for you. I even spoke to the company’s founder, Shawn Nelson, to get his deep thoughts on the sofa and what sets it apart from the pack.
How does Lovesac work?
Lovesac sactionals are modular and constructed of three styles of pieces: backs, sides, and seats. You choose how many of each you want, and how you want to fit them together, for a huge variety of seating options. (You can mess around with the layout digitally on the brand’s website, if you need to experiment first.) Want a cute little loveseat with one angled side and one open side? Want to use one seat as a standalone ottoman, or two seats to make a gigantic ottoman island? Want to turn your L-shaped sofa into one super-long straight one? You choose the pieces, and you can rework the layout anytime your heart desires.
The three types of pieces fit together via dense pegs that slide into sturdy wooden “shoes” that sit on the ground. Once the seats are in place, you slide heavy-duty steel clamps onto them, to keep them from shifting around.
Each side, seat, and back has a removable cover that’s machine-washable, and you can buy brand-new covers for the whole shebang on the Lovesac website if you decide to change your decor. Fabric-wise, there’s everything from a classic twill to faux fur and leather in several different colors each, and even purple velvet, in case you want to make your living room a spiritual tribute to Prince. “The covers fit like a glove and look like traditional upholstery,” says Nelson. “But they’re removable, washable, and changeable. So you’re not stuck.”
Who should buy a Lovesac sofa?
This sofa is ideal for commitment-phobes and anyone who loves to mix up their decor. We laid out our sactional in a big U-shape, but we could easily reconfigure it in the future if we change our minds. We even considered breaking it up into two different “matching” sofas in separate parts of the room, which we might do someday if we’re feeling fancy.
The machine-washable covers make it safe for people with kids, pets, or messy family members who can’t resist eating crackers and hummus in a reclining position.
This furniture’s also ideal for people who love customization in all forms: Aside from picking your fabric color and type, you can choose the density and even the depth of your cushions. (You actually just turn the seats in the opposite direction to change them from regular to deep width, which is a pretty ingenious trick.)
What are the downsides of Lovesac?
Not only did our sactional arrive in many, many different boxes, but lots of those boxes were pretty heavy. My boyfriend and I are both into weightlifting, so the moving and shifting of the sofa pieces wasn’t a huge deal. But for someone who’s unable to lift and move heavy objects, assembly could definitely be an issue. That said, you could easily hire a handyperson or get a strong pal to help you put together the various pieces, if necessary. The company’s also considering offering in-home installation in the future, too, so stay tuned for that.
Lovesac isn’t cheap, especially if you opt for a large number of pieces with custom fabric and all the optional sactional accessories/bells/whistles. But the quality is immediately evident: It’s incredibly sturdy, with none of the shifting or wiggling you’d expect from a sofa made from various pieces. Regarding the inevitable flattening of cushions over time, Nelson explained, “We haven’t invented gravity-proof fiber or foam yet. But our seat cushions bow up in the center — it’s not just a rectangle of foam wrapped in white fiber, like 99 percent of other sofa cushions. In between our two layers of foam, there’s a cushion ‘heart’ that’s about 14 inches square and ¾ inch thick. That way, it takes way longer for the cushions to break down.”
The sactional is also very good-looking, with rich colored fabric and a design that’s pretty timeless. Plus, as Nelson explained, the company never discontinues its fabrics, so if my cat sons rip a hole in a cover a few years from now, I’ll be able to order a new one.
Are Lovesac sofas hard to assemble?
Though the assembly process was ultra-intimidating at first, I was pleasantly surprised by how simple it was once I got the hang of it. The boxes and various pieces are covered in little stickers and diagrams that show exactly how things should fit together — no 80-page confusing Scandinavian manuals. I kept absentmindedly repeating the phrase, “This is very intuitive…,” as I built.
To make assembly even easier, Lovesac has a series of videos posted to YouTube where Nelson explains how to fit the sides, seats, and backs together, and offers various tips and tricks to get an even better result. (Because you’ll be fitting the covers on the cushions yourself, for example, he gives pointers on how to perfectly align the edges for a more professional look.) We made a couple of dumb mistakes along the way, but they were easily rectified and caused only minimal cursing while re-doing them.
That said, it wasn’t something I’d let my 97-year-old grandma do — no offense, Lois. The pulling and tugging of the covers across the individual pieces required some muscle, and moving the covered seats and sides into place is definitely a job for a fit adult. Given how many pieces we ordered, the sofa also took a while to put together. I started the project on my own one Sunday morning, and used an audiobook as my background soundtrack; I made it five hours into that book before I tapped out for a late lunch, and to give my hands a rest. My boyfriend took over from there and did about three more hours of assembly before the sofa was totally finished.
Again, nothing about the assembly process was especially complicated, but it did require some sweat equity. Once it was finished, though, the whole production felt very well worth it.
How does the Lovesac Stealthtech and speaker system work?
I never really cared about being able to charge my phone on my sofa, but now that I can, I never want to charge my phone in an old-school wall outlet again. I can easily hide the charging cord when it’s not in use, and the charging port is hidden behind a cushion, so you don’t have to look at any ugly technology when you’re in Cozy Mode.
To be honest, I was on the fence about our need for the speaker system at first, but my boyfriend was adamant that it was necessary. We do entertain friends and family for movies and TV-viewing parties pretty regularly, so I took his word for it. As a test run before having company, we decided that our first movie should be something bombastic, audio-wise, so we watched the 1993 classic Jurassic Park. In case it’s been a minute since you’ve viewed (or you — gasp — have never seen it), I’ll refresh your memory: There’s a scene in which a T-Rex is running amok through the destroyed theme park, stomping his SUV-sized feet all over the dang place. Reader, on our subwoofer-and-speaker-fueled sofa, it felt like that dino was gonna crush us under his claws at any moment. Our sofa rumbled with each impact, and the now-iconic orchestral soundtrack was hugging us from both directions with crisp and clear quality.
Now we’re scheduling even more viewing parties at our place than usual, so I guess buyer-beware to anyone who hates having friends over — or feeling as if they’re about to be trampled.
My final thoughts on Lovesac
Is it weird to say you’re in love with a sofa? I’m so impressed with the sactional’s functionality, adaptability, and look; our couch has become a frequent topic of conversations with friends. (Apologies to all the ones I’ve bored along the way.) Surprisingly, my boyfriend even cited the DIY assembly as one of the things he liked best about Lovesac: “Learning a little bit about the construction while putting it together makes you appreciate the quality more. If you assemble one, you see all of the ‘guts’ of the sofa, and these are solid guts. It feels like an even nicer piece.”
To me, it makes sense to invest in a sofa that can “grow,” too. You could start with a handful of pieces, then grab more when your family expands. (I’ll probably need a couple more seats after I adopt like 10 additional cats.) Or you could rejigger the elements and move them into a different room or shape entirely —giving them more staying power than your average loveseat or L-shape. “My sactionals have moved with me six times,” Nelson told me. “They’re older than my children. You can refresh them with new pillows and new covers. Our motto is ‘designed for life.’ It’s truly sustainable, because it’s furniture that actually sustains.”
And that sustainability element really appeals to me, especially when I think of all the furniture that ends up in landfills. My boyfriend heartily agreed: “The short lifespan of a normal sofa is kind of depressing. And, unlike a table, nobody even wants your stupid sofa when you’re done with it. The fact that there’s an aftermarket for used Lovesac pieces says a lot.”
Because of all its features and functions, a Lovesac sactional feels like the furniture of the future. And if that’s the case, I feel like I’m in good hands. Giant, soft, sofa hands.
