Replacement of sofa
For some time we have been considering whether to replace the sofa. It is exactly 11 years old and we got it shortly after our first child was born. It's been through a bit of everything, and also has plenty of good times in it including a move from flat to house.
It holds up well and is a real floater, but it does have seat marks and occasionally you are lucky enough to pull feathers out of it! It has spilled a bit, but you wouldn't notice because it's a nice brown colour! Lots of guests have even slept reasonably in it, but my husband gets a sore neck sitting there. On the other hand, the rest of the family has plenty of room to lounge around :)
Considerations
A lot of questions have been raised about. the consideration of a new sofa. How long should a sofa last, what is really reasonable? When can you afford to replace it vs. environmental impact, resource use and waste?
Research shows that the average lifetime of a sofa is estimated to be 11 years. It's very nice to know that we are so pretty average!
More than lifetime
But the research tells us much more than just the average lifespan. Have you ever wondered about all the time you spend, and the activities that take place on your sofa, over its lifetime?
Pyh, we haven't!
According to the study, the average sofa witnesses 1,236 arguments, 2,728 food and drink spills (yarks), and people sleep on it 191 when banished from the bedroom (more than once a month).
A sofa is used by the whole family - children and adults and maybe animals! In total, 168 toys get lost behind the sofa cushions and no less than 421 people look for the remote control.
It's fascinating how the sofa is a multi-functional piece of furniture with room for so many activities. Couples kiss 2,105 times, families sit down to watch a film 3,135 times and there's also time to read books for 2,728 hours.
And yes, there's a lot of talking on the phone too. Perhaps our 11-year-old sofa has listened to approximately 2,299 hours of phone conversations, equivalent to 96 days.
Those are some wild numbers. And they don't stop there. See all 20 points of what an average sofa experiences in its lifetime:
Activities on the sofa
- 6,509 hours spent watching TV or movies
- 1,430 hours spent playing computer games
- 1,842 hours spent hugging and cuddling
- 2,728 hours spent reading
- 2,414 hours spent sleeping or napping
- 1,390 hours at work
- 2,299 hours on the phone
- 2,631 phone calls
- 1,985 hugs
- 1,236 discussions
- 1,007 dates
- 2,728 times wasted on food and drink
- 1,338 children jump up and down
- 2,391 times people fall asleep in front of the TV.
- 2,099 episodes of a soap opera
- 2,105 kisses
- 3,135 films are watched
- 168 times toys get lost on the sofa
- 421 times the remote control gets lost
- 191 times people sleep on the sofa after being thrown out of bed
With all these activities and numbers in mind, it's practically become a member of the family - and you don't just throw them out!
Renewing the sofa
The reason we've had our sofa for so many years - and will probably keep it for a while longer - is probably that we regularly renew it with some nice cushions. It's a pretty easy, effective and relatively cheap way to freshen up your sofa. And the environmental impact is also somewhat less than if we replaced the sofa.
How long do you think a sofa should last? And how old is yours? Do you do anything to keep your sofa 'young and inviting'?
We have lots of different cushions in the shop - oblong, square and smaller cushions in bright colours and graphic patterns. See them all right here.
