Affordable Sofas

August 31, 2016, by Debra Lynn Dadd

There have been so many questions about finding affordable sofas I thought I would make a separate post to answer this question.

First, there are no ready-made affordable sofas that I would call toxic-free.

All the ready-made sofas cost thousands of dollars.

But there are some things you can do. [I’ve mentioned these before in other places, but am gathering them all together in one place for you.]

My first nontoxic sofa was a sectional sofa where the pieces were made with cotton canvas over metal frames, with toxic pillows on top. I just replaced the toxic pillows with 100% cotton pillows stuffed with some of the first organic cotton batting that was available. It was a great sofa and I wish someone would make this type of frame now.

Here are three strategies I know of.

REUPHOLSTER

My current sofa started as an old frame, which I stripped and had reupholstered. I bought the sofa frame at a storage auction for $50. The upholsterer said it had “nice bones.” It’s a beautiful, old, solid wood frame.

I chose a 100% linen upholstery fabric in a plaid to honor my Scottish heritage. The cushions are old spring cushions covered with wool batting.

All in all the total cost was about $1500. That was maybe 20 years ago. It’s held up very well, It still looks the same as it did 20 years ago. No wear and tear.

FILL A FRAME

Ever since futons became popular in the 1980s, there have been wood frames available to turn those futons into sofas. Today they are also available made of metal. And you can fill them with any kind of cushions you can imagine.

Wood frames for futons come in two designs: clamshell (sofa only) or bi-fold (which converts into a platform bed).

Here are some sofa frames from White Lotus Home made out of sold wood with water-based glues and nontoxic finishes. But there are many more online. Just search on “futon frame for sofa.” Even places like overstock and wayfarer have them for only a few hundred dollars (be sure to check materials before buying).

There are many more frames online—I just checked. Search on “sofa plans” and other similar terms.

There are hundreds of futon frames online.

Some frames come complete with pillows you probably don’t want, but other frames you can purchase separately (and you can always toss the pillows if necessary and replace them with natural ones.

Wow. Just exploring futon frames for just a few minutes showed me there are MANY more inexpensive sofas in this category than ever before, but you’ll need to provide your own cushions.

BUILD YOUR OWN

And it turns out nowadays you can even get plans for making your own sofa.

DIY may be the way to go if you are handy or can enlist help (I am fortunate that Larry is always willing and able to repair or build anything I want). You could also get the plans and materials and hiring someone to put it together and it would still be affordable. And you could modify the plans to get exactly the sofa you want.

Here are some plans sent by a reader. There may be more:
http://www.ana-white.com/2016/03/free_plans/modern-wood-storage-sofa
http://www.ana-white.com/2010/11/build-your-own-storage-sofa.html
http://www.ana-white.com/2015/06/free_plans/one-arm-outdoor-sectional-piece
http://www.ana-white.com/2014/05/modern-sectional-sofa

Use these for ideas and plans, but substitute your own toxic-free materials.