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Are you looking for a new sofa? Something different from what’s on the showroom floor?
A custom sofa isn’t out of reach, but “custom” means something different to different people and brands. Some companies let you build a sofa from the frame up. Others just mean “pick a fabric from our list.” These aren’t the same thing, and they vary by price and production time.
Here’s how four brands in this space stack up, and who each one makes the most sense for.
What “Custom” Really Means
At one end of the spectrum, custom just means fabric choice. You pick from a preset list of colors and materials, and the frame, cushion fill, and dimensions stay fixed.
That’s most of what West Elm and Crate & Barrel are doing. Crate & Barrel does let you configure sectional layouts through a sectional planner, and both brands offer design consultations, but that’s design help, not construction from scratch. Plus, both are furniture brands for the whole house, including housewares.
At the other end of the spectrum is what JoyBird and What A Room are doing. Sofas are made-to-order, meaning the sofa doesn’t exist until you pick your specs and place the order.
That usually comes with more fabric options, sometimes leg and cushion firmness choices, and can mean longer production times, since with What A Room specifically, nothing is sitting in a warehouse waiting for your order.
Crate & Barrel
Crate & Barrel is an approachable, high-end retail brand that’s built its reputation on durability. Most of their sofas are built with a solid hardwood frame and high-resilience foam, and reviews consistently mention how well the pieces hold up and keep their shape for years.
Customization for Crate & Barrel sofas means fabric and color on an existing frame. The Lounge sofa alone comes in over 200 fabric options, and nearly all of their sofas and sectionals are made to order once you pick your configuration. All sofas can also be built out through their online planner if you need a specific layout for your room.
Prices start around $1,000 for smaller sofas and can go up to nearly $10,000 for sofas and sectionals, depending on size and fabric options. Ordering is done in-store or online, and an associate will walk you through fabric and configuration either way. Some reviews mention delayed production times, so always ask about a timeline if you’re on a tight schedule.
Who It’s Best For
Crate & Barrel makes the most sense for buyers who want to walk into a showroom, pick a quality sofa with solid construction, and potentially furnish other rooms in their home.
It’s a solid brand with pieces built to last, but with limited customization.
West Elm
West Elm is similar to Crate & Barrel in price, but with designs that lean more contemporary and mid-century modern. West Elm is part of the Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma family, and some of their sofa options run smaller, good for those in smaller homes and apartments.
Customization at West Elm offers fewer choices than Crate & Barrel. Most sofa collections have preset fabric choices, and some collections offer more than others. The Harmony sofa, for example, starts around $2,449 and comes in around 135 fabric choices.
Construction-wise, you’re working with fixed designs. It can vary by collection, since West Elm uses a mix of solid wood and engineered components, so that’s definitely a question for your associate when ordering. You can order online or in one of over 100 stores, and in-stock pieces ship much faster than made-to-order fabric selections.
Reviewers have shared that some lead times run on the longer side, up to a few months. All of this depends on what’s in stock, of course.
Who It’s Best For
West Elm fits buyers who want a stylish, trendy look without heavy customization, buyers who are fine picking a sofa that’s basically already designed and just want to choose the fabric.
JoyBird
JoyBird is closer to true custom than Crate & Barrel and West Elm. Every sofa is made-to-order, with over 70 fabric choices depending on the style of sofa or sectional.
They have about 30 different sofa designs, mostly mid-century modern, built on kiln-dried hardwood frames. Their fabric is durable, and some selections are pet-friendly. JoyBird offers unlimited fabric swatches so you can pick the right fabric to match your room and home. They also back their frames with a limited lifetime warranty and one year of coverage on fabric and cushions. Reviews are mixed, though, with some reporting sagging cushions and pilling fabric after several years.
Sofas run from around $1,200 to $3,500, which is on the lower end compared to Crate & Barrel and more around the West Elm price point. Ordering is online or in store, you can build your sofa through their configurator, picking the frame, fabric, and leg style before checkout. Each made-to-order sofa takes about four to eight weeks plus shipping, though some Reddit reviewers report their sofas took longer and customer service was poor.
While JoyBird is customizable, it leans more toward configurable customization than building a sofa from the ground up.
Who It’s Best For
JoyBird is for buyers looking for a good starter sofa, maybe upgrading from college furniture, who are okay knowing they may need to buy another sofa around the five-year mark.
What A Room
Like JoyBird, What A Room is a newer brand. Their sofas are custom-made and built to order from the ground up. It starts with the frame, which is kiln-dried, solid wood. You pick the exact size of the sofa or sectional you want. Maybe you have a small space or a narrow, odd-shaped room. Every sofa is completely custom: the size, the fabric, the cushion firmness.
You can choose from over 165 fabric options, and their fabrics are free of PFAS, PFOS, and other “forever chemicals.” Before placing your order, you can also request 12 free fabric swatches to match your space. What A Room offers a lifetime warranty on the frame and a one-year warranty against manufacturing defects.
Their fabrics are super durable, some pet-friendly and kid-friendly, liquid-repellent, and machine washable. Manufacturing is in Los Angeles, CA, and production runs four to five weeks, and What A Room offers white-glove delivery service. Price starts around $3,000 and goes up from there, but these are investment pieces built to last. Their prices are comparable to Crate & Barrel, but these sofas are fully customized versus just picking a fabric.
What A Room is mostly an online company. They have one showroom in San Jose, CA, compared to the hundreds of locations the other brands on this list have nationwide. You’re mostly buying a sofa sight unseen. They do offer design services and free 3D renderings so you can see how the sofa will fit your space, but you won’t be able to sit on one unless you’re local to the Bay Area.
Who It’s Best For
What A Room works best for buyers who want unique made-to-order sofas built to last well past the five-year mark, with a wide variety of fabric options that are durable, chemical-free, and great for pets and families.
Which Brand and Sofa Is for You?
These brands all make excellent sofas, where they differ is how much say you get in customizing yours.
- Crate & Barrel: Best if you want a durable, high-end sofa and furnishings for your whole house.
- West Elm: Best if you want something nice but live in a small space, are on more of a budget, and customization isn’t a top priority.
- JoyBird: Best if you want something more custom on a budget around $2,000, an upgrade from your college furniture, and you’re fine knowing you may need to buy again in five years.
- What A Room: Best if you’re looking for a fully customized sofa, have a budget around $5,000, and want to build something from the ground up with durable fabric.
Whichever brand you go with, order swatches first. All of these brands offer free swatches, and it’ll be very helpful to see the fabric in your space, against your walls, in the light.
