When we moved across the country, we left our couch behind. This was a tragedy to me because I dearly loved our old couch. The dark gray color, the button tufting on the back, the clean lines, the length – and I bought it for $300 from a friend. When we realized it wouldn’t fit in our POD, I promised myself that as consolation for saying goodbye to our couch and our whole life in Arizona, I would take the opportunity to buy the one of my dreams … online, a Joybird or Article couch.
I knew exactly what I wanted. I’d been pinning photos of living rooms to Pinterest for years, and most had a velvet navy blue couch. I also knew I would order it from one of those two companies. What I didn’t know was how hard it would be to decide between them!
I spent weeks with multiple tabs open on my computer, toggling between websites and Pinterest, comparing colors, sizes, shipping, reviews, and price. Note, that this post is not sponsored – neither company is paying me to talk about their sofa. I wanted to share my experience to help anyone else struggling to decide.
Here are the two that I couldn’t pick between:
Joybird Elliot Reversable Sectional Sofa in Lucky Turquoise or Royale Cobalt
Pros for Joybird Sofa:
- The sectional portion of the couch is reversible. Since we’re currently renting, I want to make sure this couch will fit in all future homes of ours, so this feature was a plus.
- I loved the free samples of fabric Joybird sends. It really gives a sense of the types of fabric and true colors.
- The sofa was considerably cheaper than its competition at Article (see below), at only $1,700- $1,982. The fabric I really wanted was on the higher end, $1,982. But there was free shipping!
- I loved the video reviews of Joybird couches. It feels a little weird to buy a couch online, although I’ve bought chairs, coffee table, and headboards online before. A purchase this big and is a bit nerve-wracking. Watching their video reviews on YouTube helped immensely, and sold Brian on the idea.
- Joybird has an awesome return policy – 365 days to try out the couch! However, the asterisk is that there’s only free return shipping for a two week window, and some couches are charged a restocking fee.
Cons About Joybird Sofa:
- The shipping time for the fabric I really wanted (Royale Cobalt) was six weeks. I read in the reviews that it often took much longer to receive the couch, so that wasn’t reassuring. With moving into our rental house in a few days, expecting a baby any day, I wanted a couch for lounging on while recovering and feeding the baby.
- Because of the long shipping time for the fabric that I really wanted, I settled for one of the “quick ship” options, “Lucky Turquoise.” At least it still had a soft touch and a little more exciting than gray. But it wasn’t the couch of my dreams, and this bugged me.
Article Sven Sectional Sofa in Cascadia Blue
Pros for Article Sofa:
- I liked that the back cushions of this couch weren’t tufted. It seemed like it could be more comfortable as a result.
- I also liked that the cushions had down filling, not just foam.
- The color and fabric that I wanted were available and could ship within two weeks, a big selling point since I wanted a couch fast.
Cons for Article Sofa:
- Pricewise, it cost $2,119, and shipping wasn’t free. The total would be $2427.84. That’s a price difference of $440.
- Not all the reviews were positive. One person claimed that it didnt hold up, and looked terrible after a month. That was alarming, since I wanted this couch to be my forever couch, my couch soulmate.
- It wasn’t reversible. What if it backed me into a corner in the future, literally?
- The return policy was 30 days. This wasn’t truly a “con” since that did seem like plenty of time, but 365 days sounded better.
Why I Bought a Joybird Couch
After considering the price (Joybird was $440 less), style (Joybird was reversible), fabric options (Article had the fabric I most wanted available), and shipping and return options (free shipping from Joybird, returns in a year, $50 shipping from Article, returns in 30 days), I decided to go with Joybird.
I ordered the Elliot Sectional in “Lucky Turquoise,” not my dream fabric. It was listed as a “quick ship” option and would ship in two weeks. With a baby on the way, I decided not to spend the extra $440 to get the Article couch in the fabric I really wanted.
This bugged me. I’d told myself I was going to get my couch soulmate – had I compromised? I started having doubts almost before the confirmation email hit my inbox.
It didn’t help when two weeks passed with no shipping information from Joybird. Another week passed, and then another. Brian started asking me every day, “When is the couch coming?” until I was ready to explode. After FOUR WEEKS of having a newborn, nowhere to sit, and a nagging husband, I contacted customer service. They emailed back the next day, saying they’d check on it. It shipped that same day.
And then it sat in a distribution warehouse for ANOTHER TWO WEEKS. Once again, I had to contact Joybird, who gave me an email for the shipping company, and once I contacted their customer service team, they called me the next day to set up a delivery.
If I hadn’t kept contacting Joybird and their shipping company, I’d still be waiting for a couch.
Why I Bought an Article Couch
Yep, you read that right.
The Joybird couch finally arrived, and the delivery team set it up for me. My doubts melted away as I beheld it’s teal grandeur.
Then I sat on it.
“Oh.” All my doubts came rushing back in that involuntary sound of surprise and disappointment. I knew from the reviews that the seat would be firm, but this was more than firm – it was like sitting on a rock. A very beautiful, teal rock.
When Brian came home from work and tested the couch for himself, I could tell he was putting on a brave face. “At least we have a couch now! It’s so nice to be able to sit down!”
For the first time in 8 weeks, we all piled on the couch to watch a movie. But by the end of the movie, we’d managed to find all six of my throw pillows and pile them behind our backs. As it turned out, the couch back was short enough that a tall person like Brian couldn’t comfortably lean back on it. And the angle was so upright that our backs got sore after more than fifteen minutes of leaning against it, and we had to pile the pillows all around.
I debated almost the entire fourteen-day window of free return shipping. I even told the whole story in my Instagram stories and put up a poll to get your opinions. You guys had a hard time deciding too, and the votes were split 50/50 on keeping it or returning it to get the Article couch.
Finally, I decided that since I’d waited this long, I could wait a little longer, and ordered my dream couch. I’d take the risk of spending the extra $440 in hopes that the new couch would be more comfortable, but even if it wasn’t, at least it would be my dream fabric and color.
It just so happened that the delivery company delivered my new Article couch on the same day as they picked up the Joybird couch – and the Article couch arrived even faster than two weeks!
Assembling the Article couch myself wasn’t easy, but I prevailed. Unlike the Joybird couch, which comes with free in-home delivery and assembly, Article charges extra for them to assemble it for you and take care of the cardboard, and I wasn’t about to spend any more than I had to.
But wow.
Then I went to sit down.
“Oh!” This time, it was a tone of happy surprise. My couch soulmate! The velvety tufted cushions were firm, but soft, and the back cushions cradled my back just right. I didn’t need a single throw pillow – plus it came with two bolster pillows!
Brian’s endorsement came later that night when once again we piled on the couch to watch a movie as a family. Basically, the highest praise for a couch Brian could give: he fell asleep!
Joybird Couch vs. Article Couch
Would I order from Joybird again? Well, I did get a full refund and a $25 credit toward my next purchase for leaving a review. I might – but maybe a chair. Or maybe a different style of couch? I’m not sure. Their customer service was excellent, the couch itself was gorgeous. But the horrible shipping experience makes me hesitant. I shouldn’t have to manage the process through production and delivery, and based on the reviews, this has consistently been a problem for some time.
I would absolutely order from Article again without hesitation. At one of the furniture stores we visited, the saleslady told me we’d have to pick either comfort or style. I’m glad I didn’t compromise. The Sven sofa absolutely delivered both.
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