We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Wayfair
Buying furniture online can be so intimidating, especially when it comes to sofas. Despite all of your frantic measuring, you don’t know how something is going to fit or look in your space before you buy it, let alone how it’ll feel when you sit on it. That’s exactly why we launched our Personal Shopper series more than two years ago and continue to widen our scope to check out the retailers you’re most curious about. In the series, we visit the brick-and-mortar stores of your favorite home retailers, including Burrow, Pottery Barn, Ashley, West Elm, and others to test the furniture and decor. After our visit, we provide a detailed breakdown of which sofa, dresser, or desk is best for your space. In the process, we look out for elements that speak to a piece’s durability and whether it would suit, for example, high-traffic households, homes with pets or kids, or apartments with limited space.
This visit was especially important in our eyes. Wayfair launched its first-ever brick-and-mortar store in Wilmette, Illinois. Luckily for you all, one of our shopping editors lives there, so she drove to check out the two-floor store, which even boasts a sit-down cafe and plenty of outdoor seating. The Wayfair store was truly massive and impressive, so she spent several hours trying out every couch. Obviously, there were more than nine couches at Wayfair, but we narrowed it down to the most unique and the ones that impressed us most.
Why Wayfair?
As we mentioned above, Wayfair opened its first store, so we knew we had to check it out. The vast majority of people shop for furniture on Wayfair’s website and make decisions sight unseen, unless you live within driving distance of this single store. We decided that it would be a good service to readers to test out the sofas in person. As a retailer that people turn to for furniture, Wayfair offers thousands of sofas in essentially every aesthetic at varying price points, though many of them are relatively budget-friendly. It even offers free shipping and, on select sofas on this list, white-glove delivery, where they will carry the sofa into your home and assemble it.
The Sofas
Best Classic Style: Santiago 2-Piece Leather Sectional
Best for Lounging: Geo 84” Velvet Sofa
Best Budget-Friendly: Abby-Gayle 2-Piece Upholstered Sectional
Best for WFH: Elsmere 81″ Upholstered Convertible Sofa
Best Statement Maker: Sigma Upholstered Sofa
Best for Frequent Hosts: Barton 66.5” Upholstered Convertible Sofa
Best Luxury for Less: Anorea 83” Genuine Leather Channel Tufted Sofa
Best for Small Spaces: Hendrix 50.2” Velvet Loveseat
Best Modern Design: Deans 82” Upholstered Sofa
The Criteria
We judged every Wayfair sofa in-store based on the following five criteria, giving each category an average rating between 1 and 5. These scores helped us determine who the desk suits best.
Overall sit: What posture does the sofa best support? How deep or shallow are the seats? Are the cushions soft or firm on the back and arms?
Seat firmness: How soft or firm are the seat cushions? How do they contribute to overall posture and comfort?
Customizability: Are there sizing, configuration, upholstery, or color options, or any other customizable details? How granular can a shopper get when customizing?
Napability: Can you nap on it? Would you want to? Would guests be comfortable sleeping on it?
Multifunctionality: Does it have storage capacity? Is it a sleeper sofa? What else can the sofa do or help with?
Appearance: What style does it best suit? Does it lean more traditional (i.e., deep hues, busy details, flanged edges) or more contemporary (i.e., clean lines, low profiles, mid-century modern design elements)?
Every Editor-Tested Sofa at Wayfair
Best Classic Style: Santiago 2-Piece Leather Sectional
Santiago 2 - Piece Leather Sectional
Wayfair
$2,140 (was $3,499)
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What impressed us: The buttery soft leather and the traditional silhouette.
Trends may come and go, but this couch will remain stylish. If you’ve been dreaming about putting a leather couch in your space for years, we recommend this one from Wayfair. The leather is soft and smooth to the touch. The cushions are filled with high-density foam, which means that you won’t end up with a saggy leather couch after a few years of use. But because of the firm cushions and tufted back, you might not want to take a ton of naps on this sectional. It’s better suited for entertaining and working from home. It can seat three comfortably (though you could probably squeeze a fourth person in). It also comes with a left-side chaise, so one of the sitters can extend their legs out for lounging.
How We Rated It:
Specifications:
59 inches in diameter, 11.5 inches wide, 32 inches high
Genuine full-grain leather
Includes left-hand-facing chaise
Best for Lounging: Geo 84” Velvet Sofa
Geo 84'' Velvet Sofa
Wayfair
$1,149 (was $1,500)
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What impressed us: The velvet fabrication and the overall sit.
We’ve featured this chic mid-century modern sofa in many of our Wayfair articles, because it’s one of the top-rated sofas on Wayfair. This velvet sofa is the Goldilocks of sofas in our opinion: It has a standard height and seat depth, so it’s a good compromise if one member of the family likes deep couches and the other prefers shallow. The Geo Velvet Sofa boasts multilayer foam cushions — plus, the back two are reversible. We found it to be one of the comfiest couches we tested. It’s ideal for lazy weekends in. One of the best features is that the couch is wrapped in performance velvet with a rub count of 100,000. It’s easy to clean, and cats avoid tearing up velvet couches because their paws just slide right off, so it’s ideal for cat owners, too.
How We Rated It:
Specifications:
34 inches in diameter, 84 inches wide, 34 inches high
Comes with two bolster pillows
Available in 16 fabric and color options
Best Budget-Friendly: Abby-Gayle 2-Piece Upholstered Sectional
Abby-Gayle 2-Piece Upholstered Sectional
Wayfair
$409
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What impressed us: The quality and hidden storage.
If you live in a small space yet have frequent guests, Wayfair’s Abby-Gayle sleeper sectional is the perfect solution for you (and at $410, it’s a steal). This convertible couch pulls out into a sleeper sofa, which can sleep one person comfortably and also includes a reversible chaise that can be opened to reveal hidden storage. We recommend stowing away guest pillows or extra blankets to free up closet space. Oh, did we mention that it has an adjustable back? You can customize it to your preferred height. As for the in-store testing, we found this couch to be pretty comfortable to sit on, but it is firmer than it looks, while the bed was easy to pull out. Plus, the chaise had more storage than we were expecting.
How We Rated It:
Specifications:
54 inches in diameter, 85 inches wide, 35 inches high
Sleeper dimensions: 44.5 inches long, 23 inches wide
When pulled out into sleeper sofa mode, the bed size is somewhere between a twin and a full.
Available in 3 fabric options
Best for WFH: Elsmere 81″ Upholstered Convertible Sofa
Elsmere 81" Upholstered Convertible Sofa
Wayfair
$1,449 (was $1,920)
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What impressed us: The appearance and smart design.
When we first took in this sleek, modern sofa, we immediately thought about how great it would look in a home office. It’s more of an upright seat, which is ideal if you sometimes sit on your couch when you’re working from home. The sofa cushions also provide a lot of support, which is fantastic for taking a little lunchtime nap à la Don Draper or for a guest’s overnight bed. The back and side cushions can be removed to give the sleeper the maximum amount of space to stretch out (though the rolled side cushion seemed like the perfect pillow in our opinion). We viewed the cream performance fabric in person, which was softer than we anticipated, and think it’d be a stylish addition to most spaces.
How We Rated It:
Specifications:
42.5 inches in diameter, 80.7 inches wide, 29.5 inches high
Removable back and side cushions
Available in 4 fabric options
Best Statement Maker: Sigma Upholstered Sofa
Sigma Upholstered Sofa
Wayfair
$2,399 (was $3,282)
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What impressed us: The modern appearance and modular design.
This modern bubble-designed sofa looks straight out of CB2. Despite browsing Wayfair’s website several times per week, we had never seen anything like this couch. This modular sofa has a low profile and cozy silhouette that inspires you to sink down and stretch out for hours fo relaxation. Its cushions are constructed out of a mix of high-density foam and inner springs, allowing the sitter (or person lying down) to get the support their hips and spine need. In the store, this sofa was arranged as a giant L. Because it’s modular, you could buy several and arrange them throughout the room. One cube could stand alone as a single seat, for example. One note: This sofa does take up more real estate, widthwise, than other sofas on this list. It’s also made out of high-performance velvet fabric, so it’s ideal for families with kids and pets.
How We Rated It:
Specifications:
36 inches in diameter, 109.5 inches wide, 27.5 inches high
Modular design
Available in 2 sizes and 3 fabric options
Best for Frequent Hosts: Barton 66.5” Upholstered Convertible Sofa
Barton 66.5'' Upholstered Convertible Sofa
Wayfair
$1,079.99
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What impressed us: The sofa’s small footprint and sleeper capabilities.
The Barton convertible sofa seemed like a popular choice when we went to Wayfair’s store. Several shoppers were testing it out. This writer’s friend also owns this sleeper sofa, which her large dog named Bumi loves to lounge on when it’s in sofa form. It has a standard depth and height, which made it comfortable to sit and lounge in. It can fit up to two people comfortably, both sitting and sleeping. The bottom piece of the sofa pulls out and requires little force, thanks to two pull fabric tabs. There’s also little-to-no possibility of pinching your hand while getting the sofa set up or putting it away, which is a big plus. Swathed in microfiber fabric, this couch is high-performance, though we do recommend putting sheets on this sleeper sofa for guests. The toss pillows are shown as doubling as bed pillows, too, if you’re in a pinch.
How We Rated It:
Specifications:
37.6 inches in diameter, 66.5 inches wide, 38 inches high
Two toss pillows included
Available in 2 fabric options
Best Luxury for Less: Anorea 83” Genuine Leather Channel Tufted Sofa
Anorea 83'' Genuine Leather Channel Tufted Sofa
Wayfair
$1,500
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What impressed us: The sofa’s appearance and stain-resistant fabric.
When you see a couch like this in the store, you automatically assume it’s going to be a minimum of $3,000. In the Wayfair store, this couch looked (and felt like) it was double the price of what it costs. We know that it’s a bit more expensive than some of the other couches that we viewed on this list, but with this iconic silhouette and tufted design, the three-seater Anorea sofa is a real statement piece. It has a low-profile that enhances the sitting experience. It would be comfortable to work from or watch TV on, though we don’t see ourselves taking a long nap on it. This sofa was designed with longevity in mind, because it’s made out of stain-resistant leather. Staining a leather couch is usually fatal, or at least means a call to the couch doctor, so though you don’t want to go out of your way to try to stain this couch, you can breathe a little easier when guests have beverages near it.
How We Rated It:
Specifications:
31.5 inches in diameter, 83 inches wide, 28.7 inches high
Made out of genuine leather
Available in 5 leather options
Best for Small Spaces: Hendrix 50.2” Velvet Loveseat
Hendrix 50.2'' Velvet Loveseat
Wayfair
$313.99 (was $799)
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What impressed us: The fun vintage-inspired silhouette and color options.
This cute little love seat is the smallest sofa we could find in the entire Wayfair store (and trust us, we looked very thoroughly). The Hendrix Velvet Loveseat, with its scalloped back, resembles a flower. We can just imagine this love seat in a woman’s dressing area 100 years ago. Although not all of us have that much space, we think this sofa could serve as the perfect pop of color in a studio apartment and serve as the place for visitors to take a load off. This love seat is on the firmer side, so if you’re planning on curling up with a book, we recommend adding some throw pillows to cushion your elbows or sides to elevate your lounging experience. There are a lot of color options to choose from, which means a shopper will be sure to find one that matches their aesthetic and makes this couch the focal point in any room.
How We Rated It:
Specifications:
27 inches in diameter, 50.2 inches wide, 27 inches high
Available in 14 fabric options
Best Modern Design: Deans 82” Upholstered Sofa
Deans 82'' Upholstered Sofa
Wayfair
$1,699 (was $2,155)
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What impressed us: The sofa’s modern silhouette and fabrication.
This bean-shaped sofa certainly stood out among the many sofa options available. Not only was the sofa’s shape visually striking, but the bouclé fabric is coveted right now. The sofa boasts an asymmetrical seat and a curved back, creating an interesting juxtaposition that inspires you to take a closer look (or perhaps, a seat). When we tested it, we were honestly surprised at how comfy this sofa was, because we had tested similar silhouettes at other retailers and found them to be a bit hard on the back. It was comfortable enough to lay across (though we would recommend adding a throw pillow) and sit for long periods of time, so this sofa manages to be both practical and stylish.
How We Rated It:
Specifications:
41.7 inches in diameter, 82.3 inches wide, 31.1 inches high
Available in 4 fabric options
Further Reading
We Tested (and Rated!) Every Sofa at West Elm — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
