I'm a big-time planner, so when I decided we needed to replace our old, tired couch with something larger and studier, I spent a good month researching sofas. This was especially necessary since I had never actually bought a couch myself, having instead either inherited one from a family member or scored a free one on the side of the road that may or may not have been infested with bugs.While shopping for my new couch, I had a list of criteria that had to be met in order for me to drop some major cash. First things first, it had to be sturdy. I needed a hardwood frame that could withstand two adults, two active kids, and a 50-pound dog. It also needed to be stain-resistant with removable covers that could be thrown in the wash whenever necessary. I also wanted to avoid leather (both vegan or real), mainly because I hate the feeling of leather seats sticking to your legs when you stand up in the hot summer months. I also needed something big; 100-inches wide or bigger.Someone on Reddit recommended Albany Park as a good place to find high-quality furniture, and I immediately loved the aesthetic of everything on the site. It's a mix of cozy mid-century modern pieces with funky color and fabric options, and while I would have loved to have gone with the mustard yellow velvet, but with two kids and a dog, I figured I should probably choose a more forgiving fabric.The couch I ended up going with is called the
Park Sectional Sofa with a left-facing orientation in the fabric option that's listed as simply "grey" but actually has a spectrum of shades ranging from white to dark grey. The kiln-dried hardwood frame is incredibly sturdy, and it has removable cushion covers that we've washed several times and have always come out spotless. I especially love the mattress-quality foam cushions that are topped with a layer of feathers. I've taken countless naps on this thing and it's just as comfortable (if not more-so) than my actual bed. Oh, and this thing is big. I included a grumpy baby in my photo for scale.I could go on and on about this sofa, but here's the last thing I'll say about it that proves how amazing it is. Our friends came over a few months after they bought it and were very impressed. The next day, they asked for a link to the website, and shortly after ended up buying the exact same one, but with black legs instead of gold. They weren't even in the market for a new couch, they just dropped two grand on one after sitting on ours for a few hours one afternoon. If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.
