10 Ways We’re (Nicely) Shaking Up the Sofa Industry
Posted posted on December 22, 2025
by Rohan Blacker, Schplendid founder
I’ve been in the sofa world for a very long time, and one thing has always bothered me: truly beautiful, well-made things seem to be reserved for a tiny slice of people at the very top. The kind of sofas that feel wonderful, last for generations and are built properly — with real materials and real craft — often cost more than a small car.
I’ve never believed it has to be that way. My dream, for years, has been simple: to bring the joy of beautifully made, long-lasting things to as many people as possible — without the eye-watering price tag.
To do that, we’ve had to rethink almost everything about how modern sofas are made and sold. Not in a ‘let’s start a fight’ way, but by deciding that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing properly, even if it’s slower, harder or more expensive for us.
Schplendid is our attempt. A small company trying to put the craft and the honesty and – yes, I’ll say it – the love back into sofa-making.
Here are ten ways we’re (nicely) shaking up the industry.
1. We build sofas to last — not landfill-fodder
Most modern sofas aren’t expected to last more than 8 to 10 years. They’re built cheaply with cheap stuff and foam blocks.
We don’t do any of that.
We use FSC-certified solid beech — real, durable hardwood. We dovetail, dowel, screw and glue our frames properly, crafted the old-fashioned way, and we guarantee them for life. We’re building sofas we hope your grandchildren will sit on.
2. We use eight-way hand-tied springs (almost nobody does this anymore)
Probably less than 1% of sofas today use this system. It’s a beautiful old craft whereevery spring is tied in eight directions with jute twine, creating a supportive, responsive “spring bed” that moves as a team.
It takes a skilled upholsterer hours — modern, cheap zig-zag springs take about a minute — but the comfort difference is just extraordinary. We think it’s worth it.
3. We upholster with natural materials, not petrochemical foam
Under the fabric of most sofas you’ll find layers of ‘dacron’ (a type of polyester fabric) and various kinds of nasty plastic foam. These take centuries to break down and trap heat like a wetsuit.
For our upholstery we use coconut husk and lambswool. They’re naturally luxurious: breathable, temperature-regulating, comfortable, and kinder to the planet. And yes, they’re more expensive for us, but they’re well worth it for you – and the planet.
4. Our cushions are filled with Italian goose down
Most sofa cushions are just blocks of foam wrapped in polyester fibre. They feel bouncy at first, then slowly deflate into a tired sort of slab.
We use the gold standard for cushion-filling: ethical Italian goose down. It’s natural, it’s breathable and just amazingly soft in a way no synthetic material can match.
True, you’ll need to give them a little plump now and then, but we do think that’s a very small price for exceptional comfort.
5. Our fabrics are the real deal — pure, woven in Tuscany and not sprayed with chemicals
We offer three pure, natural fabrics: heavyweight linen, lightweight linen, and pure cotton velvet. All woven in Tuscany, all upholstery-grade, none sprayed with stain-repellent chemicals.
We buy directly from the mill in large batches and pass them on at cost price. The industry norm is to multiply fabric margins dramatically — £50 more for the maker becomes £300–£1,000 more for the customer. We simply don’t do that.
Talking of which…
6. Our pricing model is… unusual
How do we manage to bring all these amazing ingredients and time-consuming crafts to our sofas and yet make them affordable?
No games, no waves of fake discounts, no need for you to worry if you’re getting the best deal on a particular sofa because you absolutely always are getting the best possible deal on your sofa.
8. We don’t waste your money on showrooms
Showrooms are seriously expensive — rent, rates, huge builds, mood lighting, armies of eager salespeoples. They must be paid for somewhere, and inevitably it’s in the product price.
But if you do want to try them in person, you’re very welcome to visit our warehouse in the Cotswolds. It’s not glamorous (concrete floors!) but it’s friendly and we’ll always be happy to pop the kettle on.
9. We offer 50 days to try your sofa (and free returns)
If you don’t love your sofa — if something isn’t quite right — we’ll collect it at our cost, no questions, no quibbles.
10. We’re tiny and reachable, and we look after you properly
We’re not a big sofa empire. If you phone us, a real human answers. If you email, we reply like normal people (no bots!).
And when your sofa arrives, it isn’t dropped on the pavement in a cardboard coffin. Two careful humansbring it into the very room you want(even tricky ones up or down steps), unwrap it, assemble it, steam it and make sure everything’s perfect before they leave.
Basically, we try to treat you, our Schplendid customers, the way we’d like to be treated ourselves.
A better, more Schplendid sofa world
We don’t pretend to be perfect, but after years in this industry, I’m convinced there’s a much better way to do things, so that’s what we’re trying to do with Schplendid.
The best possible sofas with the best possible ingredients, sensibly priced, and made and sold with love and care.
If that sounds up your street, then welcome – this is what Schplendid is all about.
10 Ways We’re (Nicely) Shaking Up the Sofa Industry
by Rohan Blacker, Schplendid founder
I’ve been in the sofa world for a very long time, and one thing has always bothered me: truly beautiful, well-made things seem to be reserved for a tiny slice of people at the very top. The kind of sofas that feel wonderful, last for generations and are built properly — with real materials and real craft — often cost more than a small car.
I’ve never believed it has to be that way. My dream, for years, has been simple: to bring the joy of beautifully made, long-lasting things to as many people as possible — without the eye-watering price tag.
To do that, we’ve had to rethink almost everything about how modern sofas are made and sold. Not in a ‘let’s start a fight’ way, but by deciding that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing properly, even if it’s slower, harder or more expensive for us.
Schplendid is our attempt. A small company trying to put the craft and the honesty and – yes, I’ll say it – the love back into sofa-making.
Here are ten ways we’re (nicely) shaking up the industry.
1. We build sofas to last — not landfill-fodder
Most modern sofas aren’t expected to last more than 8 to 10 years. They’re built cheaply with cheap stuff and foam blocks.
We don’t do any of that.
We use FSC-certified solid beech — real, durable hardwood. We dovetail, dowel, screw and glue our frames properly, crafted the old-fashioned way, and we guarantee them for life. We’re building sofas we hope your grandchildren will sit on.
2. We use eight-way hand-tied springs (almost nobody does this anymore)
Probably less than 1% of sofas today use this system. It’s a beautiful old craft where every spring is tied in eight directions with jute twine, creating a supportive, responsive “spring bed” that moves as a team.
It takes a skilled upholsterer hours — modern, cheap zig-zag springs take about a minute — but the comfort difference is just extraordinary. We think it’s worth it.
3. We upholster with natural materials, not petrochemical foam
Under the fabric of most sofas you’ll find layers of ‘dacron’ (a type of polyester fabric) and various kinds of nasty plastic foam. These take centuries to break down and trap heat like a wetsuit.
For our upholstery we use coconut husk and lambswool. They’re naturally luxurious: breathable, temperature-regulating, comfortable, and kinder to the planet. And yes, they’re more expensive for us, but they’re well worth it for you – and the planet.
4. Our cushions are filled with Italian goose down
Most sofa cushions are just blocks of foam wrapped in polyester fibre. They feel bouncy at first, then slowly deflate into a tired sort of slab.
We use the gold standard for cushion-filling: ethical Italian goose down. It’s natural, it’s breathable and just amazingly soft in a way no synthetic material can match.
True, you’ll need to give them a little plump now and then, but we do think that’s a very small price for exceptional comfort.
5. Our fabrics are the real deal — pure, woven in Tuscany and not sprayed with chemicals
We offer three pure, natural fabrics: heavyweight linen, lightweight linen, and pure cotton velvet. All woven in Tuscany, all upholstery-grade, none sprayed with stain-repellent chemicals.
We buy directly from the mill in large batches and pass them on at cost price. The industry norm is to multiply fabric margins dramatically — £50 more for the maker becomes £300–£1,000 more for the customer. We simply don’t do that.
Talking of which…
6. Our pricing model is… unusual
How do we manage to bring all these amazing ingredients and time-consuming crafts to our sofas and yet make them affordable?
The answer is that we have a unique and pretty radical pricing model.
Most sofa companies work on percentage margins: the pricier the material, the more they charge you, based on a multiplier.
We do it completely differently: we work to a simple fixed margin, and we don’t make any extra profit on the extras.
So if something costs us £40 more, you’ll see a price £40 higher. Nothing more.
7. We don’t do sales… ever
No Black Fridays, no “70% OFF BANK HOLIDAY MADNESS!”... No “ENDS TONIGHT (until next Tuesday)” banners.
All those so-called ‘sales’ the industry is based on only exist because prices are inflated to begin with. We set the lowest price we can, and we keep it there.
No games, no waves of fake discounts, no need for you to worry if you’re getting the best deal on a particular sofa because you absolutely always are getting the best possible deal on your sofa.
8. We don’t waste your money on showrooms
Showrooms are seriously expensive — rent, rates, huge builds, mood lighting, armies of eager salespeoples. They must be paid for somewhere, and inevitably it’s in the product price.
We don’t have any showrooms, because we’d rather put every spare penny into the sofa itself.
But if you do want to try them in person, you’re very welcome to visit our warehouse in the Cotswolds. It’s not glamorous (concrete floors!) but it’s friendly and we’ll always be happy to pop the kettle on.
9. We offer 50 days to try your sofa (and free returns)
The legal minimum return period for online purchases is 14 days. We offer 50 days, with free delivery and free returns anywhere in the UK.
If you don’t love your sofa — if something isn’t quite right — we’ll collect it at our cost, no questions, no quibbles.
10. We’re tiny and reachable, and we look after you properly
We’re not a big sofa empire. If you phone us, a real human answers. If you email, we reply like normal people (no bots!).
And when your sofa arrives, it isn’t dropped on the pavement in a cardboard coffin. Two careful humans bring it into the very room you want (even tricky ones up or down steps), unwrap it, assemble it, steam it and make sure everything’s perfect before they leave.
Basically, we try to treat you, our Schplendid customers, the way we’d like to be treated ourselves.
A better, more Schplendid sofa world
We don’t pretend to be perfect, but after years in this industry, I’m convinced there’s a much better way to do things, so that’s what we’re trying to do with Schplendid.
The best possible sofas with the best possible ingredients, sensibly priced, and made and sold with love and care.
If that sounds up your street, then welcome – this is what Schplendid is all about.