‘Wow wow wow – ridiculously comfortable!’ The early customer reviews are in

The early Schplendid sofas are out in the wild, and their owners have begun to report back on Review.io…

You can spend months – years, really – thinking about how a sofa should feel, what should go inside it, how it ought to be made, and why the industry does so many things the way it does. 

But no matter how confident you are, the real test only begins when the sofas start leaving the workshop and arriving in people’s homes. So it is probably fair to say that we opened our Reviews.io page with a mixture of excitement and mild trepidation (in case you don't know, Reviews.io is a trusted, third-party review management platform that collects verified customer reviews).

Not that we want to blow our own trumpet, but at the time of writing, we have over sixty reviews, and our average is 5 stars out of 5.

Karen McMillan, who ordered a Vesper in Lola's Yellow velvet without ever sitting on one beforehand (a leap of faith we do not take lightly), wrote:

“Amazing — it is what it says on the tin… actually ordered without sitting on the vesper, just knew it was for us and it is… love love the sofa for life… extremely comfortable… just perfect.”

 

 

Juno Brennan, whose Albion now sits rather elegantly in a light-filled room, was even more emphatic:

“Wow! wow! wow! I could wax lyrical for days about how fantastic my experience with Schplendid has been. Firstly, the sofa is ridiculously comfortable and SO gorgeous. The quality is spectacular and you can really see that a lot of care has gone into making it… I am beyond delighted with my sofa and look forward to enjoying it for many many years to come.”

And Dane Dover, with admirable directness, simply said:

“Literally the best service I have ever received from a retail company. The sofa is divine. The staff are a delight… Couldn’t recommend highly enough.”

 

The things people keep noticing

What has been especially gratifying is not just the generosity of the reviews themselves, but the way certain themes recur. In no particular order, these are:

Serious comfort 

Jason Brown, writing from Cumbernauld, put it rather beautifully:

“You can feel it actually supporting you properly and the backrest has a good shape to it so you don’t slouch. Compared to the standard high street 2 seater that we used to own, sitting on this is a lot more relaxing and natural which has made a big difference to us.”

Another customer admitted, with admirable honesty:

“It’s so comfortable that I keep snoozing at night and miss half the film.”

(We are choosing to take as a compliment.)

The sense of quality 

Several people have tried, in their own words, to capture that intanglible but real difference between something that looks decent and something that really is good.

Chris Holker, in London, wrote:

“It’s extremely well upholstered and exceptionally inviting and it’s warm which is no doubt because it’s made from natural fibres and down… There’s an Edwardian sense of permanence to it completely lacking in modern furniture.”

And Mark Gettleson, who had been searching for something to replace a much-loved century-old sofa, said:

“The challenge was to find a sofa of that old-fashioned quality without paying obscene prices. Then I found out about Schplendid. They’re the real deal… The sofa is unbelievably comfortable and feels far higher quality than the price point.”

The value equation

This is perhaps the most interesting one, because it touches on something we’ve thought about a great deal from the beginning.

Andrew Tobias put it like this:

“This might well be the sofa company we have all been waiting for… supremely comfortable, reasonable lead times and really good customer service… Our Schplendid sofa was about 50% less expensive than the Makers equivalent, comfier and delivered in 5 weeks instead of 16 — was looking to add a BUT for a well rounded review, but there isn’t one to add.”

Lizzie Kamenetzky made a similar point:

“Sofas made to last but without the whopping price tag that similarly crafted sofas charge.”

Which is, in many ways, the entire idea. Read about the unique, radical pricing model that makes our sofas affordable here.

The human side of things

We are a small team, and it is fair to say that we care a lot about how the whole process feels, from first enquiry to delivery day.

So it has been particularly lovely to see that reflected back.

Beata Lisowska wrote:

“I was happy to find a company that shares my values in sustainability, using non-toxic natural materials and timeless products… the team is fab.”

Wendy Elliot mentioned the same thing in her own way:

“Friendly team who believe in their product… it was really good to meet Rohan and understand the ethos behind the company.”

And more than one person has noticed the small, slightly mysterious extra that arrives with the sofa:

“Sometimes it’s the little things…”

Quite (we won’t spoil the surprise, if you’re thinking of buying.)

Early days, but encouraging ones

Of course, these are early days, and we are under no illusion that a sofa proves itself over six weeks. The real test is use over time – but of course that’s the thing we’re most confident about. Schplendid sofas are built to last basically forever.

But there is something reassuring about seeing these first sofas go out into the world and settle in so naturally,  into family homes, London flats, country houses, rooms with dogs, rooms with children, rooms where, from the sound of it, not a great deal of television is now being successfully watched.

So, to everyone who has taken the time to write, to photograph, or simply to tell us how you’re getting on…  thank you.

It really does mean a great deal, and encourages us to carry on our mission to (nicely) shake up the sofa industry. Onwards and upwards!

 

→ See all our verified customer reviews here