If you’re on the look-out for contemporary, stylish sofas or lounge chairs, then you may want to check out Article furniture online. I’ve purchased a number of their pieces, including dining room chairs and living room sofas and chairs that really ‘speak’ to my personal style and aesthetic. The following is my honest review of our living room sofas (after 1 year of use) and lounge chairs (after 2 years of use). I’m including the pros, the cons, and a couple of maintenance tips for these and any other fabric furniture you have at home.
So grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit back in your comfiest chair or sofa, and let’s dive right in!
MY ARTICLE LIVING ROOM FURNITURE REVIEW, 1+ YEARS IN
Who or What is ARTICLE?
This is NOT a sponsored post and I am not affiliated with Article in any way, but for those of you not familiar with Article, here is a brief run-down:
Article is an online, Canadian-owned furniture store in Montreal that ships to Canada and the contiguous United States.
They specialized in contemporary, mid-century, and modern furniture at – in their own words – “nice prices” (I would agree) and provide free delivery on orders of $999 (CAD).
When comparing similar kinds of styles available online, Article is slightly pricier than IKEA, for example, but its furniture is also slightly better in both quality and style, overall.
Article does not have any showrooms, which means it’s a risk to purchase, deliver and see if you really like what they are offering before actually deciding to keep or return an item. For this reason, it took me a LONG time to commit to my first purchase, but in my experience it’s been terrific, overall (with just one not-so-good purchase; more on that later).
Okay, let’s take a look at my full Article living room furniture review:
OTIO Gray Oak Lounge Chairs, 2 Years In
PROS
Purchased two years ago, our OTIO lounge chairs were our first Article-owned pieces and I was (and remain) absolutely thrilled with them.
Here are my favourite features:
Shape:
These two are classic updates of mid-century design. They come with loads of personality on all sides with interesting shapes and angles, whether viewing them from the front, the side, or the back.
Frame:
The OTIO chair is constructed with a solid oak frame, so you know it is sturdy and solid.
Fabricated Construction:
The padded seat cushion and back are made of high-density foam, double-stitched seams, and includes an interior wooden frame. It is well-made and the fabric is made of a lovely, woven fiber.
Assembly:
When they say this is easy to assemble, believe them. I hate assembling things, but found it simple to put together. About 5 minutes for both chairs!
Comfort:
This comes down to personal taste.
If you prefer to sink into your armchairs and prefer super-soft seating, these may not be the chairs for you.
The high-density foam of these seat cushions arrive somewhat stiff, but they soften very nicely over time and I LOVE sitting in them, sipping on my coffee, or watching television.
Care:
Article’s site indicates that you should ‘spot clean only’ or use professional dry cleaners (which seems to be the advice of most furniture companies). I have yet to spot clean either of them, so I can’t comment on how well a stain can be removed.
CONS
The cats love them – a lot!
While I can’t complain too much about how much the cats love them, this does mean that I have to be extra vigilant when it comes to maintenance.
If you have cats, I do have some great tips on cat-proofing your fabric chairs (and sofas) in this blog post.
I am happy to report that after two years, and despite the cats’ love of these chairs, my cat-proofing strategy has worked well, overall.
You can see just some of the spots where their claws have gotten into the fabric and pulled out some threads (which is to be expected as they climb on or jump off).
And, of course, a lot of cat fur accumulates, so vacuuming and removing the last bits of cat fur using my Gleener re-usable lint and pill remover (affiliate link) really helps to maintain them.
OTIO Chairs – Final Assessment
Overall, I am extremely happy with our lounge chairs and hope to keep them for as long as I can. They are beautiful, they are comfortable, and they add such personality to our space.
➡️ See the OTIO Chairs in white oak, HERE.
➡️ See Gleener’s lint and de-pilling tool (good for furniture & clothing), HERE (affiliate link).
BURRARD SOFA, Walnut & Seasalt Gray, 1+ Years In
PROS
Purchased 14 months ago, our BURRARD sofa was added to our living room as we were phasing out some old and well-worn Ikea sofas, and I am happy to report that it is standing up incredibly well.
Here are my favourite features:
Shape & Frame:
A modern take on a mid-century sofa with slender arms and solid walnut legs makes this a lovely, classic piece that styles well with most other chairs or sofas.
Fabricated Construction:
The seat cushions are made with high resiliency foam with Polyester. The covers are removable for cleaning and maintenance.
The back cushions are made of a fiber down blend. These covers are also removable.
Because the back cushions are reversible, you can extend the life of them by ensuring that no one side is worn out more than any other. I often move the back cushions around as well, so that no one cushion gets overused, especially if you are prone to sitting on one end more than the other.
The fabric is a thick and lovely woven material that maintains its integrity really well – with no pilling. As a pet owner, this was a pleasant surprise.
Our cats often lounge on it and even their little claws don’t seem to create any damage when jumping on or off.
Assembly:
As with our OTIO lounge chairs, assembly was really quick – about 5-10 minutes. The only thing we had to do was attach the walnut legs and we were good to go.
Comfort:
As with our OTIO lounge chairs, the seat cushions are slightly stiff, but soften significantly over time, making this a very comfortable sofa.
If you prefer an exceptionally soft sofa that you just want to sink into (like a ‘cloud sofa’ or soft Lazy Boy sofa), then this may not be a good choice for you.
Care:
Article’s site indicates that you should ‘spot clean only’ or use professional dry cleaners. My experience? We have had a few spots to clean, including:
- Tomato sauce
- Chocolate crumbs (that have melted into the fabric!)
I use a product called Folex, a carpet and upholstery spot remover, (affiliate link).
This product works really well on most fabric furniture and only takes a few minutes to clean off the spots, no matter how long they’ve been there. Just make sure to follow their directions for optimal cleaning.
CONS
Slender Arms:
While I LOVE the slender arms, my husband prefers a larger arm for additional support. Of course, that’s an easy fix when you add a throw pillow next to it.
Leg(s) may need occasional tightening:
After a month of use, the sofa began to squeak on the left side, which gets the most use. I contacted customer care who asked me to send a video so they could better assess the issue. But before I had the chance to do that, my husband simply tightened one of the legs on the left side and the squeaking stopped. We have had to tighten the same leg once or twice since, but it’s a quick fix.
BURRARD Sofa – Final Assessment
Overall, I am extremely happy with our sofa.
It is a solid, sturdy and beautifully-designed piece with a thick fabric construction that will easily go the distance for pet-owners. It still looks exactly the same as the day we purchased it!
➡️ See the BURRARD Walnut & Seasalt Gray Fabric Sofa, HERE.
➡️ See Folex, carpet and upholstery spot remover, HERE (affiliate link)
MALSA Soft White Slipcover Sofa, 1+ Years In
***This particular colour is now no longer available on Article. They do, however, still have some of their Malsa gray slipcover sofas left, but I would suggest you avoid this sofa altogether.
In my initial “First Impressions” review, I loved the sofa for its appearance, comfort, colour and size, but over time – and with increased use – one small issue became a bigger issue that is a constant source of frustration for me.
So let me share the Con, first, as it is the biggest reason I would suggest not purchasing this sofa (but, you be the judge).
CON
Lint Magnet (with some pilling, too):
I have owned white sofas before (e.g., IKEA Ektorp in off-white) and never have I seen so much lint accumulate, ball up, and stick so fervently and SO QUICKLY to a sofa than with this one.
In my ‘first impressions’ review, I noticed a small amount of lint, but nothing to the extent that I see now.
After several months of use and normal ‘wear and tear’ the problem simply got a whole lot worse.
To keep it looking reasonably nice, I have to go through a 2-3 step process of 1) vacuuming 2) lint-removal (using 1 or 2 devices, depending on how ‘lint-y’ it is!).
Here is a view of my sofa a few weeks after it’s last full 3 step maintenance process:
If you have a fabric sofa that collects lint like this one, here are a couple of tips that may help:
After vacuuming (or sometimes instead of vacuuming), I typically use my Gleener re-usable lint remover (affiliate link) which (thankfully!) works really well for me. .
Here is our Malsa sofa after giving it a good vacuum and after using my Gleener tool.
It cleans up reasonably well, but it’s hard to get rid of all the lint each and every time as it seems to cling for dear life to our sofa fabric!
PROS
Despite my battle with lint, all of those things that I loved about this sofa initially still remain, including:
Washable Slipcovers:
The entire sofa (from back cushions, to seat cushions, to the fabric that covers the frame) is entirely removable and washable.
Shape, Size, Colour:
I love the entire look of this sofa from top to bottom. It’s got a lovely off-white colour with a blocked wooden frame that gives it a sturdy, modern aesthetic.
Comfort:
It’s softer than the Burrard and OTIO chairs which makes it easy to sink into. The seating is deep which adds to its comfort.
A possible ‘con’ for some:
Some have complained online about the ‘plastic-like’ feel of the seat cushions. If you can imagine a bean bag chair – which does not have a lot ‘spring’ to it – then you get a sense of how the seating feels. The cushions are made of a ‘feather-mix’ that makes it soft, but it does leave impressions behind when you stand up.
Although I still like the overall feel, my husband is more critical of it.
MALSA Soft White Slipcover Sofa – Final Assessment
BOTTOM LINE:
*** If I had known how labour-intensive maintenance was going to be, I would not have purchased it. ***
There are plenty of other slipcover sofas, including ones at IKEA that you would be better off exploring.
BUT, it’s a lovely, comfortable piece and while I’ve got it, I will continue to maintain it as long as I can 🙂
FINAL THOUGHTS
I hope this Article living room furniture review has been helpful to you. While I don’t recommend the Malsa slipcover sofa, I’ve been extremely happy with the BURRARD sofa and OTIO lounge chairs.
In my experience – which also includes the purchase of these stunning dining room chairs which I shared in this Dining Room Refresh Post a couple of years ago – I’ve been happy with the products I’ve purchased from Article.
Online furniture that is both beautiful and affordable is hard to come by and in my estimation, Article still remains one of the best for modern, mid-century design.
Happy decorating,
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