apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Liaigre Victim Anonymous (LVA) may have a chapter in your city. Or check under Madness in Minimalism (MiM).

Check your local Liaigre Victim Anonymous (LVA) chapter. Or perhaps Madness in Minimalism. And his vowel-centric name is spelled Liaigre.

better pillow may help offset the uber firm back...

It looks pretty uncomfortable too. Which part is the bad part? The back, the seat, both? Give it six months to break in; if it doesn't, sell it. If you use your couch regularly, there's no point in being miserable. You'll probably just end up sitting on other furniture instead. Otherwise, add a bunch of big fluffly pillows I guess.

Wes and Kayla are right - let it break in a bit...
...and if it's still uncomfortable in a few months - sell it on 1st Dibs.

Thank you, blueyes - spelling changes made!

Kayla it is a stunning piece, and I'll be attending a meeting of Snarks Anon today! ;]

Well, I've had it 3 years, but certainly have not broken it in... I always chose to sit across from it to admire it. The back is actually great, it's the seat that that needs to sink. Will just sitting there all the time really work? Do I let my 9 year old jump on it?

I once had a couch that I loved (aethetically)... but it was soooo uncomfortable and hard as a rock. I had to sell it because I started coming home from work and getting straight into my bed. It's so not worth it.

Another thought... is it possible to remove some of the padding in it to make it more comfortable? It might be risky, but worth it....

Lie down on it.

Furniture is meant to be used. Saving for a piece of furniture and then not using it (or not allowing your kids to use it) makes no sense at all. While I can't condone jumping on furniture, everyone in your house should be using the couch.

And did you not try sitting in this couch before buying it? What did it feel like in the store? If the one in the store was fine, this one should be too (once broken in).

Liagre is solidly made, which in your case means very well sprung. So sit on it a lot, and let your 9 year old jump on it (as evenly as possible :-) . Err, didn't you try it to check how comfortable it is before you bought it??

I've gone to Liagre a number of times to check out how comfortable the pieces I am interested in (have to confess, I don't remember seeing yours in the showroom), and have found that his things, as severe as they look, are particularly comfortable. For example, his dining chairs are my top pick because they are so very comfortable (not that I'll ever be able to afford a set, but just in case...).

As for the pillows on your sofa, it would look better if they were all the same size (larger than the green ones you have now), and more comfortable if they were down filled. It would also be more Liagre if the colours were more closely coordinated to the colour of the sofa. Maybe you can order some fabric from them and have pillows made.

Like this (this sofa is very comfortable!):

http://www.axel-vervoordt.com/avpublic/(S(xecbqx55yh3s3d55afonhs45))/home_collection/HomeCollectionCatItem.aspx?CatId=de68e40d-6026-46f3-8d23-5cd1216d8ab3&Id=ba939563-d5cc-4de9-a9e6-e226c2ce79dd

or like this:

http://www.axel-vervoordt.com/avpublic/(S(q5ph3w55lanltbizg1d1bs55))/home_collection/HomeCollectionCatItem.aspx?CatId=de68e40d-6026-46f3-8d23-5cd1216d8ab3&Id=ef5ebfe3-9d9d-4147-a2d0-d1363761e982

I was going to ask if you sat on it before purchasing too. Couches are so personal like mattresses. What is comfortable to one person is torture to another. I spent a fortune once on a couch that I bought from a picture rather than sitting on it first and it was the most expensive design mistake I ever made. It was the most uncomfortable thing I'd ever sat on, was way to low to the ground to get off of gracefully and was so deep even throw pillows couldn't save it from swallowing sitters whole.

Three years later the couch is gone and I learned a valuable (literally) lesson: Fall in love with a couch with your butt first, then with your eyes.

I don't understand why you consider yourself lucky to own a sofa that is so uncomfortable that you can't enjoy sitting on it?

Ask an upholsterer take a look at it. Maybe you can have the stuffing altered.

This might be a completely novel idea, but how about buying a sofa that already feels comfortable when you try it in the store?

get everybody who posted to come over and sit on it, bouncing gently in a wave

take a nap on it Saturday afternoon, covered with a blanket. or sat on by a cat

take a tip from the cat

notice how they often like to shot on shins and half on and half of a book

contemplate that... doze off

do things on it (all sortsa things)

I meant sit on shins... must learn to proof a post
and off not of

red faced, I retire...

Thanks everyone, I sat on an 8 foot version and assumed a ten and a half foot version would feel the same. I feel lucky about the beauty of the piece and not the comfort, and I still do because I believe there is a solution. I haven't been avoiding sitting on it, just prefer to look at it. So maybe I'll take all of the wonderful advice and sit on it a lot more.

I think you were right to assume the 8 and 10.5 foot would feel the same. Think about how many people probably sat on the one you test drove, especially if it was in a showroom! Sounds like some good use will get it where you want it comfort-wise. Happy sitting!

A Christian Liaigre sofa would have cost you $12K-$35K, made in France, and only available through Holly Hunt in the US. Any chance you were sold a knock-off? It shouldn't feel anything other than sublime. They are superbly made and engineered for comfort, even when boxy and hard-looking. The law-label underneath will show the name of the manufacturer, and I believe name Liaigre is quilted into the dust cover. If you spent that kind of money on the real thing and it isn't comfortable you should be raising hell, returning it, and buy B&B Italia or similar. If it's a copy/reproduction/knock-off, then go back to the store and compare the sit to how the floor model sits. If its not the same ask the sales person to come to your house to sit on yours to make your point, then ask for a replacement or refund. 'Breaking-in' is a misnomer, it's not a pair of shoes, that just means 'breaking down' (i.e. foam and springs, and shortening it's life). A properly made sofa will feel perfect from the first sit to the last. Unfortunately 95% of what's out there is just plain crap.

Ciara, if the seat doesn't break in even after you let your 9-year-old jump on it, I'd get a two- or three-inch memory foam mattress topper and see if your local upholsterer could either match the fabric on your sofa or complement it (perhaps with the fabric from the wheat-colored pillows). I agree with Lily -- you were perfectly okay to assume that the same sofa in different lengths would sit the same. Finally, have you contacted the store where you bought it, or Liaigre? If L.L. Bean has a lifetime guarantee, I don't see why an ultra-expensive sofa wouldn't.

it's a beautiful couch!! it's like a great pair of 4" heels you gotta break in, but you love em anyway and suffer though the blisters while you do.

yes, I paid that much, yes I got it through Holly Hunt, and yes it looks like a great pair of christian laboutins (thanx missmarie)... I'm sorry for the lame photo. And maybe I should point out there is seating for 6 in the rest of the room, so I am perfectly happy to look at it. I was just hoping for some creative suggestions (thanx madampince, I was thinking of a memory foam topper too, maybe quilted... I was worried the floor would then be too far away..)

I have a beautiful Liagre sofa from Holly Hunt as well that is not as comfortable as it should have been for the price. Anyone want to take it off my hands? And it looks like the LVA should be started, if there isn't a nearby chapter already!