Couch is almost too good to be true. The brand-new store in Fremont makes custom couches out of eco-friendly materials with the smallest mark-up possible, cutting overhead costs by sharing space with Orange Spot gallery. Owner Ameer Radwan is motivated by a personal disgust with overcharging, a near-religious zeal for a good deal, and ambition to be known as the place to go in Seattle for a couch. We're sold.
And Radwan is serious about couches. The contact page on his website includes a personal "batphone" number, with this to say, "If it’s midnight and you simply MUST see couches because you’re watching HGTV and you’re inspired to change your whole decor — call the batphone. I’ll probably want to talk about couches at midnight too. I’m not kidding. Repeat: I’m not kidding." Think folks take him up on it?
Each couch starts with an FSC-certified wood frame and water-based adhesives that give off no volatile organic compounds. After that, the choice of style, fabric and filling is all yours, and Radwan is there to guide you and point out which material choices are recycled or organic. You'd think this service would come at a higher cost, but Couch's website lists example after example of earth-friendly, custom copies of big-box couches for less than the original — most under $1500.
Couch doesn't just do couches, but chairs and upholstered beds as well. More surprisingly Couch offers custom framing through his partnership with Orange Splot.
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Comments (10)
I wonder if they deliver to Portland...we'll be needing a couch soon and I'd love to give him the business.
Hi Diyordie,
Couchguy here. Shipping anywhere in the country can be arranged. Get in touch with me at couchseattle@gmail.com and we'll figure it out.
Maybe it's just the photo, but there's something odd about the proportions of the first one.
Oh, I am VERY sure people take Radwan up on his offer to call him to talk couches at midnight....I own a business, which doesn't have any set business hours, and silly me, I expected people to respect traditional business hours when calling...NOPE. I have gotten phone calls at 11pm and 5am from people wanting to set up a house cleaning appointment...and of all the nerve, if I don't answer, they won't leave a message...they EXPECTED someone to pick up the phone at those hours!!! I had one client, a CURRENT client who ought to know better...call me at 11pm one night..I ignored the ring...she called me again at 6am...again, ignored the ring...then she called me back at 7:55am and left a message saying "I haven't heard from you yet..." }:-0 I was fuming over the audacity.
People will be extremely rude if you let them.
Hi Palmetto,
You've got a good eye. The sectional pictured is 96" on the right hand side and only 86" on the left. Client needed it that way so they'd have room for that chair you see on the left.
hey couch guy!
I'm your neighboor in the freemont hood. Not in the market myself but i love your stuff, especially the first one.
I prefer sectionals asymetrical.
I'll be keeping you in mind if i can squeeze the banquettes i want out of my budget.
wow. this is way cool. anyone who says I’ll probably want to talk about couches at midnight too is either passionate about his craft or crazy. i'll choose to believe the former. definitely bookmarking this one!
why can't there be a CouchGuy in Australia? Wah.
I think they've relocated to downtown. The address on the site says: 1230 Western Ave, At the base of the Harbor Steps
Boo! I was told my couches would take two months, and it took about six. There was regular communication on this, but it was still frustrating. It took so long we agreed to take them one at a time so we would have something to sit on. When the loveseat came, Ameer very nearly backed his huge delivery truck into our home! We had to scream for him to stop. He got out looking pale and said "Oops, he didn't realize that overhang was there." We laughed nervously at the near miss, and my husband helped him move the couch in because he was alone with this huge couch. Over a month later, the other couch came. It is mostly the same as the other one, but they used different color linings which seemed like a small yet unprofessional detail to me. Two guys delivered it and left many huge gashes in our drywall, which they described to me as “scuffs” when I asked how it went. Excited to finally have the couch and arrange the living room, I didn’t run down to inspect the stairs before I sent them off with a $20 tip each (on top of the pre-paid deliver fee). Later, I headed toward the stairs with my Magic Eraser to deal with the scuffs. I gasped at the several large gashes in the wall. One of which was five inches long, and at least a centimeter deep. I called Couch and was told to send pictures. I did right away, but nobody contacted me for days so I called again. This time I Ameer called me, asking me why I let the delivery drivers leave without mentioning the damage? It was an irrational response and I think he quickly realized it. But I was not thrilled about being put on the defensive after paying almost $7000 including a delivery fee and patiently waiting three times longer than I was originally told! I thought that was really unprofessional. I said I hadn’t noticed at first, but regardless the damage is there. He told me he would call me in a week and let me know when someone would come fix it. He didn’t get back to me until over TWO weeks and left a message he had found a guy. At this point, I was sort of over working with Ameer. Admittedly, I did agree during our first conversation to have him to send someone to fix it. But he didn’t follow up when he said he would, and I got sick of looking at it. So I went and got the supplies and spent an afternoon fixing it myself. I had guests coming that week and I was not going to have our stairs look so ugly just so I could wait for Ameer's guy to come. And frankly I no longer trusted that Ameer really cared about my problem, so who would he send? Someone licensed? Insured? How could I know? All I need is somebody’s uninsured uncle falling down my stairs with a spackle can. Sigh. Anyway, I do like the couches a lot but I am not sure I would work with Couch again, or recommend them. I think even when you get a nice deal, this wasn’t Bargain Basement Warehouse. I did have an expectation of receiving things on time and without damage to my home. If you expect the same I suggest you think twice about ordering with them. Or at least, don’t let your delivery guys leave if they mess up your house. I guess you’re supposed to detain them indefinitely…