Buying a sofa in Thailand

[wwest5829]

Been here 9 years. First couch was vinyl (index), cracked covering after three years. Switched to cloth. My two recliners were bought 2nd hand (Bangkok Furniture). Real cowhide. Have wiped them down with mink oil and they are doing fine. My Honda C-RV had leather seat coverings, after 16 years, had them recovered with vinyl and they are doing fine after four years.

[Kenny202]

I'm not living in Bangkok anymore, up country so yes I am sure there would be a lot better choice there. I do have a vinyl covered desk chair had for 6 years and its a cracker. Vinyl but very thick and for all the world the same texture as leather. Never feels sweaty or sticky either. My mate also has a vinyl chair I think he paid more for his than mine and the vinyl is just constantly peeling off the backing

[frequentatore]

I'm wondering if I should sell my leather sofa + double Ottoman (rectangular pouf); both with thick leather. Almost new condition because we never sit on it.

BKK

[Airalee]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

Thanks for all your advise. I have a long learning curve in front of me.

I had a look at the sofa website. They look nice but I didn't see any prices. Can you give us an idea how much such a sofa cost.

 

I leave the kitchen to the experts. My gf is the cook, I only eat.

And about the floor: In the moment I have terracotta tiles on my mind. But that is just my first idea.

 

 

 

They start around 50-60k would be my guess.  I went with the highest grade leather and it was 83k for the model I posted the picture of.  That was with the usual 50% discount but I see on their Facebook page that they sometimes have blowout sales at up to 70% off.   Even if it’s above your price range, I recommend checking them out only if to give you a frame of reference for comparison purposes.  Their sofas were far more comfortable than any others I had sat on at the big box stores...enough so that I went over my initial budget.  Being that they are located in the Crystal Design Center, you can also check out SB Design Square and Modernform (plus others) while you are there.
 

Another place that looked interesting (online) is Mood and Tone furniture but I never bothered visiting their showroom as the sofa I was interested in was by order only and I’m certainly never gonna buy a sofa without being able to sit on one and test it out first.

 

If you want to shock yourself with high prices...Chanintr.com

[Saraburi121]

14 hours ago, KC 71 said:

I have got through a couple of them  

(i dont know if its the humidity or material or what)

but they end up peeling.In the end my wife said sod this and bought wood instead.uncomfortable ,but stops me slouching for too long i guess !????

After going through some rather pricy furniture did the same as KC 71 and went with wood.  We modified some of the firm sleeping mats like you can find at Lotus or Big C to fit the sofa plus a few pillows and it pretty comfortable.  Lady down the road does an awesome job customizing the  sleeping mats to fit and if they stain or wear out just replace for minimal price.  Quality and comfortable furniture is hard to find here. 

[KC 71]

I wanted to get one of those comfy massage chairs, but after that guy got frazzled i changed my mind !

[hotchilli]

22 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

They just seem to cover like a big pillow rather that doing proper stitching. Any ideas? If the vinyl is strong enough to get another 5 years I may consider it

It really depends on the intricacy of your sofa, if it has lots of stitching, buttons, edges etc then you need to look at a professional to re-upholster.

A local shop will just use a cheap drape method.

Paying 45k for a sofa was madness to start with, material is always thin and poor quality.

If you can find a decent upholsterer go for that option, if not buy one for under 10k and replace it when that cracks. 

[digger70]

22 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Been her about 6 years and 5 years ago bought a nice leather sofa from Index, about 45k baht. Was the only comfortable one we could find. They seem to like sleeping and sitting on cement here. Anyway, it has deteriorated pretty badly in 5 years with only fairly light use. the leather seems to be that thin glued onto a backing. So I have decided I wont be outlaying that kind of money again hoping for quality.

 

The vinyl sofas seems to be the go here but the vinyl while it does have nearly the feel of leather doesn't seem very strong. Has anyone had any experience with them?

I also could recover ours in vinyl at a reasonable price. It is still very strong and comfortable and we like the design. Recovering in leather seems to be out of the question.

We've had a look at a few upholsterers where we live and they do an ok job, looks strong enough but the workmanship isn't great. They just seem to cover like a big pillow rather that doing proper stitching. Any ideas? If the vinyl is strong enough to get another 5 years I may consider it

 

 

You want something Good? Pay.

[Kenny202]

46 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

It really depends on the intricacy of your sofa, if it has lots of stitching, buttons, edges etc then you need to look at a professional to re-upholster.

A local shop will just use a cheap drape method.

Paying 45k for a sofa was madness to start with, material is always thin and poor quality.

If you can find a decent upholsterer go for that option, if not buy one for under 10k and replace it when that cracks. 

 

Madness? Like 45k is nothing. Its only a small modular 3 seater. That's nearly $2000 in my money and that would buy a quality sofa back home. Why should it be more here when the labor and materials are so much cheaper? Some of you blokes make the most pompous, pontificating remarks. And paying more money here doesn't always guarantee quality, it just means you have thrown away more money 

[Olmate]

4 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

 

Madness? Like 45k is nothing. Its only a small modular 3 seater. That's nearly $2000 in my money and that would buy a quality sofa back home. Why should it be more here when the labor and materials are so much cheaper? Some of you blokes make the most pompous, pontificating remarks. And paying more money here doesn't always guarantee quality, it just means you have thrown away more money 

Think that,s what poster was implying bloke!

[Techno Viking]

27 minutes ago, digger70 said:

You want something Good? Pay.

 

 

That would be an awesome addition to my cigar room.

[hotchilli]

17 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

 

Madness? Like 45k is nothing. Its only a small modular 3 seater. That's nearly $2000 in my money and that would buy a quality sofa back home. Why should it be more here when the labor and materials are so much cheaper? Some of you blokes make the most pompous, pontificating remarks. And paying more money here doesn't always guarantee quality, it just means you have thrown away more money 

That's exactly what I meant, paying 45k for cheap rubbish... ie sub-standard materials.

However shop around at some stores, not malls or fancy furniture stores you can find good quality at a fraction of the price.

Stay away from them like the plague, find some real Thai stores like I did, I bought a good sized 3 seater, leather of good thickness, solid construction, nice design. I paid 15K 6 years ago.

It gets used every day and is a good now as the day I bought it... 

I live in a Thai town and get Thai prices.

I wasn't having a pop at you... certainly not being pompous or pontificating at you purchase.

[jomtienisgood]

On 12/2/2020 at 8:03 AM, Kenny202 said:

Been her about 6 years and 5 years ago bought a nice leather sofa from Index, about 45k baht. Was the only comfortable one we could find. They seem to like sleeping and sitting on cement here. Anyway, it has deteriorated pretty badly in 5 years with only fairly light use. the leather seems to be that thin glued onto a backing. So I have decided I wont be outlaying that kind of money again hoping for quality.

 

The vinyl sofas seems to be the go here but the vinyl while it does have nearly the feel of leather doesn't seem very strong. Has anyone had any experience with them?

I also could recover ours in vinyl at a reasonable price. It is still very strong and comfortable and we like the design. Recovering in leather seems to be out of the question.

We've had a look at a few upholsterers where we live and they do an ok job, looks strong enough but the workmanship isn't great. They just seem to cover like a big pillow rather that doing proper stitching. Any ideas? If the vinyl is strong enough to get another 5 years I may consider it

 

 

Indeed, recovering seems out of order, I had mine recovered, in leather, 4 years ago; 48000Thb, Threw it out last week. Indeed leather doesn't seem to be the same quality unless obviously it suffers ia lot more due to the climate and proximity of the beach here.. 

[jomtienisgood]

23 hours ago, scorecard said:

Or fly to your home country, buy a perfect article and ship it here.

 

Easy.

And pay double in transport and import taxes. 5555555

[NancyL]

What do you expect from a 45,000 baht sofa that purports to be "genuine leather"?  We bought one at Home Pro, a sofa sectional with a chaise section for 70,000 baht that has "leather" on the parts that you touch and vinyl on the parts that you don't.  While we were shopping, we found a similar chaise/sofa sectional Lazyboy at Boonthavon (known to be expensive and upscale) for 120,000 baht that had a recliner.  I thought Hubby would like that one, but he said no, he could put his feet up on the coffee table while I used the chaise portion of the sofa and we'd save 50,000 baht.

 

Even so, I'm not a big fan of leather/vinyl in warm climates and when the cats started to show interest in sharpening their murder mitts on the leather (horrors!) I bought a couple of twin bed duvets to drape over the sofa to make it more comfortable for sitting and to keep the cats from working over the top of the sofa.  And it gives Hubby a nice bed when I toss him out of the bedroom when he snores after drinking too much.

[Kenny202]

1 minute ago, NancyL said:

What do you expect from a 45,000 baht sofa that purports to be "genuine leather"?  We bought one at Home Pro, a sofa sectional with a chaise section for 70,000 baht that has "leather" on the parts that you touch and vinyl on the parts that you don't.  While we were shopping, we found a similar chaise/sofa sectional Lazyboy at Boonthavon (known to be expensive and upscale) for 120,000 baht that had a recliner.  I thought Hubby would like that one, but he said no, he could put his feet up on the coffee table while I used the chaise portion of the sofa and we'd save 50,000 baht.

 

Even so, I'm not a big fan of leather/vinyl in warm climates and when the cats started to show interest in sharpening their murder mitts on the leather (horrors!) I bought a couple of twin bed duvets to drape over the sofa to make it more comfortable for sitting and to keep the cats from working over the top of the sofa.  And it gives Hubby a nice bed when I toss him out of the bedroom when he snores after drinking too much.

 

That's why these sort of things are so expensive here even though made locally for 2000 baht. So many suckers willing to throw their money away. What an ignoramus 

[OneMoreFarang]

28 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

That's why these sort of things are so expensive here even though made locally for 2000 baht. So many suckers willing to throw their money away. What an ignoramus 

I think the problem with those suckers it that they don't know any better.

I.e. when I build a PC I know the brands and the parts and the difference and I can judge what is good or bad quality.

 

But with sofas or furniture in general I just don't know. Obviously the most important property of cheap furniture is to make it look good - for all the suckers who don't know better. And on the other hand some people think that if they spend a fortune than the product they buy must be really good - yeah, sure.

I am sure it takes experience to be able to recognize the differences. And most of us don't buy new sofas every couple of weeks and experience how good or bad they are - just like computers.

We, the suckers, rely on experts, who we hopefully can trust, to buy something good for a reasonable price.

[digger70]

4 hours ago, Techno Viking said:

 

 

That would be an awesome addition to my cigar room.

Yea it would be ,  ????

[tinca tinca]

On 12/2/2020 at 8:10 AM, CharlieH said:

Absolutely, take a look.......

One sweats like ell on these kinda seats or sofas !!!!

[CharlieH]

4 minutes ago, tinca tinca said:

One sweats like ell on these kinda seats or sofas !!!!

You may, never bothered me in an air con room, in that chair or the other sofa.

[tinca tinca]

Just now, CharlieH said:

You may, never bothered me in an air con room, in that chair or the other sofa.

no good for me it is that simple air on or not

 

[jomtienisgood]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I think the problem with those suckers it that they don't know any better.

I.e. when I build a PC I know the brands and the parts and the difference and I can judge what is good or bad quality.

 

But with sofas or furniture in general I just don't know. Obviously the most important property of cheap furniture is to make it look good - for all the suckers who don't know better. And on the other hand some people think that if they spend a fortune than the product they buy must be really good - yeah, sure.

I am sure it takes experience to be able to recognize the differences. And most of us don't buy new sofas every couple of weeks and experience how good or bad they are - just like computers.

We, the suckers, rely on experts, who we hopefully can trust, to buy something good for a reasonable price.

Maybe find a way to build a sofa with IC's, PC boards, etc.  ???????????? 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, jomtienisgood said:

Maybe find a way to build a sofa with IC's, PC boards, etc.  ???????????? 

I am sure I will find some inspirations on Google ????

 

[jomtienisgood]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I am sure I will find some inspirations on Google ????

 

Looks pretty good actually... I like the blue lights in there, must be very romantic.....

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

I haven't read every post in detail, but I don't think anyone's mentioned one of the most important factor i.e. mold growth. If you're going to invest ฿฿฿฿฿ in something to plonk your bones on, you don't want to be keeping it in a room with ambient, moisture laden air, the humidity alone will kill off your investment in a few short years, maybe sooner. Mold doesn't care if the product is expensive or inexpensive. Mold will also grow on the inside of the sofa, so don't think it's not there just because you can't see it. Air conditioning, 24/7, is crucial. I keep my private office humidity controlled 365 days a year, there's just too much important stuff in the room, mold will grow on anything organic.

 

 

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

39 minutes ago, jomtienisgood said:

Looks pretty good actually... I like the blue lights in there, must be very romantic.....

Blue light is horrible. Just looks at bars which, for whatever strange reason, use that. Red light is a lot better for the romance.

 

[stubuzz]

15 hours ago, Saraburi121 said:

After going through some rather pricy furniture did the same as KC 71 and went with wood.  We modified some of the firm sleeping mats like you can find at Lotus or Big C to fit the sofa plus a few pillows and it pretty comfortable.  Lady down the road does an awesome job customizing the  sleeping mats to fit and if they stain or wear out just replace for minimal price.  Quality and comfortable furniture is hard to find here. 

How much are the wooden sofas like the one in the picture?

[jomtienisgood]

23 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Blue light is horrible. Just looks at bars which, for whatever strange reason, use that. Red light is a lot better for the romance.

 

Yes indeed, and so much more sexy...Looks like burning in hell..lol

[OneMoreFarang]

11 minutes ago, jomtienisgood said:

Yes indeed, and so much more sexy...Looks like burning in hell..lol

Now that reminds me of Angel Witch ...

[Airalee]

23 hours ago, NilSS said:

I haven't read every post in detail, but I don't think anyone's mentioned one of the most important factor i.e. mold growth. If you're going to invest ฿฿฿฿฿ in something to plonk your bones on, you don't want to be keeping it in a room with ambient, moisture laden air, the humidity alone will kill off your investment in a few short years, maybe sooner. Mold doesn't care if the product is expensive or inexpensive. Mold will also grow on the inside of the sofa, so don't think it's not there just because you can't see it. Air conditioning, 24/7, is crucial. I keep my private office humidity controlled 365 days a year, there's just too much important stuff in the room, mold will grow on anything organic.

 

 

 

 

So true.  Even when I used to head back to the US for a couple months at a time, I would leave my aircon on while I was gone (albeit at a higher than normal temperature) just for that reason.  The thousand baht per month bill (normally about 3000) was good insurance in my mind.  The last thing I want is to have a moldy mattress bothering my sinuses while I sleep.