10 of the best sofa brands for families in 2023

For more household accessories, take a look at the best fridge freezers for families. Rather than a sofa, you may be looking for a nursing chair for your baby's nursery. Or, maybe you want to make your living room a safe place, in that case, the best playpens and best stair gates might be worth having a look at too.

What to consider when choosing a sofa for your family

Delivery details – If you've paid a large amount for your sofa, you may be reluctant to pay extra for your sofa to be delivered. Although some companies do offer free delivery, a lot of them do charge extra. Price is not the only important thing to consider. As some sofas are made to order, they can take a very long time to be delivered. If you need a sofa urgently make sure you go for a brand with quick delivery, as some have lead times of anything from weeks to months.

Guarantee – "Protection plans and reliable quality guarantees are a great bonus when picking your family sofa, as they add a level of reassurance meaning you can sit back and relax," explains interior design expert Sophie Page from Fable & Plumb. All the sofa brands listed come with different length guarantees, so it's worth making sure you go with a brand that has a fairly long one. It's important to note that the guarantees are usually only for the frame and springs and do not cover fabric stains or rips.

Removal of old sofa – Some sofa companies offer removal services for your old sofa, although most do charge an extra fee. However, it's a great service both for convenience and sustainability as it means your old sofa will be recycled and disposed of responsibly (or in some cases even given to charity or upcycled for use by someone else).

Fabric – "When it comes to finding the perfect fabric for your sofa, it's important to balance aesthetic with practicality. For example, whilst you might love the idea of a white sofa, pets with dark coats might lead to some frustration as you constantly have to hoover away stray hairs. Equally the risk of kids' mucky fingers or that Friday night wine might feel like they limit your sofa colour choices," says expert Sophie Page. However you don't have to limit yourself on this if you choose a washable fabric and get added protection such as scotch guard.

Fabric protection – As previously mentioned, guarantees are great but as they don't cover the fabric, when it comes to buying a family sofa it's a very good idea to pay a little extra (usually a few hundred pounds) to get a fabric protection plan that covers you for stains and spills which are inevitable with pets and kids. To keep your sofa in good condition for longer, take a look at our round up of the best cordless vacuums, most include special upholstery tools to clean your sofa.

Size – This is quite obvious, but when choosing your sofa consider whether it will comfortably fit your whole family and guests (depending on how often you would have them round). It's also vital to plan how it will fit in your house and not buy one too large. Planning out your living room online to see how it would look may be a good idea.

Style – Style is simply down to preference, there are so many sofas to choose from so you can be sure to find a sofa that fits your home's style, from mid-century to Chesterfield, contemporary, traditional and country. However, some styles are naturally more challenging in a family setting: those with lots of sharp angles and edges could result in more bumps and scrapes for younger kids. A softer sofa with lots of padding and fabric may be a better choice.

Best sofa brands for families in 2023 at a glance

• Best sofa brand for a curated collection: John Lewis, from £659
• Best sustainable sofa brand: Made.com, from £365
• Best sofa brand for fast delivery: Wayfair, from £140
• Best sofa brand for fabric protection: SCS, from £299
• Best sofa brand for value: Dunelm, from £199
• Best sofa brand for remodelling: Furniture Village, from £475
• Best sofa brand for brands you know: DFS, from £349
• Best sofa brand for bespoke sofas: Sofas and Stuff, from £1,566
• Best sofa brand for heritage design: Darlings of Chelsea, from £1,365
• Best sofa brand for pet-friendly sofas: Sofology, from £599

Best family sofa brands to buy from

1. John Lewis, from £659

– Best for a curated selection

Free delivery: Yes| Guarantee: 15 year frame | Sofa recycling service: Yes from £44.97 | Fabric protection: No

John Lewis may not have as big a selection of sofas as some of the other brands in this list but this actually helps you narrow down your choice quickly if you're feeling overwhelmed by choice. Some sofas can be delivered within 7 days, but others can take around 10 weeks or more. Therefore, if you're after a sofa quickly, you need to check the specific lead time and estimated delivery date for each sofa.

One of the great things that John Lewis does offer (that not a lot of others do) is free delivery. The delivery men will also assemble the sofa in a room of your choice and take the packaging away too.

John Lewis offers a 15 year frame guarantee, however, one downside is that there's no option to add fabric protection which can be useful for a family sofa. John Lewis' sofa recycling service is pretty similar to others, you can pay an extra fee (from £44.97) to get your old sofa picked up and recycled.

If you need something to fit an unusual or odd-shaped space, or if you just fancy yourself as an interior designer, John Lewis's 'design your own' section allows you to buy different modular parts of a sofa and put them together and make your ideal family sofa.

Pros: Free delivery, 15 year guarantee, offers a sofa recycling service (for an extra cost), design your own service
Cons: No fabric protection, some sofas take a long time to be delivered

Available from: John Lewis

2. Made.com, from £365

– Best for sustainability

Free delivery: No | Guarantee: 10 year frame | Sofa recycling service: List on Geev for someone else to buy| Fabric protection: No

Although Made.com sells sofas of all kinds, they specifically highlight the sofas that are made from recycled materials and traceable timber, allowing you to make sustainable choices when buying your sofa. Their sofa recycling option is also great for sustainability as they encourage old sofas to be used again before they are broken down for recycling.

Made.com has partnered with zero waist solution Geev to give customers an unusual offering. When you purchase a sofa from Made.com you can choose a charity of your choice. If you then post an ad for your old sofa on Geev, Made will donate 10% of your order value to your chosen charity. Not only will you help a good cause, hopefully someone on Geev who wants your old sofa will arrange delivery or come and pick it up.

The frame guarantee from Made is slightly shorter than others at only 10 years, and like John Lewis they don't offer fabric protection. Unfortunately the delivery isn't free either, that'll set you back an extra £39. As for delivery time, it varies depending on the sofa, and could be as short as 5 days or as long as 10 weeks or more. If you want a sofa quickly you can look for their express dispatch sign to signal they will be delivered quicker.

Parent tester Ruth, mum of 3 children, aged 2 and 8 month old twins bought a Chesterfield sofa and sofa bed from Made and said, "We love them both, they were a great price and have stood up to good wear and tear. Delivery was very quick, within a week and there was no fuss or hassle and the delivery men were really helpful".

Pros: Great sustainability with Geev sofa upcycling and the selection of sofas made from recycled materials
Cons: No free delivery, only a 10 year guarantee and no fabric protection

Available from: Made.com

3. Wayfair, from £140

– Best for fast delivery

Free delivery: Yes| Guarantee: No | Sofa recycling service: No| Fabric protection: No

Wayfair has a huge selection of sofas to choose from – over 3,000 – so you'll surely be able to find one perfect for you and your family. But that's not the best thing about buying your sofa from Wayfair: speed and convenience are where this retailer really stands out. Delivery is free and it's generally fast – you could be sitting on your new sofa in just a couple of days. However, do be sure to look as Wayfair is like a marketplace: sofas come from different suppliers and may have widely varied delivery times.

Although there's a large selection and great delivery service, Wayfair doesn't offer a guarantee with purchase, but you can buy protection plans for an extra cost. They also don't have a sofa recycling service or fabric protection.

Wayfair may not have some of the benefits that the other brands offer, but you will find that you can get some great priced sofas and a whole array of different designs, colours and fabrics that may be harder to find elsewhere. You may find it's worth paying extra for a protection plan in exchange for a less expensive sofa.

Pros: Free and fast delivery (usually), huge selection and good value
Cons: No guarantee, no sofa recycling service and no fabric protection

Available from: Wayfair

4. SCS, from £299

– Best for fabric protection

Free delivery: No | Guarantee: 20 year frame | Sofa recycling service: No| Fabric protection: 12 month guarantee

The best thing about buying a sofa from SCS is the long guarantee: most of the other brands in this list offer 5-15 years, whereas SCS offers 20 years, the same as Furniture Village. However, SCS also has a 12 month guarantee protection on fabric sofas too, which can be extremely handy when buying a family sofa where there's sure to be spills and accidents. On top of that, SCS offers 5 year protection 'sofa guard' plans you can purchase for an extra cost.

They don't offer free delivery or a sofa recycling service unfortunately, but the extra protection might make the delivery costs and sofa removal cost worth it. The delivery window can be quite long with a minimum 3 week wait time, often quite a lot more.

Parent tester Zoe, who has a baby on the way any day, bought their sofa from SCS (pictured above) and said, "We added the extras to make it childproof and it all came to a reasonable price and was ready and delivered to us 4 weeks earlier than they told us it would be. My other half has already tested out how wipeable it is, the melted chocolate wiped off incredibly easily."

Pros: 20 year guarantee, and 12 month fabric protection
Cons: No free delivery, no sofa recycling service and delivery time tends to be fairly long

Available from: SCS

5. Dunelm, from £199

– Best for value

Free delivery: No| Guarantee: 10 year frame | Sofa recycling service: No | Fabric protection: No

Dunelm is a great place to buy your family sofa if you don't want to spend too much but still want excellent quality materials. They also offer quick delivery, just a couple days for some models. However, as with all, each sofa delivery time may be different depending on stock. Delivery is not free but it is only £9.95 so may be worthwhile in order to get great value sofas and quick delivery.

Dunelm also offers a 10 year frame guarantee, but there's no fabric protection option. The other downside is that they don't collect or recycle your old sofa, so you'll need to organise that yourself.

Pros: Great value sofas and cheap delivery
Cons: Only a 10 year guarantee, no sofa recycling service and no fabric protection

Available from: Dunelm

6. Furniture Village, from £475

– Best for remodelling

Free delivery: No| Guarantee: 20 years frames, springs and webbing | Sofa recycling service: Yes| Fabric protection: No

If you want to remodel or plan out your living room before buying a sofa to see how it will look and fit, Furniture Village has a very useful room planner feature to really help you envisage your new sofa in your house.

Much like SCS, they also offer a 20 year guarantee, however they don't offer fabric protection. You can pay extra for a 5 year guardsman protection plan for your sofa. Unfortunately the delivery is from £69 but this does include delivery to a room of your choice and assembly. The delivery time can be quite long with a minimum of 28 day lead time.

Furniture Village has partnered with Speedy Clear who offer next day collection of your old sofa and they will recycle it responsibly. However, this does come at an extra cost, £55 for 1 item and £45 for each for additional items.

Parent tester Vicky, mum of a 9 year old and 1 year old, bought a grey corner sofa from Furniture Village and said, "Ordering was super quick and easy, we ordered it from the store and the delivery was delayed once and overall took about 8 weeks from ordering to being delivered to my living room. We did purchase extra protection cover although we haven't needed to use it."

Pros: 20 year guarantee, sofa recycling service, useful online remodelling feature
Cons: No free delivery, no fabric protection and fairly long delivery times

Available from: Furniture Village

7. DFS, from £349

– Best for brands you know

Free delivery: No | Guarantee: 15 years frame| Sofa recycling service: Yes | Fabric protection: No

DFS is a great place to buy branded sofas, with collections from famous names like Joules, French Connection, Dwell and more alongside its own range. With so many sofas available and regular sales and offers, it's likely you'll be able to find a sofa to suit your family, branded or non-branded.

Unfortunately, delivery is an extra cost (£79, including installation of the sofa). Much like SCS are partnered with Speedy Clear, DFS works with Clearbee to offer a sofa disposal and recycling service, however, this does come at an extra cost. DFS offers a 15 year frame guarantee and you can purchase protection plans if you're willing to spend more. The delivery time tends to be weeks or months rather than days though, so if you want a sofa quickly this may not be the best choice.

Parent tester Charlotte, mum of 4 year old, 19 month old and 2 dogs bought their corner sofa (pictured above) from DFS with an additional protection plan and said, "It was such an easy process; buying and discussing colour options, fabric etc. The delivery was slightly lengthy at 12-14 weeks though. The aftercare was great, any scratches or stains we have been able to ring up and have someone come and repair it". Parent tester Dimple, mum of 18 month old baby also bought her French Connection sofa from DFS (pictured above) and said, "Everything has been amazing, we had 2 call outs to fix small things and they did it straight away. The entire experience has been fantastic".

Pros: 15 year frame guarantee, sofa recycling service and sofas from lots of well-known brands
Cons: No free delivery, no fabric protection and fairly long delivery times

Available from: DFS

8. Sofas and Stuff, from £1,566

– Best for bespoke sofas

Free delivery: No| Guarantee: 15 years frame and springs | Sofa recycling service: Yes | Fabric protection: No

Sofas and Stuff was created to give customers exactly what they want: you can choose any fabric at all for your sofa so it's truly designed and chosen by you for your family. They are classically British and bespoke, handmade in Britain. However, this quality and bespoke service is reflected in the price, with sofas starting from £1,331, so this is a premium option.

Sofas and Stuff also works with Clearbee the same way as DFS for old sofa disposal and recycling services at an extra cost. Despite the high price point, delivery is not free, starting from £89. They do offer sofa storage if you're not ready for it yet, free for 3 weeks and then £20 per week onwards. Due to the sofas being bespoke, the delivery time is rather long, as the sofa has to be handmade to order, so you may have to wait a few months. There is a 15 year guarantee on the frame and springs.

Sofas and Stuff have an eco pledge and are working towards it by offering customers Quallofil Blue cushions made from recycled ocean-bound plastic to help prevent plastic entering the sea.

Although a pricey option, if you want a bespoke, handmade sofa you may feel it's worth the money.

Pros: 15 year frame and spring guarantee, sofa recycling service, choose any fabric, eco pledge
Cons: High price point, no free delivery, no fabric protection and very long delivery times

Available from: Sofas and Stuff

9. Darlings of Chelsea, from £1,365

– Best for heritage design

Free delivery: No| Guarantee: 10 year construction| Sofa recycling service: Yes| Fabric protection: No

Darlings of Chelsea is quite similar to Sofas and Stuff in offering sofas that are handmade in England. Thanks to this, all their sofas have a classic heritage design and would make a living room look nothing less than regal. Due to the sofas being handmade, this is reflected in the cost, however, they're still slightly cheaper than Sofas and Stuff.

Unfortunately, delivery is not free, starting from £75, and it can take quite a few weeks or even months. They will deliver the sofa to a room of your choice, assemble it and take the packaging away for you. They also offer a 10 year construction guarantee, which is slightly shorter than other brands but you can purchase 5 year protection on upholstery for an extra fee.

Darlings of Chelsea are partnered with the British Heart Foundation and will take your sofa away for free.

Pros: Sofa recycling service, handmade and classically English looking sofas
Cons: No free delivery, only 10 year guarantee, no fabric protection and long delivery time

Available from: Darlings of Chelsea

10. Sofology, from £599

– Best for pet-friendly sofas

Free delivery: Yes | Guarantee: 20 year frame| Sofa recycling service: Yes | Fabric protection: No

Sofology is great for people with pets thanks to the pet-friendly sofa range, made from fabrics that are more resistant against pet claws. They also donate £5 to animal charity Blue Cross for every pet sofa order.

Another great thing about Sofology is that delivery is free and included in the price of the sofa. However, the delivery times can be fairly long, ranging from weeks to months. They offer a 20 year frame guarantee, the same as SCS and Furniture Village but longer than other brands such as DFS and Dunelm.

Sofolofy works with Clearbee to get your old sofa taken away for an extra cost.

Parent tester Louisa, mum of 2 year old boy, bought 2 brown leather sofas from Sofology (pictured above) and said, "Both are still going strong and are very comfy. We ordered online which was simple and straightforward. I think the lead time was around 8-10 weeks and it was delivered on time".

Pros: Free delivery, 20 year guarantee, sofa recycling service, pet resistant materials
Cons: No fabric protection and fairly long delivery

Available from: Sofology

Comparison of sofa brands

Compare all the brands quickly to help you identify the key differences between the different sofa brands.