Joybird Review Update. Plus, Interior Define.

 

So back when....goodness, only 2019, we ordered a couch and rug online from Joybird and I wrote up a spiffy post with my initial review.  Now it's the end of 2022 and I've got more s'more words.  Since, we've moved onto Interior Define.  Strike two.

Crazy, right?  To only have a couch for just over three years?  Yeah.  Absurd.

But, I'll tell you why.  That Joybird couch is a piece of crap.  I'm wholly dissatisfied and ticked about it.  

Even Finn is sticking his tongue out at this couch.

There's even an angry Facebook group, Joybird Sucks.  And it's true.

In my original Joybird review, I pointed out how they delivered a couch to us and it was so poorly made that when they sent a follow-up questionnaire, I griped.

Shockingly, a real person replied to my griping and they sent us a replacement couch.

Full disclosure, we paid a not-small sum, in the neighborhood of three k for the whole order.  That's not an insignificant expense.  Given too that I had some serious convincing of Mike in order to go the Joybird route, the sum felt even weightier.

It didn't take long for this Joybird couch to reveal its true self as pretty piss poor.  Hence, Joybird review update.

Before, when it first arrived.

Within a month, the zipper on the chaise portion was unzipping itself.

I kept zipping it back up when, within a few more months, the zipper gave way entirely.  

That's Finn and Mike's favorite spot so naturally, it takes a major beating as neither of them are gentle with, well, anything, except me.  Awwww.

Before long, the fabric was peeling off the foam and now it's a train wreck.

Now, I'm showing you how our couch exists on a daily basis.  I have not done anything to make it worse or make it better.  I only took the throw pillows which I have since re-covered numerous times off for these photos.

In short order as well, within the same time frame of barely a couple months, the poorly designed legs were dinged up.  By themselves.  Like, they are degrading on their own for the most part.  

I was already irritated at them since they hadn't devised a way to mask the installation pocket holes.  Hugely unattractive, a glaring design detail omission that is embarrassment-worthy. 

Bump a leg with a vacuum, or just look at them, and they ding, dent, and scratch.  A wild dog on a toy chase, Finn has scratched them up with his big dog nails.  

How does it wear all the way up there where nothing touches it?

The dog-proof fabric we picked?  Nnn nnnn.  Not so.  For most of its time here, and frustratingly it's still here, I covered it with blankets to protect the supposed indestructible fabric to help keep it cleaner.  See the initial review post.

 

Sure, I'm super picky and critical but this was expensive, gosh dang it.  Buckling seam, not sure how and how are these threads underneath coming undone?  Nice legs.  Well, one is.

Sometime in late spring, after we gave up on this dumb Joybird piece of sh*t, I yanked the blankets off.  It absolutely did not take long for Finn to work his dog magic and the chaise is gross; the fabric is flattened, dull, sad, and worn the heck out.

Left, cushion that had a blanket covering it all this time.  Right, blanket covering chaise was removed in May.  So, this is how the fabric fares after only seven months.

Worst of all (maybe worst, hard to rate?), the damn thing squeaks.  Squeaks!  Insult to injury.

Mostly really though, the couch is uncomfortable.  It's bonkers firm and given that it's the main, only, piece of living room furniture we spend time on, have, in this house, it's aggravating.  It has never softened up and never gotten comfortable.  

The cushions refuse to stay in place.

Plus the seat height is a little higher than average making it weird for someone of shorter stature such as myself to get onto.  Nothin' like tripping up onto your couch.

I can't imagine what horrible shape it'd be in if I hadn't kept the cushions covered by blankets.  But what a way to live, keeping the couch covered, right?

I mean, if you like a very firm couch, this is for you but for us, no thanks.

All in all, let's just kindly say in this Joybird review update, that Joybird is junk.  Do not buy it.  Do not recommend.

It was our mistake too, my mistake, I'll own it, for purchasing from a place where you can't see the piece of furniture and sit on it.  I know these online furniture places are all the rage but we will never make that mistake again.

This thing is one foot out the door into the alley.

Now.

Onto what we did do.  Or have tried to do, rather.

Back in March, after anguished deliberation, we opted to get something else, vowing this time to actually see things in person and sit on them.

After sending many many many options to Mike, we popped over to the Interior Define store in Lincoln Park.  It helps that there's a Fatso's Last Stand over there too, side note.

Things we saw online we saw in person and didn't like until we came across one we had skipped online but liked in person:  the Tatum sectional.  Or, as we and our sales person called it, the Channing Tatum.

I'm purposefully not linking to their site, fyi.

We liked it.  We loved it, in fact.  So we ordered it.  

Super easy, the whole process.  Our salesperson was terrific, she was fun, loves This Old House like me, she advised a Chom Chom roller,* and she said Channing (never got to meet him while working on this) will arrive by September.  Ok cool, thanks!

Beautiful velvety fabric in Cobalt.  Feathered cushions, a storage ottoman, and sooooo comfortable.

 

Here's what we ordered.  Photo from Interior Define's website.

Loved it.

As I sit here late November, it's not here.  Supposedly it got to Los Angeles in August then was awaiting customs.  Has been for four months.  Yes, awaiting customs for four months.  It plainly should not take that long.

Interior Define is having a boatload (ah pun, turns out they're made in China) of issues and they refuse to be transparent, forthcoming, responsive, or helpful.  Notably, heh, there's also an Interior Define Sucks Facebook group.

Every month since we get a "it's definitely coming by the end of the month" response and they only give monthly updates.  Yet.  It's not here.  We're not sure it exists, though they have all our money.  They can't track it; they don't know where it is currently.  

....................Right?!

They did give us a five percent refund, and now another fifteen percent, based on, well, the obvious but like thousands of other disgruntled customers, we're always waiting to hear from someone who most likely won't ever reply.

They don't answer phones, don't reply to emails, and you can barely get a chat person on their site.

Based on some internet sleuthing, there are hoards of irate Interior Define customers out there in the same situation as us.  Just look at their Instagram, the comments on their posts.  Or look up Interior Define reviews online.  It's disturbing.

The sleuthing turned up info that they aren't paying vendors, laid off a huge portion of the company, and have a myriad of issues all around.

Hugely worrisome.

So we're panicked.  

We ordered the Channing Tatum the first week of March.  We're being told "with confidence" delivery is at the end of December.  Oh.  Wait.  Early January now.  Hmph.  September, then October, then November, then December, now January.  Mm hmmm.  Meanwhile we're stuck with a piece of Joybird junk that's dissolving.  

Sounds like until Interior Define straightens their sh*t out, we're sh*t outta luck on getting our delivery, Channing is a hostage.

We shall see what our next steps are.  It is beyond maddening, beyond irritating, my head is about to explode.  *sigh*

Arrrrggg, show up already, jeez louise!  Photo from Interior Define's website.

Not living the charmed life buying couches, heh!

In the interim, I wish I had some great modern couch options and trustworthy places to suggest in this price point.  We looked at the usual suspects such as Crate & Barrel, Dania, and skipped others that had bad reviews or bad customer support like West Elm.  

We either couldn't find anything we liked or they were out of reasonably priced reach.  And Mike is still a solid no on revisiting Ikea.

I suppose my TL:DR point here is that it's easy to forget to be savvy.  It happens.  It's ok.  Let's not pointlessly beat ourselves up.  Sure, we feel bad about it afterward but, ouch this is how we learn.  Ultimately my hope is that this has been helpful, in more ways than one.

So that's my review update on the ol' Joybird.  Crap.  And Interior Define?  Not a winning decision either. Sigh.

Eta:  Stay tuned and come back for an update about Joybird after I posted this review.  I'll link it here soon!  Jump to the update here!

*The Chom Chom roller is an Amazon affiliate link.  Mwah, thanks!  Please see the "boring stuff" tab for more info.