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We’ve had our West Elm sectional a year and half now. During that time I have received a number of questions about it. How’s it holding up? Is it pet friendly? What kind of fabric did you get? Would you buy it again? I thought it would be helpful to write a West Elm sectional review post.
For reference, our sofa is the Shelter Two-Piece Terminal Chaise in Performance Velvet Dove Gray.
What We Like
I’ll start out by saying we are not easy on our sofa. We use our sofa every day and we have two dogs that also are big fans of the sofa.
The Fabric
I was really hesitant about buying velvet fabric for a sofa (would it wear well? would it be hard to clean?), but I am happy to report it has been very easy to clean! Wine, chocolate, dog messes, and mud have all very easily been removed from the fabric with a spot clean from a damp cloth. I have honestly never used soap on it because I have not felt the need. The performance velvet is key, especially for a sofa that is getting a lot of use. I also like it because it has a lower pile than traditional velvet.
The fabric vacuums really easily with the upholstery attachment, which is a major plus when you have two dogs that shed constantly! That combined with stains coming out easily means it’s pet friendly in my book! Ultimately, the fabric has worn very well and looks pretty much like it did when we the sofa was first delivered.
The Size & Shape
We love the size of the sofa! We can all (pups included) lay down together comfortably together for movie night. It is also very nice for hosting people at our house – it seats 6 adults pretty comfortably.
The seat cushion is extra deep, which we like, especially for lounging. It is the perfect depth for kicking your feet up.
We love that the chaise portion of the sofa is a “terminal” chaise instead of a traditional chase, it makes the sofa act more like a traditional L-shaped sofa (i.e. more seating), while still having a chaise end. This is our dogs’ favorite part of the sofa, I’m not sure we can ever buy a sofa without a chaise now.
The Price Point
The price of the sofa is reasonable (in my opinion) for a sofa of the size, that is modern, clean-lined and goes with different types of decor without being a traditional bulky sectional. The price does vary depending on the fabric you select.
What We Would Change
The Cushion Fill
The seat and back cushions are poly fiber fill. I knew this when we purchased it. The back cushions have a tendency to flatten, especially in areas where we sit regularly. It is easily fixed by fluffing the cushions, which I try to do once a week when I vacuum the sofa.
In hindsight I wish we would have picked a sofa with down fill or down blend, but this would have made the price we spent on a sofa significantly more. At the time we were not willing to spend much more than we did, so it was a known trade-off.
The Seat Back Height
The seat back height is pretty low. This honestly does not bother me, but I am on the shorter side at 5’4″. The lowness of the seat back height does bother Nathan, who is around 6′. He uses a throw pillow behind his head/shoulders on top of the back of the sofa and that seems to work for purposes of relaxing and TV watching.
Would We Buy It Again?
Yes, we would! Our West Elm sectional has been a great sofa for us for the past year and half and I see it being good for us for years to come. Despite the cushion fill and seat back height we would buy it again. We have figured out easy work arounds to make those two aspects work better for us. Honestly, with a little fluffing to the back cushions the sofa looks just about how we it did when we bought it, a definite positive!
Sara
November 17, 2019Hi Allie!! Thank you for this review – it’s super helpful! I’m curious – is this couch comfortable? You didn’t mention comfort in the post. I am considering getting this exact same couch, but am looking for something super cozy!
Would love your input! It would be super helpful!
-Sara
Allie
November 18, 2019It is comfortable! I think it’s a good lounging couch. The seat cushions aren’t super fluffy, they are a tad more firm, but the depth of the couch still makes it very comfortable. Honestly if the seat cushions were less firm I’m sure they would show a lot more wear so I am alright with it. Hope that helps!
Steve
November 18, 2019Hi! My wife and I are looking at this exact couch (fabric the same and everything). You even have our rug. 🙂 I was wondering, what does the construction feel like? Is it heavier? Does it feel sturdy? I’m leery seeing many negative reviews out there of West Elm, but this couch looks nice. Thanks!
Allie
November 18, 2019The construction itself seems pretty sturdy to me! The spot that is most frequently sat in creaks the tiniest bit occasionally, but nothing that bothers me. Really the only complaint I have construction-wise are the back cushions where we sit a lot get squished and require fluffing, but that’s true for most non-down filled cushion. Hope that helps!
Marly Arturo
May 24, 2020Thank you so much for the review. Buying a couch seems so daunting, so this was helpful 🙂
Allie
May 26, 2020It can be a daunting experience because there are so many options! Glad this was helpful.
meliss
July 25, 2020Hi there, I also have a West Elm with performance velvet – and a giant dog! I find the material fairly easy to clean like you said, but wondering if you do anything special to eliminate dog smell? Am thinking of removing my cushion covers and dry cleaning…
Allie
July 26, 2020I try to sprinkle baking soda on the couch, focusing on the areas that have the most odor. I let it sit for around 30 minutes and then vacuum it up! I think it helps quite a bit. I do this maybe 2 times per year.
Renee Jenkins
September 26, 2020Hi Meliss & Allie,
I also owned a west elm sofa in performance velvet (color: otter). The fabric is machine washable, trust me!! I also own a dog. One day a friend’s dog got excited and urinated on the sofa. My friend and I unzipped the covers asap and tossed them into the washer. I had NO time to check care instructions – they were getting washed no matter what, lol. The covers came out beautifully! I machine washed AND machine dried them for YEARS using a gentle detergent. I saw no noticeable color change or fading and my covers were dark. I’m not sure what the directions were back then, but now the website confirms they’re machine washable. For the rest of the sofa, I periodically used the small Bissell upholstery cleaning machine and solution. No need to pay a professional cleaner. Enjoy xoxo
Renee
Allie
September 30, 2020Thank you for the tip that the fabric is machine washable! I know that will come in handy in the future. I also use my Bissell upholstery cleaning machine for spot removal and it works great!
Lauren Short
August 17, 2021This is super helpful thank you for sharing! I’m looking at the various West Elm performance fabrics for a vacation rental sofa that allows kids and pets. Love the look of the velvet but was extremely hesitant that it was truly “performance”
Allie
December 1, 2021The velvet really has held up well to our dogs! And spills 😉
Stephen
January 4, 2021Awesome review! I’m currently between the Shelter and Andes sectionals. I love the Dove Gray color so am glad I found a review that has pictures of that fabric! Non-sofa question – where is your rug from? 🙂
Allie
January 18, 2021They are both great sectionals!! The rug is the NuLoom Blythe area rug – I got it on Wayfair.
Haley
August 17, 2021What sofa length did you get and what size rug did you choose? Thank you!
Allie
December 1, 2021Ours is 105″ long (the terminal chaise version) and the rug is a 9×12.
Amy
September 3, 2021Hi Allie, I was happy to find your review, because I’ve been hearing that West Elm’s quality is not very good. We currently have one from Ashley Furniture and are very unhappy with the support. The fabric has held up great but, the cushions have too much “sink”. When you get up they spring back into place, but my husband has been complaining for the last two years that his back hurts when he sits. I have stuffed flattened cardboard and stacks of magazines under the cushions to no avail. So, we are looking for one that is soft when you sit, but you do not sink down six inches. How would you describe the Shelter’s support, and have you noticed any sinking since you bought it? Also, would you describe Dove as grey or beige? (And thanks so much to Renee for giving the tip about throwing the covers into the washer. That’s a game changer!) One last thing… Rumor has it West Elm’s shipping takes weeks longer than stated (if you do a custom order). Did you have any problems, or did you get a quick ship color? Thanks so much!!! XO Amy
Allie
December 1, 2021Hi Amy – Glad this was helpful to you! The Shelter sectional does not “sink” in my experience. It is comfortable, but firm. The back cushions do squish over time, but fluffing them after I vacuum has been sufficient to keep them looking okay. The Dove gray is definitely gray, not beige, but it is a light gray. The Dove gray was a quick ship color when I ordered it so it did not take long at all, but that was a few years ago.
Emily Levine
October 6, 2021Hey there! I just got my performance velvet couch and was wondering if you had any tips for cleaning it? I have a small stain id like to spot treat.
Allie
December 1, 2021Hi Emily! I’ve had good luck with Folex spray for spot cleaning and for larger spills I use a Bissell green machine – so far everything has has come up with no issues.
Meliss
December 1, 2021Hi, just adding in some feedback after I posted a question in July 2020. My Harmony sofa fabric is Performance Velvet, color is Shadow (a really dark gray). I’ve had it for almost four years, and it’s holding up really well. The sofa is firmer than I’d like (I prefer squishy), but the cushions have maintained their shape and the color hasn’t faded at all. I have dogs and the fabric is easy to clean – I vacuum, spot treat with water (honestly just using water works really well) or sometimes I’ll use a mild cleanser, and once or twice a year I wash the covers in the washing machine. I was hesitant to do that, but another poster said she did it, so I tried it and…amazing! No shrinking or color fading or any other kind of damage. I also put the covers in the dryer, on a really low setting.
Julia
December 19, 2021Hi! Where is the stunning ottoman from?
Allie
December 27, 2021Hi! It’s from Article, but it’s no longer sold. This one is a similar shape, but a different color/shade: https://www.castlery.com/us/pla/todd-ottoman?material=deep_teal&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5aWOBhDMARIsAIXLlkfv0kwtGuxdAQQFTeqbmcTOFMQNVYuPrt-ToJUad3ZAsAFSMjNsRFcaAhudEALw_wcB