Joybird Sofa Review

Mid-century modern style, at the click of a button—this is Joybird. Joybird furniture offers a wide selection including sofas, chairs, tables, bedroom furniture, home decor, and more.

But is it possible to know exactly what you’re getting when you’re digitally shopping? Virtually experience the Joybird sofa review with this comprehensive guide.

Let’s be couch potatoes, we’re diving in.

Score 94%
Design : 97%
Performance : 95%
Quality : 93%
Usability : 93%
Value : 93%

Pros : 
+ Multiple styles and accessory pieces available within the Joybird collection
+ Extended 365 day trial period
+ Offers over 100 different fabrics to choose from

Cons :
– Higher price vs. other online retailers
– Longer lead times (4-7 weeks) for most custom orders
– Return shipping not reimbursed if over 14 days from purchase

The Bottom Line

Joybird offers an incredible level of customization with 52 sofa styles and 76 fabrics. The downside is the slowness in shipping (4-7 weeks. They aren’t cheap either, however, you’ll be hard pressed to find a greater level of customization most anywhere else. With Joybird you can customize a couch’s style and feel to get exactly what you’re looking for.

Joybird Materials & Design

The Joybird sofa collection has an extremely wide range of options. Each sofa consists of the same parts, but the multiple selections within each part, resulting in a huge amount of unique sofa options.

Legs

Each and every Joybird sofa starts off with a set of legs on the floor. Multiple leg styles help to give each piece a unique look from the rest of the collection. Joybird’s leg material options include:

Wood legs: Most of the wood legs that Joybird offers have the mid-century feel to them. For a straight tapered wood leg, check out the Eliot Leather Sofa. They also offer something a little more classic mid-century, like on the Hughes Grand Sofa, where the legs have a slight outward angle, paired with the taper. For die-hard mid-century modern fans, it’s hard to beat the dramatic tapered wood legs of the Aubrey Sofa.

Mid-Century modern not your style? For a more traditional look, you can also consider the Liam Sofa, which comes with bun legs or you can upgrade to caster legs for $100.

What about no legs? Technically, there are still legs, but the might as well be invisible. With the Logan Leather Sofa or the Bryant Sofa, the legs are so short and stocky that they appear to go away and the main focus is on the sofa seat itself.

Metal legs: For a more modern look, Joybird also offers steel legs, like on the Franklin Sofa. Metal legs can also be designed in the mid-century style with the slender gold legs, like on the Aime Sofa. For a middle-ground between wood and metal legs,

Frame

The frame of each Joybird sofa may also vary. The company prides themselves on a tagline of “Choose your fabric. Choose your frame.” This speaks to the sheer number of combinations that there are to choose from when building a Joybird sofa.

Seat

The seat of the Joybird sofa also can vary greatly. Most couches use seat cushions that are between 4-7″ and use of blend of poly-foams. Depending on the sofa style you select, the couch may come with individual cushions for each seat, like the Holloway Sofa, or one long cushion for the entire length of the couch, like the Korver Sofa.

So big question: do all Joybird sofa feel the same? The answer is no. Depending on the style that you select, each Joybird sofa has a distinctively different feel.

That being said, there are some Joybird parameters that they work within. There are basically two main types of cushions.

1. Standard Cushion: This cushion is made using 2.0 high density, high resiliency foam. This foam is noted for its balance between comfort and support. Joybird also uses this foam since it is able to hold the lines of the products well, which is a trademark feature of the mid century modern design.
2. Softer Cushion: For those customers that are looking for a softer sit, Joybird also offers some items with Trillium fill. Trillium is a synthetic fiber designed to mimic the luxurious feel of down and feather but is hypoallergenic, offers greater resiliency (keeps its lines/shape better) and can be offered at a lower cost than down and feather products. To exclusively see the sofas outfitted with Trillium cushions, click here.
3. Combo Deal: Of course, there will always be people who want something in the middle and Joybird has one unique sofa designed for that crowd—the Serena Sofa. This is the only one that uses a foam cushion with a layer of alternative down on the top, for balanced blend between the two styles.

Arms

There are many different sofa arm styles offered by Joybird. Depending on the sofa style, you may find it to have:

Straight, flat arms: With this style, the arms extend vertically from the side of the cushions and terminate with a flat top. These arms greatly range in height from dramatically low, like the Presley Sofa to dramatically high, like the Chelsea Apartment Sofa, and everything in between. For a nice middle ground, you may want to check out the Levi Sofa.

Sloped arms: The sloped arm starts high at the back of the sofa and gradually lowers by the time it reaches the front of the seat. This creates a soft look and a notes of mid-century modern design inspiration. The Holloway Sofa is a great example of a Joybird sofa with a sloped arm.

Scroll arms: For a more traditional look, the scroll or rolled arms is a plush option that provides extra padding for a more prominent arm. This is typically paired with tufted cushions for a bit of a royal look, like the Liam Sofa.

Tapered arms: For that classic mid-century look, it’s hard to go wrong with a good tapered arm. Joybird offers many different degrees of taper, from the soft taper of the Hughes Grand Sofa to the sharp tapers of the of Fitzgerald Sofa or Eastwood Sofa.

Back

As with most features of the Joybird sofa, there is also a wide variety of back cushion options to consider. Tufted back cushions are one of the most popular, with some being a tufted back, like the Liam Sofa or Hughes Sofa, and others being loose tufted cushions, like the Eliot Sofa.

RELATED – If there are other rooms in your house that need help, see our best furniture guide. It can help you get started.

For a more modern look, there are alternative options like the flat back of the Briar Sofa or the fluted back of the Chelsea Sofa.

The exact material composition and feel of each back cushion varies by style of each Joybird sofa.

How to Assemble A Joybird Sofa

Unlike other online furniture manufacturers that offer flat-pack furniture, Joybird takes a more traditional approach. Their furniture will not come in tidy little UPS boxes sitting outside your door and they’re not particularly light or easy to manage.

But in exchange, what Joybird can offer is more design options and additional shipping options to make the transition a little easier. If don’t care about all the extra options and just want something faster you may be better off with the Campaign Living or Burrow couch.

Is one strategy better than the other? Hard to say. A lot of it depends on personal preference and there are pros and cons to both methods.

Joybird offers three tiers of shipping options:

1. In-home delivery – this is your more typical white-glove delivery. They set the sofa up in your home and it costs $99.
2. Curbside delivery – this is only available on some products. They deliver to your front door, but don’t set it up in your home. For products under $999 it will cost $49 to ship with this option. For products over $999, it will cost $99.
3. Hold it – if you want to place an order, but don’t want it delivered right away you can order with the hold it option. Joybird will ship it at the specified date you give them.

Joybird Sofa Fabrics for Kids & Pets

Joybird sofas offer a wide range of fabrics to choose from. You can even order their complete fabric swatch kit here for free.

There is a collection, specifically appropriated for kids and pets, which may be prone to more messes, as well. These pet-friendly fabrics range in style and feel, but all include this icon:

…which notes that it is ultra-durable and, many times, stain resistant.

WOVENS | Woven fabrics come in a wide range of colors and provide an ultra-durable, stain-resistant finish. Due to the tight-knit nature of wovens, pet hair is also kept at bay. Avoid cleaning wovens with harsh chemicals or wet towels.

VELVET-TEXTURED MICROFIBER FABRICS| Unlike traditional velvet which can be incredibly expensive and hard to maintain, Joybird’s velvet-textured microfiber is low-pile, durable, and easy wipes clean with a dry or damp cloth. The low pile also helps pet hair to resist sticking. For pet hair that does find its way onto the fabric, you can simply wipe away using a rubber glove.

SAFEGUARD FABRICS | Joybird’s Safeguard line is one of the most stain-resistant collections that they offer. You can read more about their testing and Stainguard fabric performance here. This collection is resistant to stains, sun-exposure, and the rough-housing tendencies of a busy life with kids and pets.

Regardless of your couch fabric, cleaning in between the cushions can be a pain. However, handheld vacuums can be a big help. Or alternatively, a vacuum with upholstery cleaning attachments, like the Dyson V10 and other Dyson vacuums.

Is the Joybird Sofa Comfortable?

Not all Joybird Sofas have the same exact feel, but there is a consistent quality among all Joybird sofas. We did some digging into other people’s experiences with these Joybird sofas. The quotes below highlight some of the comments we found regarding overall comfort from user reviews.

ArchiNurd thoughts on the Joybird Hughes reversible sectional

“Its a firm sofa, not something you’re going to sink into, but still very comfortable to lounge on.”
Lesliethewizard thoughts on the Gervin sectional

“It’s very shallow so it’s great for sitting up normal, but the corner gives some good lounge area.”
EasyDoesIt18

“We have one of [their] sectionals and love it. It sits fairly low to the ground. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be comfortable for shorter folks.”

Joybird Furniture Showroom Locations

It appears that originally Joybird may have featured their furniture in a number of different showrooms across the US. On their website, there is a link for “Showrooms”, but it sends you to a dead-end 404 page.

In the FAQs, Joybird recommends seeing their furniture first-hand in your own home, as they offer no on-hand inventory.

The lack of official showrooms is not necessarily a deal-breaker for any online furniture manufacturer. Many companies choose to partner with local businesses across the US, outfitting the business with one of their products at a reduced or free cost, in exchange for a local hot-spot where people can try out their products. Burrow, for example, employs this tactic for more in-person exposure.

See our Burrow couch review here for more information.

How to Buy A Joybird Sofa?

Welcome to Joybird

When you first land on the Joybird website, it can feel a little daunting. There are hundreds of options between style and customization that they offer, which allows you to create something unique to you.

From the Joybird home page, it’s immediately apparent that sofa production is not their main gig either, as they offer a wide range of other furniture and home products.

From the home page, once you filter it down to just sofa selections, once again, there are many choices.

You can filter:

• materials
• overall style
• leg style
• cushion style
• size
• price

We highlighted a few of these options above, but this filter tool is an easy way to see exactly what you want and none of the extra pieces that don’t fit the bill (or your style).

Shipping

Shipping is likely one of the biggest drawbacks of the Joybird sofa—frankly, it’s not quick.

Shipping for most sofas varies from 4-7 weeks, when you select custom fabric options and stains. Joybird does offer a line-up of quick ship products that ship within three days, but you give up quite a few selections when you go this route, as quick ship options tends to only have one or two colors available.

If you need a couch that can arrive faster (but still has a good level of customization) see our Article sofa review.

One user made the following Reddit comment on her waiting experience with Joybird.

“What’s cool is they send you an email every step of the way. They built the frame, cut the fabric, upholstered it, and now it’s in QC. From there, once it’s approved, they’ll call and schedule shipping.” –awd3495
If the wait is not a factor, you’re ready to place your order. As mentioned above, Joybird offers three different-tiers of shipping:

CURBSIDE SHIPPING | For $49-99, your items will ship and be delivered outside your door. Your items will not be unpacked or assembled, but this method does deliver your items 3-6 days quicker than In-Home Shipping. Also, it’s important to note that this shipping method is not available for all items.
IN-HOME SHIPPING | For $99, your items will ship and be delivered inside your home. Your items will be unpacked, assembled, and the trash will be taken away.
NO RUSH SHIPPING | Joybird also offers “no rush” shipping, which allows you to place your order, but delay delivery until you are ready. This would allow you to take advantage of sale prices when they happen, without having to worry about where to put it if you’re planning on moving soon.

Trials & Returns

Joybird offers a lengthy 365-day trial period. Anytime in that window, you can request a return and Joybird will send a team out to pick up your item. But what about the fine print (isn’t there always fine print)?

Two quick notes to mention about Joybird trial period and return policy.

1. Make note of the first 14 days. If you decide to return your sofa within the first 14 days, you will get back 100% of the cost INCLUDING return shipping cost. If you return outside of this first 14-day window, you will get back 100% of the item cost, but you’ll need to pay return shipping. This is the policy for any return between day 15 and 365.
2. Keep the original packaging. Although it’s bulky, you’ll need the original packaging in order to submit ANY return, ANY TIME the window of your trial period.

Should You Buy the Joybird Sofa?

So that’s it—the Joybird line-up all in one location.

Feeling overwhelmed? You’re likely not alone.

Joybird couches are inundated with options and customization, which tends to result in a more unique feeling product, but it requires a bit of patience and a good design eye to know exactly what you want.

I would recommend a Joybird couch for people who are looking for:

• White-glove delivery: If you don’t plan on putting it together yourself, there’s no need to limit yourself to a flat-pack sofa. Joybird comes packed in large, heavy boxes, but it can also be delivered by an assembly team who will install your sofa in your home and even take the trash with them for a flat rate of $99.
• More options: With a Joybird couch, there are hundreds of different arrangements, including fabric, arm height, seat style, back style, leg style, and more. If you’re looking for something ultra-specific, it’s likely that Joybird has something for you (especially if your tastes tend to lean towards mid-century modern style.)
• A wait: There’s not really a nice way to say it, but buying a custom Joybird sofa will likely mean a lengthy wait for your new couch to arrive. Typical lead times range from 4-7 weeks from the time your order is placed. They do offer a line of quick-ship items, but going this route will also mean forgoing all the fabric options, as quick ship options tend to only include one or two colors.

To learn more about Joybird furniture or buy one for yourself, check them out on at Joybird.com.

Ultimate Customization, Slow Shipping
Design – 97%
Performance – 95%
Quality – 93%
Usability – 93%
Value – 93%

Summary : 94%

Joybird may be one of the most customizable sofas available. With 52 different couch styles, 76 fabric choices, and a variety of leg stains and styles, there are quite literally thousands of potential custom combinations. The wide customization means there is something for everyone in terms of style and comfort. The cons are they aren’t cheap and they don’t ship fast, but you can be sure you’ll have a product that’s totally your own.