My Joybird Sofa Review

Looking for an unbiased Joybird sofa review? I bought the Denna single arm chaise in velvet Royale Gunmetal, and I’m providing my review of the ordering process, shipping, and the couch itself.

Are Joybird sofas worth it? Here’s my unbiased review.

I recently got our living room sofa from Article, an online furniture company. And we had a great experience! You can check out My Article Sofa Review for more.

So when I needed the perfect piece for my new sunroom, I went right back to Article. However, I didn’t find anything I liked. I wanted something really specific—a certain size, a certain look, and very, very lounge-y! I combed through a lot of sites but ultimately ended up with a Joybird piece.

I am outlining everything I experienced during the shopping, purchasing, shipping, and delivery processes to help you decide if a Joybird purchase is right for you. Because it’s so hard to find unbiased review sources, I want to make it absolutely clear that I have no affiliation or relationship with Joybird.

I decided on the Joybird piece I ordered after conducting my own research, and I purchased my chaise with my own money. So, with that said, let’s talk a little bit about my experience.

Joybird background

Joybird is a direct-to-consumer furniture company that was founded in 2014. The company is based in California and offers a range of high-quality, customizable furniture products that are made to order (though they do have some limited ready-to-ship items) and shipped directly to customers. 

The company is known for its commitment to sustainability and uses eco-friendly materials and processes in the production of its furniture. Though I haven’t looked too deeply into these claims to see how true they are.

Several years after its founding, the popular furniture company La-Z-Boy purchased Joybird. The Joybird headquarters remains in Los Angeles with warehouse distribution in San Diego, and it has manufacturing facilities in Tijuana, Mexico.

Joybird is one of many direct-to-consumer, midcentury-like furniture companies that have sprung up online over the last decade or so. I can’t remember the first time I heard about them, but they’ve just been kind of floating in my orbit for a few years now.

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What are the Joybird reviews like?

The reviews are a real crapshoot, I’ll tell you that. The actual reviews on the website from verified purchasers are very good. However, if you go on their Instagram page or search Joybird reviews on Google, you’ll likely find A LOT of very negative reviews.

This kind of shook me a bit. I know some companies tightly control what reviews are on their website…but this seemed very one-sided. I suspected that some of the bad reviews were from the company growing too quickly and hoped that the acquisition by La-Z-Boy, a larger and more established company, had helped turn things around.

What I liked about the Joybird experience…

All I can tell you about is my experience with the company. And it was overall very good. So here’s what I liked, and after that, we’ll cover what I didn’t like.

1. Joybird’s sofa and chaise selection

Ultimately I came back to Joybird after browsing all around because they had pretty much exactly what I wanted. I wanted something with a chaise-style or a small couch with a chaise. We love lounging around this house.

So when I saw the Denna single-arm chaise, I thought it was PERFECT. A touch bigger than the loveseat I had, very loungey, and pretty deep.

I eyed a few other things from Joybird since they have quite a few nice options with a simple, modern look. However, ultimately the Denna took the cake. It definitely helped that there were a ton of different colors and fabrics I could get it in.

2. Joybird’s free fabric swatch book

Buying furniture online without seeing it on purpose or sitting on it makes me nervous. We love our Article couch, but would I get lucky twice? Joybird does have a few showrooms around the country, but the closest one to me is an hour away.

I also didn’t know if they would have the exact piece I wanted to see and couldn’t get them on the phone when I rang. Admittedly I didn’t try very hard, but I wasn’t keen on driving down anyway.

However, you can sign up and receive a free fabric swatch sample set. I signed up online and it took about a week and a half to arrive. This allowed me to at least see and feel all of the fabric choices.

I wanted a velvet fabric, and they had a ton. I ended up going with the Royale Gunmetal because I wanted something dark to bring down the mood of the otherwise super bright room. It’s the perfect fabric.

3. Joybird’s shipping communication

So many of the negative reviews online said that they ordered furniture and that the delivery kept getting pushed back or that they didn’t know where their order was. When they tried to cancel their order, Joybird said they’d have to pay a cancellation fee.

I’d definitely be upset if I were in that situation. But I felt like their communication was pretty good throughout the build and shipping process. I got a few email alerts, but at any time I could log on and see where it was in the process.

The only somewhat confusing part was when the timeline got to the part where my furniture left the Joybird warehouse and was headed to a local La-Z-Boy delivery partner. I kind of sat around waiting for a week or two wondering what was up.

But then one day I got a text and an email from La-Z-Boy asking me to sign up for a delivery date. The day before my delivery date, I got a time window. The deliverers were prompt and put the piece together for me, leaving it just where I wanted it.

There was also a tracking feature that allowed me to see where the delivery truck was. This was great because I was balancing a bunch of stuff that day, so it gave me a better idea of when they’d arrive within the big afternoon window they gave.

4. The Denna piece itself

And finally—I am very happy with the chaise itself. When they unwrapped it, it seemed a bit bigger than I’d imagined it would be. I had to do some light rearranging, but it fits perfectly.

The fabric is lovely, and I like the legs on the piece. It’s very comfortable, and the cats have already taken to napping on it. It’s very much a lounging piece, just like I’d wanted.

I think it’s very comfortable and the pillows are large and plush. We have now had the piece for just under a year, and so far, we have no complaints about deterioration or lumpiness. It’s very easy to clean the fabric.

What I didn’t like about the Joybird experience…

And here are a few things I didn’t like about the Joybird experience—from the shopping experience itself to the shipping and the actual piece.

1. Shipping costs & delivery option

This one might seem dumb, but I just kind of assumed shipping would be free on such a large item. Article ships items free with a certain monetary value. So I was a little surprised to see the $129 delivery charge tacked on.

They offer “white glove” delivery service as their only choice. That means that the delivery guys put the piece together and took all of the trash with them.

While this was a nice perk, we just got a single arm chaise. Much like the article couch, it was just really a matter of screwing on the legs and throwing the cushions in place.

Maybe white glove delivery service would have been worth it had we gotten a larger or more difficult to put together piece. But it seemed excessive for this. I would have preferred to save some money and put it together myself.

2. Price confusion

I really get annoyed with companies that are constantly running sales that make you think you’re getting a great deal. The truth is, you should never pay full price for a piece at Joybird because they always seem to be running sales of some sort.

If you don’t see a sale running, just hold tight for a bit. You can also buy your piece during a great sale and “decide later” on your color and everything—but I didn’t do that.

The Denna chaise I purchased is listed for $2,329, but I paid about $1,500 for it (plus tax and shipping). I wish they would just have their furniture listed for fair prices and do rare sales so you’d actually be getting a deal instead of doing the Kohl’s thing where everything is marked up but “on sale” all the time. That’s how this felt to me.

3. Quality vs. cost

So ultimately I paid about $1,500 for the piece, plus about $90 in tax and $129 in shipping. That is not a cheap couch! Ultimately I decided it was worth it because it was exactly what I wanted.

But…although I love the couch and think it fits great in the room, I do feel that it was a little overpriced. Our leather sofa from Article was $1,899 with free delivery, and it’s extremely comfortable. And bigger.

The Denna chaise, while comfortable, could probably use a bit more cushion on the main area. I have taken a nap on it and lounged on it, and I haven’t been uncomfortable. I just think it looks like it should feel more plush.

So ultimately I would say I am about 95% happy with my purchase. I think a more on-target price point would have been $1,200. But I would have been happier with $1,500 and free delivery.

Don’t get me wrong—it’s a nice piece! And I really love it. I just want my big investment purchases to be rock solid, and only time will tell if this one will hold up to frequent use over the years.

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