The story of how I lost 170,000 yen on sofa reupholstery. And what I learned from it.

Our sofa at home.
It's actually the second one we've owned.

When we built our new home 15 years ago, I searched for and reserved this sofa six months before moving in.
I looked everywhere.
(I'm exaggerating a bit, but it was in the same city.)

And then, I finally found the sofa that made me think, 'This is it!'
Since then, for over a decade, we've shared both good times and bad.
It's comfortable to sit on, comfortable to sleep on, it's the best!
It's not even torn at all.
I made a good purchase.

However, after using it for over a decade, it does have a somewhat worn-out look.

Now that I've pulled out a photo from two years ago to look at it, it looks 100 times more worn out than in my memory. Lol ↓

Even so, it's my favorite sofa, so I want to reupholster it and keep using it.
I want to keep sharing good and bad times with it for a long time.
So, I considered having it reupholstered.

I called and emailed various shops to get quotes.
Most shops replied that it would cost around 300,000 to 400,000 yen.

Isn't that more expensive than when I bought it?

With sheer persistence, I found a shop that would reupholster it for 170,000 yen.
I was happy.
What a conscientious shop.

Their phone manner was bad.
They would hang up before I finished speaking.

Even so, I thought, 'They must just be a shy person.'
After all, it's a shop with conscientious prices.

…However.

It was an outrageous business!!

Just one month after having it reupholstered, it was in tatters.
Here is what it looked like ↓

It was 200 times better before it was reupholstered.

170,000 yen.
I said they were conscientious, but if it falls apart in just one month, it's not cheap at all.
No. That's expensive!!

What's more, they didn't respond to my phone calls or emails.
(Infuriating)

So, I pulled myself together and thought, the shop where I originally bought the sofa is the best after all.
(Even though I put up with using the tattered one for a year)

The owner there is a man of principle.

He says he won't display products he isn't satisfied with himself.
I visited that trustworthy shop for the first time in over a decade.
The owner remembered me.

Back then, he ran the shop alone in a warehouse-like space with his canine partner.

Now, he has increased the number of stores and is apparently selling his original sofas in Tokyo as well.

Apparently, sofa prices have quadrupled in the last 10 years.
Yet, for some reason, our family ended up buying a sofa that cost five times as much as the previous one.
After all, we know how comfortable their sofas are.
(Though I was shaking after I bought it)

Recently, I happened to see a blog post where a famous blogger had bought a sofa from that same shop.

No way!!
Even though we're in the middle of nowhere!?
(That's why I said they sell them in Tokyo too)

That person was also full of praise for it.

I'm so glad.
That I bought a sofa from that shop, even while shaking at the time.

The sofa I chose 15 years ago—perhaps I had come to love not just the comfort, but the shop itself, including the owner's craftsman-like personality.

I intend for this new sofa to last another 10 or 15 years.

I want it to watch over our family's ups and downs together.

The sofa from the shop you can't go wrong with ↓

Since it was expensive, a ban on eating and drinking while sitting here was issued for the time being.