# Is this a real sofa and if so, where do I get one? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 4, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973 "2012-12-04T17:33:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/21 "2012-12-05T04:48:55Z")
Those are part of the legs; if there is a good enough support structure inside them they’ll be fine. The central cushion is part of the back. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/22 "2012-12-05T04:52:40Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It look great, but maybe there’s a problem. It looks to me like it’s two three legged chairs held together by the backrest. Say you’ve plopped your ass on either side of the center “coffee table” pull out. What is supporting the front inner edge of the big square cushions on either side? Did you look through the photos at this link?: [matthewpauk.com](http://matthewpauk.com/showcase/slot-sofa) There are some “assembly” pictures of the sofa in progress. Lotsa wood n’ stuff. Looks like the free edge is supported by virtue of being wood bolted to and resting on other wood 24" away. I’ve seen porches with that much free corner perfectly capable of holding my fat butt. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/23 "2012-12-05T04:53:26Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Those are part of the legs; if there is a good enough support structure inside them they’ll be fine. The central cushion is part of the back. What “those” are part of the legs? The central cushion, yes, is probably part of the back, but it is not attached to the two side cushions. It can’t be since it is separated from them by the pull out table. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/24 "2012-12-05T05:00:16Z")
The two side sitting cushions are part of the legs. The arm cushions are part of the back. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/25 "2012-12-05T05:06:57Z")
Must have! Give me now! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/26 "2012-12-05T05:25:06Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > The two side sitting cushions are part of the legs. The arm cushions are part of the back. Not to get bogged down in semantics, but no. the armrests and the back are also the legs. The two sitting cushions are attached to them, and are pretty much three-legged chairs. The common back means they won’t tip inward. I don’t know enough about woodworking to say whether the frame (which you can see bare in one of the pics from **WhyNot** ’s link – thanks, **Whynot** ) is sturdy enough or not. It looks iffy to me it it were to get a lot of use, especially if people perched on the outer edge. And I would be willing to be there’s a whole lot less structural support in it than there would be under a porch. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/27 "2012-12-05T05:33:15Z")
That frame looks pretty hefty. Properly constructed they should do well. If it’s done on the cheap expect the outer two seats to sag after a while. If you were going to have the table and ottomans pulled out a lot of the time it would probably be best to have some additional support at the corners of the two seats. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/28 "2012-12-05T06:41:48Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Not to get bogged down in semantics, but no. the armrests and the back are also the legs. The two sitting cushions are attached to them, and are pretty much three-legged chairs. The common back means they won’t tip inward. We musn’t be looking at the same pictures. The legs are the side seating cushions; the side seating cushions are not attached to the legs, they are the legs; they are not the same piece as the back. The back, as you say, keeps the sidecushions/legs from moving up, therefore from falling forward-and-down. What I’m talking about when I mention “support” is the cushion itself, not the frame: if the cushion was soft it would bend, but it seems to be rigid enough to not do so under normal circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/29 "2012-12-05T07:50:38Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > We musn’t be looking at the same pictures. The legs are the side seating cushions; the side seating cushions are not attached to the legs, they are the legs; they are not the same piece as the back. The back, as you say, keeps the sidecushions/legs from moving up, therefore from falling forward-and-down. What I’m talking about when I mention “support” is the cushion itself, not the frame: if the cushion was soft it would bend, but it seems to be rigid enough to not do so under normal circumstances. Are you using the term “seating cushions” to describe the same things that I am calling “armrests”? I assume by “seating cushion” you mean a cushion one sits on, and those cushions are not the legs. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973/30 "2012-12-05T15:04:07Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > That frame looks pretty hefty. Properly constructed they should do well. If it’s done on the cheap expect the outer two seats to sag after a while. If you were going to have the table and ottomans pulled out a lot of the time it would probably be best to have some additional support at the corners of the two seats. Yeah, if they just had some fold-out temporary legs that could be moved into position when the table was out, the problem would be solved. I see no evidence of that in the current implementation, however. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-sofa-and-if-so-where-do-i-get-one/642973.md?page=1)