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Twenty years later, that episode remains disappointingly relevant: The problem of moving bulky furniture into tiny spaces continues to haunt peoplenamely, New Yorkers like me who live in cramped, constricted apartment buildings. A growing number of online-only retailers, however, think they've finally found a way to help city dwellers avoid Ross, Rachel, and Chandler's fate. Similar to how manufacturers like Casper and Leesa invented a relatively pain-free way to ship high-quality mattresses, companies like Campaign , Article , and Benchmade have sprung up in recent years to help simplify the process of buyingand transportingcouches and chairs.
Burrow, which bills itself as the , is one of the newest and fastest-growing entrants into this burgeoning retail category. Like most of its competitors, Burrow ships its couches modularly, which means you snap the sections together Lego-style upon delivery. In exchange for a little bit of manual labor on the backend, in other words, you get the peace of mind that you won't wind up trapped and shouting for a saw. An added bonus is that you can shrink or expand your couch at will: If it turns out you only have space for a love seat, you can just unclip the middle cushion and snap the ends together; it's refreshingly versatile.
The couch that Burrow refers to in its tagline is a classic, mid-century modern-style sofa that comes in a wide range of fabric color swatches (white, burgundy, navy, gravel, and charcoal) and leg finishes (ebony, walnut, and oak). It's relatively budget-friendlythe average three-seater starts around $1,400, but it's not difficult to find codes that will knock 15 or even 20 percent off the sticker price, putting it in line with comparable options from major retailers like IKEA and Wayfair.
Having just rid myself of two enormous, brown leather behemoths from Bob's Discount Furniture that had been fixtures of my apartment for the better part of six years, I was in the market for something that felt more versatile and mature. That led me to Burrow, which, full disclosure, let me try one of its couches gratis. Scanning their inventory, I settled on a dark navy blue sectional with a long chaise cushion. Burrow prominently advertises free, seven-day shipping to most of the USand as promised, the couch arrived less than a week later in six large, lightweight, clearly marked boxes that I was able to move up the stairs and into my apartment one by one without much trouble.
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Once unpacked, the process of assembling the sofa was even simpler: Since all the hardware is built-in, you won't find a mess of nuts, dowels, and allen wrenches that typical big box retailers often force people to fuss around with. Instead, you're met with sturdy, built-in clips that snap together with minimal effort. The legs simply twist into place with a couple of screws, and the top cushions slide together and lock in using a built-in lever mechanism. With a little help from my girlfriend, we had the couch fully assembled in about 30 minutes. If this is this the future of buying and assembling furniture, I'm all in.
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I was also pleased to find some thoughtful andlet's face itmillennial-friendly touches included, such as a built-in USB charger located next to one of the arms. Still, there were times when the budget-friendliness of Burrow's signature sofa was more apparent than I would've liked. For instance, those connecting pieces had a frustrating tendency to slide out of place when jostled, which meant pausing to push the sections back together and lock the built-in dowels between the cushions back together.
And while the cushions were impressively soft and springyholding their ground when a friend who is built like a linebacker came to visit one weekendthe arms felt rigid and borderline uncomfortable. If you're planning to doze off on a lazy Sunday, you'll almost certainly need a good pillow. The chaise cushion, meanwhile, sits on a small, free-floating base that attaches to the couch using only two strips of velcro. The setup works and isn't immediately obvious, but it also doesn't exactly scream "premium."
Still, for those accustomed to dealing with modest budgets and even more modest living spaces, Burrow's couches qualify as a game-changerespecially if you're someone who tends to move every year or two. Simple and stylish, they're an affordable way to elevate any living roomwithout the worry of getting stuck along the way.