We put Sixpenny's beautiful furniture to the test after seeing its popularity explode on social media — here's what it's like in real life

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If you spend as much time as I do on the interior design side of Instagram, you've probably heard of Sixpenny. The brand makes beautifully relaxed furniture (mostly sofas, sectionals, and chairs) in an intentionally curated palette of neutrals, warm jewel tones, and pastels. It's expensive, to be sure, but the entire ethos of the brand centers on the idea that investing in pieces that will last you a lifetime pays off — not only in the sense of how well it holds up, but in how it can actually improve your time spent at home.

For the purpose of this review, I tested out a Sixpenny Elias five-piece sectional in my own home. As a prospective customer and design enthusiast myself, I had a lot of questions about whether all those perfectly staged photos I saw online actually translated into the quality and construction of the furniture. 

I'll spoil the lead here and tell you that yes, the brand is absolutely worth it if you have the means and if you like the sort of relaxed-yet-sculptural look they're known for. We've even named Sixpenny as a top brand in our guide to the best sofas. But if you want a more in-depth breakdown before making a purchase, I'll walk you through everything you need to know about the materials, construction, delivery, quality, and durability based on my own experience with the brand. 

What is Sixpenny known for? 

Though the brand makes everything from upholstered furniture to sculptural coffee and dining tables, Sixpenny is best known for its high-priced yet laid-back linen sofas and chairs. Every photo from the brand screams, "Look how easy and organic this room is!" But I often find myself wondering how this really translates to everyday homes where real life happens. 

I went on a mission to figure out how its designs actually integrate into spaces like my basement family room, where friends and family come to hang out all the time. As I began learning more about the brand and exploring its materials and designs, I realized there was a lot more to it than breezy aesthetics and flowy linen. In fact, almost all of its sofas come in a wide range of configurations with many color and material options. There are giant U- and L-shaped sectionals, ottomans for mixing and matching, and styles meant as much for lounging as for aesthetic impact. Some designs are more relaxed, while some are slightly more traditional (like the style I tested).  

So while the brand is known to have a very specific look, its furniture is much more versatile than you think — especially because of how many fabric options are offered. 

Sixpenny's fabric options aren't just limited to linen.

Sixpenny is known for its laid-back look, which it achieves by using materials like linen and linen-cotton blends on its slipcovers and cushions. Not every piece of furniture is available in every material, but there are eight fabrics the company uses pretty regularly for its sofas and chairs.

The very first thing I recommend doing is ordering swatches of the different materials to decide which is right for your space. If you have pets or kids, I recommend going with materials that have a higher proportion of cotton because it's more durable. Linen is a wonderful material, but it tends to wrinkle and soften over time. If that kind of lived-in, organic look is what you're after, you'll be especially happy with the washed cotton linen. Just note that the material you decide on will determine which colors you can get.

I opted for the thread-dyed cotton linen fabric in the Garden Berry color. "Thread-dyed" means that the thread itself is dyed before the material is woven, which results in a more organic look and dimensional color. Thanks to the addition of cotton, the blended material feels super durable, and the weave is extremely tight, so it easily resists puppy and cat claws. 

None of Sixpenny's materials are coated in any sort of stain-repellent or chemical to increase durability, which means the fabric itself is completely non-toxic. But, it also means that even the most durable fabric can be vulnerable to pulls and scratches — something to keep in mind especially if you have a cat who loves to scratch on furniture (though after almost a year of testing our couch, our cat's claws have yet to cause any destruction). 

You can choose between vegan poly or down feather fill for the cushions.

I have several pieces of down-stuffed furniture, and I found that the polyfill replicated their feel identically without the need for constant fluffing. There are obvious reasons to choose the polyfill over down, like allergies or ethical considerations, but I chose it for sustainability and easy maintenance. Down wears out over time, but it also requires upkeep in the form of fluffing and rotating cushions. If you do choose down, the brand promises that it sources all its down ethically, meaning it comes as a byproduct of the food industry. 

Regardless of which you choose, each seat cushion is constructed in layers with a high-density foam pocket in the middle and fill on the top and bottom. The back cushions are all 100% loose-fill. 

I personally love the way the cushions feel — they're soft but supple, and you sort of sink cozily into them without feeling as though you'll be swallowed. 

Shipping, delivery, and setup are super easy.

Shipping to your doorstep is free through Sixpenny, and white-glove delivery is just $100 extra — which is worth it for large items like sectionals or sofas. Once you've placed your order, it can take up to 12 weeks to get your piece since each one is custom-built. It took that long for our couch to be completed, and once it was ready, the shipping carrier sent us a message with a delivery time slot that we were able to adjust to fit our schedule. 

On the day of our white-glove delivery, two people brought the couch into our basement piece-by-piece, unboxed it, set it up in the exact configuration I asked for, and then removed all the trash and packaging. The whole thing took about 45 minutes, and they were very courteous and careful throughout the process. They left behind no scratches on walls or dings on door frames.

The couches are made from kiln-dried hardwood and plywood frames, and they feel extremely durable, solid, and heavy. The sectionals are modular so you can easily separate and move the pieces for a custom setup. They also click together so they won't come out of place. It's worth noting, though, that the pieces are heavy! That's a good thing for durability, but it means you'll likely need at least two to three people to do any moving or rearranging. 

After a year of testing, the couch has held up incredibly well and remains one of the comfiest pieces of furniture in my home. 

We've been using our couch (the Elias Chaise Sectional) for almost a year now, and it has held up beautifully to many movie nights, dog visitors, cat cuddles, and naps. It's probably the most comfortable couch I've ever sat on, and our friends and family are always dying to know where it came from. The cushions are just the right level of softness, and we haven't experienced any wrinkling or misshaping of the covers. 

When it comes to cleaning, note that Sixpenny's instructions say that the dry cleaner is your safest bet to avoid damage to the fabric or color. You can also use a regular washing machine on a cold, gentle cycle if yours doesn't have an agitator column in the middle (it can snag the fabric), but be aware that if you're washing just one cushion at a time, you may experience color fading. Unfortunately, my washing machine does have an agitator, so I haven't been able to clean the cushions myself to confirm how well they hold up. But I like that the slipcovers on the sectional can be removed one piece at a time so I can easily spot clean or take one cover to the dry cleaner.

The bottom line? It's expensive but worth it.

Sixpenny's furniture is pricey — there's no getting around it. The five-piece sectional I tested will run you about $5,500 before tax and delivery. But if it's within your means to shop there, I couldn't recommend it more. 

I've bought or tested furniture from every major brand out there (West Elm, CB2, Pottery Barn, Article, Ballard Designs, etc.), and Sixpenny's quality is on a completely different plane. Because it controls its own supply chain as a direct-to-consumer brand, the quality is consistent, unlike many of the other major players in the industry who are subject to shifts in their supply chain. 

Shop all furniture at Sixpenny.