By Elizabeth Adegbesan
The economic downturn has hit furniture lovers. But it appears it’s hitting furniture makers the more.
Considering the unfriendly cost of making even a moderate sofa or refurbish old ones, many homes now go for seat covers, leaving furniture makers groaning for lack of patronage.
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To even cut cost the more, some people buy chair fabrics and have a tailor make the covers for them, instead of buying already made ones.
According to Lukeman Ogedengbe, a furniture maker, this has reduced patronage, to the extent he hardly makes two sofas in a month.
“People no longer repair damaged sofas talk of making new ones.
“They have resorted to buying sofa covers.
“It is not only me. Many of my colleagues in the field are complaining.
“It is not the fault of furniture makers that the price of furniture, especially sofas, is high.
“Look around you, the prices of production materials in every manufacturing field have increased.
“In my field, the cost of nails, wood, sofa clothes/leather has increased.
“If you want to purchase a four seater sofa, you will have at least N600,000 to N800,000.
“That is if you want a quality sofa produced with good woods and covers.
“Even the prices of sofas with less quality range between N300,000 to N500,000.”
Mrs. Fatima Johnson, a trader said when she discovered that a four seater sofa goes for N300,000 she went for sofa cover.
“My seven seater sofa which I have been using for over four years is bad.
“I called a carpenter to make me a new one and he said I should bring N900,000.
“I was astonished and wondered how the cost of the sofa has risen to almost a million naira.
“I decided to reduce the number of seats to four and he told me N300,000.
“He cited the high cost of materials as the reason for such an amount to construct the sofa.
“I asked if he could repair the old one and he charged N250,000.
“I was very angry and told him to forget the idea.
“I was online and saw women making sofa covers for their bad sofas at home.
“The idea struck me. I purchased materials and gave them to a tailor who measured my sofa at home and made a cover for it.
“I spent not more than N40,000 and my sitting room looks better than before.”
Sofa covers originally are used to protect sofas from dust, water, stains and dirt especially if a person is traveling for a long period of time.
It can be removed and washed when dirty.
Narrating her experience, Mrs. Amen Victor, a chemist owner, said: “The four seater sofa in my house which was constructed two years ago is now very bad.
“I made it for N150,000 then. ” A friend warned me then that the price was too cheap and didn’t think it would last longer.
“The wood started dislocating after a year of usage.
One part was bad . You fall into the sofa in an attempt to sit.
“The leather was peeling off badly.
“A few months ago, I contacted those making furniture and was told a four seater sofa was N400,000.
“I bargained for N250,000 but he said that was the least price he offered.
“I had to go to the market to get a sofa cover for N10,000 to give my sitting room a luxury look.
“I bought two plastic chairs to complement the bad one among the four seats of the sofa.
“These cost less than N50,000.
“A luxury sofa is not a do or die affair.”
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