Play Couch from Toys2You (Etsy shop)

Posted on March 7, 2023 by happymindswithbusma

For our new Garden House, I have decided to have an Art and Crafts corner, a dining table set with benches, and an area for hanging up the laundry (it would be nice if we can have an utility room for this purpose). This leaves one corner empty. At first, Mr. B had been thinking to get a nice comfy armchair for himself to sit there and read, but then he said he rarely read, and the armchairs that he liked were all out of budget, so he did not search for more. At the same time, I was looking at similar seating stuff, and then came across some play couches.

I only looked at the ones that are in the U.K.

The first one I saw was called Possum Play Couch .

There are 2 main options: 1) The Possum Play Couch (£325), and 2) The Mini Play Couch (£255).

(Prices on March 2023)

The Possum Play Couch has 8 cushions while the Mini Play Couch has less (6) number of cushions. For both sets, there are 2 x 2 connected square cushions. I loved the variety of colours offered:

The materials used look great. I do not know how it actually feels like and how durable it is because I have not come across one myself in person. But the fact that it was able to list out exactly the type of materials used is reassuring, especially if you have very young kids and concern about safety.

Do take a look at their details FAQ section which I found it very useful, it allows me to understand the products much more clearly.

Initially I had my heart on this brand because I love the colours and there are HUGE amount of positive reviews. It seemed to me it would be a great investment. However I also hesitated because it’s pricy for me.

I saw another UK based brand called Zonky . 6 cushions for £249 (price on March 2023). Less colour choices than Possum.

Unlike Possum it does not mention its original cover being waterproof or not. However you can purchase extra covers for your play couch to change the colour.

Little Imagineers was next. This shop is proud of their “Winner of Gold Awards for Children’s Furniture and Children’s toys in What’s Good To Do Magazine’s 2021 awards”.

There are 2 main types: 1) The Padoo Play Sofa (8 cushions selling at £445, and 2) The Mini Pad Play Chair (5 cushions at £325)

This brand is the most expensive one compared to the two brans mentioned above. Without physically trying them out I have no idea if Little Imagineers have better (e.g. softer, more durable) cover or better durable foam. But from their website I can see that the cover of Little Imagineers is already designed to be spill resistant, which is not the case with Possum where you have to buy separately a set of waterproof linen for your play couch.

Their fabric seems really good to me:

I was still hoping to find a more affordable version of the play couch, so I began looking at Etsy. I found 3 UK based shops that sell exactly the same play couch with 12 cushions (with 2 x 2 connected square cushions):

(Prices on March 2023)

As you can see there is a HUGE difference in the price AND the number of cushions included!

So I started looking carefully at these shops and reviews, and found out quite a number of positive reviews. At the end, I went for Toys4You simply because it’s the cheapest.

There are a few UK based non-Etsy shops selling exactly the same couches (well they used the same pictures and descriptions) . But I went for Toys4You in Etsy because I could see that this shop is actively selling this play couch among other soft play stuff.

Order & delivery:

I placed my order with Toys4You on 27 Jan 2023. Estimated delivery was 10-21 March 2023 (it was shipped from Ireland/Poland). 6 days later on 5 March I got a notification saying that it has been shipped from Ireland. 2 days later on 7 March I received it!

Pros: Very quick!

Cons: Would be nice to have some sort of notifications on when exactly I can get the parcels because they just arrived without any notices. Luckily I was at home or the boxes will be left in my front door in a rainy day, especially the cushions were not wrapped up or protected in any waterproof materials.

Unboxing:

Cons: As I just mentioned above, I found it a bit disappointed when the cushions were not wrapped up in any waterproof materials. Anything could damage the cushions on the transit.

The Play Couch:

J chose the colour grey.

Pros:

Light weight
Able to hold my weight without deforming it
The cover is soft to touch

Cons:

Not waterproof (see my test below)
Can be slippery on laminate floor (which we had) so be careful when jumping on them

I was going to put “Lack of colour choices” as a Con but J did not mind about the colours at all and he was happy to choose from just 3 colours.

Conclusions:

I am happy with the quality given the price. It is really cheaper than the 3 branded shops mentioned earlier in this blog post. Whether or not the cover and the foam inside are durable I cannot tell at the moment.

Please note:

I counted the connected cushions as 2 pieces. For all shops mentioned above, they have at least 1 set of 2 connected square cushions. Please do check their specs before your purchase.
I only searched for UK based shops.

So this is our play couch.

The grey colour matches very nicely with our floor and surrounding:

You can stack all the square ones together for an adult to sit. The circular ones become a not-very-sturdy side table 😄

J loves his play couch:

I did a test on whether the cover is waterproof and/or spill resistance. Turned out it is neither. Water was absorbed into the material within 3 seconds. Slide the picture below to see before and after.