Albany Park Sofa Review

Albany Park is a sofa company that designs and manufactures modern, flat pack sofas, right from the heart of Texas. It boasts a simple design, with flexible options.

Pros

• 3 different collections available with different fabric and finish options
• Assembles in about 15 minutes without any tools
• Free shipping with 3-5 business delivery (provided it’s in stock) time from when you place the order

Cons

• 10% restocking fee upon return or 20% restocking fee if original packaging is not used

Scoring

Prefer to watch rather than read? We’ve got our Albany Park review video below:

Who is Albany Park?

Albany Park builds and sells modern sofas, loveseats, armchairs, ottomans, and more. The business model is based on simplicity, easy assembly, and fast shipping—essentially taking all of the worst parts of buying a sofa and eliminating them.

Where is Albany Park located?

The company is based in Texas with its main office in Houston and the warehouse in Humble, TX—a 20-minute drive between the two locations.

The Collections

The Albany Park lineup consists of three different collections—Albany, Park, and Kova.

Each collection is available in a couple of different designs, with varying finishes and sizes. The Kova collection also has an accompanying console table.

The mark of Albany Park is that all of their collections assemble in about 15 minutes and ship to your door in 3-5 days (provided it’s in stock).

Albany Park Materials & Design

Each collection of Albany Park sofa is made from a similar set of materials. The part include:

• Legs
• Seat
• Back
• Arms
• Cushions

How does it go together?

The seat, back, and arms all connect with a tool-free assembly that is fast an easy for one person to do alone.

The legs screw into the bottom of the base with a single bolt that can be tightened with an Allen wrench (provided).

All cushions are loose and can just be set directly on top, that’s all.

What is it made of?

Overall, this sofa is a blend of 90% polyester fiber + 10% polyurethane foam.

The back and arm cushions are 100% polyester fiber.

Polyester fiber seems pretty standard. It’s packed to a moderate density, so it still has a reasonable level of pressure relief and give, while providing good support.

The seat cushion is a 3 piece assembly.

1. Synthetic feathers+ polyester fiber
2. Support poly foam (top)
3. Support poly foam (base)

The top comfort layer of the seat cushion is a blend of synthetic feathers and poly fiber. Looks to be about a 50:50 blend, but that’s just a guess. In any case, pretty comfortable feel to it.

The top layer of synthetic feathers and polyester provides initial comfort and softness, while the poly foam underneath provides support and pressure relief.

The glue layer is pretty thin between the two layers of support foam and it was easy to pull together apart. However, I’m not sure that’s a huge deal since most consumers will never open / cut into these foam layers.

Legs

There are three different leg styles available from Albany Park, depending on which collection you select.

• Straight leg (Albany collection only)
• Tapered leg (Park collection only)
• Club leg (Kova collection only)

Regardless of which style / collection you go with, the legs all attach to the base in the same way and have a sleek look to them.

Base

The seat, back, and arms all connect together with a metal connection that simply slides into place, no tools required.

Shipping the base unassembled allows the Albany Park sofa to ship quicker and cheaper than if the sofa were shipper assembled. It also makes it easier to move the sofa, if needed.

Seat

There are three kids of seat cushions from Albany Park.

• Albany Sofa: Pocket Coils + 2 Foam Layers
• Park Sofa: 2 Foam Layers + Feathers
• Kova Sofa: 100% Feather-Fiber Blend

Although the exact details may vary between collections and exact sizes of sofas / sectionals, the Albany and Kova sofa generally have divided seat cushions, while the Park sofa uses one long cushion for the seat.

Arms

The arms of the Albany Park vary based on which collection you shop from. The Albany and Kova arms are a bit more structured with square tops.

By comparison, the Park arms are quite a bit thinner and have a cushioned look to them.

In addition to the actual arm, there is also an arm cushion, which sits loosely on top of the seat.

The arm cushion has a zippered closure and an inside lining that contains the loose polyester fiber.

Back

The back of the Albany Park sofa has loose cushions that sit freely against the solid back.

As mentioned above, the back panel installs easily into the base of the sofa.

Albany Park Sofa Testing

At Modern Castle we try to bring a testing-driven approach to all of our reviews. For sofas and couches we complete six different tests to help showcase the feel and comfort attributes.

The following is based on the model we tested, the Albany Park Park sofa in the distressed vegan leather.

Bounce Test

To test bounce we drop a 12 pound medicine ball from around 18″ above the primary seat cushions and see how high it bounces back up.

Bounce on the Albany park was low. The thick comfort layer of polyester fiber and synthetic feathers absorb much of the energy.

Sinkage Test

To test sinkage we place three 12 pound medicine balls across the sofa so you can visually see the sinkage depth.

Since the comfort layers are so soft you’ll get several inches of sinkage and then hit the core support foam.

Pressure Relief Test

Overall we found pressure relief to be excellent. The thick comfort layer does a nice job of creating a comfortable surface to lie or sit on, relieving pressure in all positions.

Support Test

I only weigh around 140 pounds, so I certainly don’t put as much pressure on the support foams. While I personally felt well supported by the foams I think users who are heavier may find it lacking.

To that end, you may want to choose a firmer sofa, as the specific model we tested is likely best suited for consumers less than 200 pounds.

Motion Transfer Test

To test motion transfer we drop medicine balls to assess movement across the seat cushions, in addition to abruptly sitting on the sofa.

Just as bounce was minimized due to the comfort materials, so was motion transfer. Most of the energy was absorbed, so motion transfer is low.

Firmness Tests

We tested the Park sofa and found it to be quite comfortable. The Park sofa falls in the middle in terms of firmness. The Albany sofa is a bit firmer. And the Kova sofa is softer.

Overall, I found the sofa to be comfortable with a nice balance between, sinkage, bounce, and responsiveness.

The Park sofa isn’t ultra-soft or too firm. It falls somewhere in the middle, which matches up with the Albany Park firmness assessment as well.

How to Assemble an Albany Park Couch

Assembly on the Albany Park sofa is fast. It only took us about 15 minutes (with 2 people). All of the pieces arrive in a flat-pack style and no tools are required (besides the Allen wrench provided for the legs.

Here’s a quick rundown of how to get it done:

1. Unbox all pieces and cushions.
2. Set the base on its side and screw in the legs (using the allen wrench provided). Set upright.
3. Slide the arms and back into the base (no tools required).
4. Loosely place the seat cushion and back cushion.
5. You’re done.

FYI: If you think this sofa may not work out, be sure to save the original packaging. Albany Park charges a 10% restocking fee for returns, but that number goes up to 20% if you need to return without the original box.

The was one of the simplest sofas we’ve put together and I appreciated the tool-free nature of the assembly.

Having a sofa that arrives disassembled can make it easier to take the sofa to your room or to relocate when you’re moving.

How to Buy An Albany Park Sofa?

There is no brick-and-mortar storefront for the Albany sofa. All sofas are sold online with a 30-day return window if it ends up not working out.

Here’s how to place an order:

Ordering

Online, you can select from the 3 different collections—Albany, Park, or Kova. Within each collection, you can scroll through available pieces and make a selection.

Each furniture piece will include pricing, images, and the ability to make some selections regarding fabric and metal finishes.

The listing page also includes information on:

• Dimensions and Details
• Assembly Instructions
• Shipping and Returns

Shipping

Most Albany Park sofas should arrive at your door within 3-5 business days after it ships. To be safe, maybe give it a week, but that’s still a lot faster than the traditional wait times for large furniture.

Trials & Returns

All Albany Park items have a 30-day trial period and return window. If you decide the sofa is not right for you within that window, you can return, but keep in mind… returns aren’t free.

All returns (except for those based on manufacturer defects or damage) will be subject to a 10% restocking fee.

And that number jumps up to 20% if you try and return the item without the original packaging.

Should You Buy the Albany Park Sofa?

So all things considered, is the Albany Park sofa right for you? It’s simple, offers basic customization, and has a sleek aesthetic to fit a variety of design styles.

I would recommend Albany Park for people who are looking for the following in a sofa:

• Faster turnaround: The turnaround time of the Albany Park sofa is impressive and quick. Generally, items ship next-day and arrive at your door within 3-5 days. Compared to traditional turnarounds, this is pretty speedy.
• Simple options: You can’t select from 100’s of fabrics and finishes, but Albany Park provides a nice selection of basic options with a couple of different finishes per style. It’s customizable without feeling overwhelming.
• Tool-free assembly: Albany Park sofa don’t require any extra tools to get them together and have a hardware system that simply slides into place. It makes the assembly process incredibly quick and simple.
• Excellent Quality & Comfort: We were extremely satisfied by the build quality and comfort of the sofa. It’s a balance of solid support and good pressure relief. The mix of synthetic feathers and polyester fiber provides a good deal of softness, without simply sinking straight through.

To learn more about Albany Park or shop from their collection, click here.

You can also view the exact Park Sofa we tested in our review here.

ChangeLog

• February 25, 2021 – Corrected an error where we said the Park sofa included down, when it is actually synthetic feathers. Also, clarified that the shipping is 3-5 business days, but the product needs to be in stock. Removed a mention that Albany Park is a warehouse store. Albany Park requested these error corrections. We agreed to make them as they were objective errors and not a reflection of our views or opinions of the product.
• February 24, 2021 – Initial version of the review is published.