Imagine this: you’ve found a couch you love, but it’s too big for your living room, or too small for your office, or the color doesn’t quite match the palette in your den. While that might have been a deal breaker in the past, a new La Jolla business is making it easier to find the perfect couch — by creating it.
Sofa A La Carte’s co-owner Arsen Kirakosyan opened up shop at 7607 Girard Ave., in October 2018 after working in the custom furniture business for 45 years.
“It’s a family business,” he said. “Our first store opened in San Francisco in 1999. I opened another store in San Francisco in 2000 and then another one in Las Vegas.”
Currently, the only Sofa A La Carte is in La Jolla. Kirakosyan said he chose the location because he believed it fit the tastes of the people who call it home.
“This product is the right product for this area,” he said. “The customer can pick the style, have it made in any dimension that they wish, the number of seating cushions, pillows, everything. And we can make the sofa to those specifications.”
Beyond sofas, Kirakosyan also said he does chairs, couches, sectionals, and ottomans as well as upholstery services. Typically, customers ask for pieces to fit the more unique features of their homes, like U-shaped walls and small rooms.
“Possibilities are endless here,” he said. “It’s more convenient with us because the waiting time is very short. It’s only four weeks max. People like to go to showrooms, sit on a particular sofa and then buy that sofa, but the sizes could be in the way that they don’t exactly like it, or the fabric could be the wrong texture.
“Here, they can do the same thing. Sit on the style, feel it’s comfort and order it in the size and fabric that they want.”
And Sofa A La Carte doesn’t charge for custom building. The price of the piece is based on the size and the fabric chosen.
“We’ve had a positive reaction. People like what we do and they like the styles that we have. A lot of people like the styles from other companies but because of the waiting time they come here, and they ask us to copy those styles.”
For more information about Sofa A La Carte, visit lajollasofas.com.
