I’ve had my fair share of gigantic boxes arriving at my front door. It’s the nature of my job. But despite checking the dimensions, and despite attempting to brace myself, nothing could have prepared me for the delivery of the Cozey Ciello XL Couch.
This sofa is huge. Dimensions vary by configuration (more on that later), but mine comes in at 148 x 68.5 x 26.8 inches—and that’s without the optional storage ottoman. Each section of the couch arrives in its own box, and mine had so many that I was able to fully lie down on top of the boxes.
A piece of furniture this big is bound to come with some quirks, but overall, the Cozey Ciello XL is perfectly fine—provided it’s what you’re looking for in the first place.
Modern and Modular
One of the biggest draws of this couch is its customizability. It’s available in three performance fabric colors and two chenille colors. I tested the sofa in the Gray performance fabric for a little under two months. You can order a swatch book for free to figure out which fabric you want.
Photograph: Louryn Strampe
I recommend having a partner or friend help you set up the sofa. Once you get into the groove, the couch is really easy to assemble—even easier than some smaller couch-in-box setups that I’ve tried. The covers and hardware ship inside the hollow seat, backrest, or armrest. We configured our sofa and assembled it piece by piece, then snapped the pieces together. It can be a little tricky to line up the brackets perfectly when seating everything into place, but take your time and you should be fine. Just be prepared to break down a LOT of cardboard afterward.
The performance fabric is fine. It feels a bit scratchy, but it’s easy to clean, and the removable cushions mean you can sort of wash your couch in the washing machine. The couch didn’t have an offensive smell, and it was pretty comfortable right from the jump. Which brings me to my next point—exactly how comfy is it?
Okay-est Nap of My Life
I’m an awkward sitter. I’m constantly pretzel-ing my body, draping my limbs over furniture, and folding my legs up as I shift in my seat. The Cozey Ciello XL made this simultaneously very easy and very difficult.
The seats of the couch themselves are great, if a bit crinkly-sounding. They’re deep and comfortable, provided you sit in the seat itself and not across the edge of two of them (in which case the rigid structure underneath you will make it feel like you’re being split in two). Unless you’re exceptionally tall, if you scoot all the way back, your legs and/or feet will dangle. The back cushions leave a lot to be desired. The back of the couch and the arms are both very boxy and low, so when you scoot back and attempt to throw an arm over the back of the sofa, it feels a bit awkward. The seat cushions also tend to slide forward, away from the back cushions, and the back cushions and arm cushions don’t like to stay in place. That means I spent a lot of time rearranging the sofa instead of just sitting on it. This same design issue means when you’re sitting side-by-side, you end up sinking into the person sitting next to you. There’s more than enough room for two people to sit at opposite ends of the sofa, but again—I should be able to sit next to somebody else without invading their personal space.