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I’ve been procrastinating buying a new sofa for the past year, stumped by the high price point and low quality of a lot of options online. I wanted to invest in a piece that would last a decade or more, like the sofa I grew up with that my family still uses. Cheaper sofas seemed more to be made to fit fleeting interior design trends than made to last. The only higher end sofas I could afford were secondhand, which I didn’t want to do as it might require costly reupholstery. So I decided to try to find a contemporary luxury sofa brand that had the strong design components & quality manufacturing of my favorite vintage designer couches, but at a more achievable price point.
After perusing the Instagrams of many, many DTC furniture brands, I stumbled upon Burrow’s new Mambo collection, and it was love at first sight. Suddenly, months of procrastination and debating was moot: this was the sofa I’d been waiting for! Burrow’s beautiful designs felt both on-trend and timeless, so buyers could be confident in investing in a sofa that wouldn’t feel out of fashion in a couple years. And they promised easy assembly, fast shipping, and modular design to adapt to my needs. After reading through some reviews online, I placed my order. Keep reading for my comprehensive, honest review of the Burrow Mambo sofa system.
We like
- Extremely fast delivery times
- Modern but timeless design that won’t go out of style
- Modular design means the sofa can adapt to your changing needs – especially good for renters who move frequently
- Durable and luxurious fabric feels great to the touch
- Firm, comfortable seats good for lounging, reading, and entertaining
We don't like
- The available colors are all very attractive, but there are only three options for the Mambo line.
- The modular elements each arrived in their own box, meaning a lot of packaging had to be opened and disposed of before assembly.
Choosing a Burrow Mambo Model
Burrow has several different seating lines inspired by midcentury modern and Scandinavian minimalist design. I had been researching Italian modernist sofas like the ubiquitous Ligne Roset Togo and Mario Bellini, and was looking for something similarly graphic and modular. The Mambo immediately caught my eye because of its clean lines and funky, blocky silhouette. I also loved that the couch rested on wooden feet, adding a subtle, natural feel to the design. I measured my living room and discovered that the height of the sofa back would fit perfectly underneath my windowsill, and that I had enough room for the 4-Piece Sectional.
The Mambo line comes with an option for either high arms or low arms. I didn’t want high arms that might make my relatively small living space feel crowded, so I opted for the low arm version. The Mambo comes in two fabric colors (green and grey) and one leather option (camel), all of which are pretty neutral. Burrow offers free fabric swatches so that you can see their upholstery options in your space before you make your choice! While I was hoping to find a blue sofa (& other Burrow couch models had more colors options available), I ultimately decided that I loved the design of the Mambo so much that I would go for the green and use pillows and throws to bring in the blue design elements that I wanted for my space. Burrow told me that I’d have about a 4-6 week wait time from when I placed my order, so I settled in to wait for my new sofa to arrive!
Easy Assembly
Much to my delight and surprise, my Mambo arrived only two weeks after I placed my order, an unheard of turnaround time for a large piece of furniture like this! Burrow packed each element of the sofa in its own cardboard box, so the couch arrived in 8 large boxes. I was nervous about moving the boxes up the stairs into my apartment, but because it had been broken down into its component parts, each box was light enough to move on my own.
Then came the hardest bit – unboxing. Because the Mambo is broken down into individual boxes for delivery, I had to open and dispose of eight large cardboard boxes as well as the cardboard pieces used to protect the couch elements in transit. I settled in for about two hours of unboxing. While the packaging did produce a lot of cardboard waste, it was really beautifully designed and each element of the sofa was very well protected. After disposing of half of the cardboard in my recycling bins and moving the rest into the basement for storage until the next week’s recycling pick up, I was ready to assemble!
Assembly itself was a breeze. I’d brought out my much-loved Character toolbox, which holds many tools from complicated past furniture assembly jobs, and my Character toolbag which I recently reorganized to house my drills and screwdrivers, but I didn’t end up needing either of them! Each box came with a set of large plastic screws that fit into holes at the base of the couch elements. Following the very clear instructions included with the sofa, I used these plastic pieces to join each of the couch backs to a couch seat. I was apprehensive about assembling furniture after years of struggling with illegible IKEA instruction manuals and dealing with broken or missing parts, but the Burrow Mambo arrived with all the correct pieces and all of the screw holes at the base of the couch lined up perfectly. Once I’d attached all the modular pieces, I fastened the seats together using large plastic clips that are invisible once they set into place. I couldn’t believe how easy and stress free it was. I was able to construct the entire thing myself, and assembly only took around 30 minutes once I’d gotten all the packaging out of the way!
Luxury Quality
Once assembled, I flopped onto the couch for a comfort test (i.e. nap). I was delighted to find that the couch felt really sturdy and was roomy enough to lie down on comfortably. The cushions were firm enough to make sitting comfortable, but soft enough to invite lounging. The fabric feels durable and tightly woven, and already has stood up to my cat’s claws far better than the fragile velvet on my last sofa. I love being able to reposition the ottoman sectional module depending on what I need, and the low, flat arms are perfect for holding a book or a throw blanket. The Burrow Mambo really feels made to last, like the midcentury modern design classics it’s modeled after.
Adaptable Design
The Burrow Mambo is the most stylish and best quality DTC sofa I’ve tested, quickly becoming the focal point of my living space. After years of avoiding entertaining more than one or two guests because of my small loveseat, I’m overjoyed to share my home with friends and family, knowing that my Mambo sofa is roomy enough to fit everyone comfortably. I can’t wait to play with different configurations of the Mambo as my needs and living spaces change. This is definitely a sofa that will adapt with me for the long run, and I can’t wait to see where we go together.
