Two of the most popular Pottery Barn sofas to date are also the most similar looking, so what’s the difference?
First and foremost, the PB Comfort sofa in question here is more specifically known as the PB Comfort Roll arm sofa – the PB Comfort Square arm easily distinguishes itself from the Roll arm as you can see in the two images that follow:
Both are of course, slipcovered versions so you’ll notice that they have the long skirt that flares out slightly – creating a more relaxed look overall.
Check out how the Pottery Barn PB Basic Slipcovered Sofa looks like:
PB Basic Slipcovered Sofa
PB Basic vs PB Comfort Sofa
From the above images, it’s easy to see that the sofas can be differentiated by the number of seat and back cushions firstly: Basic has 3 while Comfort has 2.
Secondly, the next most obvious difference would be the pleats. The PB Comfort are only pleated at the corners while the PB Basic has pleats which leave a vertical gap which falls beautifully between each seat cushion – giving it the illusion of continuity.
With the sofas, it’s actually quite straightforward – so let’s move on.
PB Basic vs PB Comfort Loveseat
It’s slightly trickier with the PB Basic and Comfort Loveseats, because they’re on equal footing now with the same number of seat and back cushions.
Having said that though, the pleating differences still apply: the PB Basic Loveseat would have a vertical gap right smack in the middle where the PB Comfort Loveseat is still clean with pleats only at the corners.
Check them out:
PB Basic Loveseat
PB Basic vs PB Comfort Armchair
With the best saved for last, the most difficult to tell apart would be the PB Basic and Comfort Armchair.
For starters, the pleats are at exactly the same places – the corners.
What next?


Take note of the piping around the armrests – do you see it?
It’s incredibly subtle, but here’s a closer look:
Basic vs Comfort Armrest
The armrests of the Basic is a lot more tapered compared to the Comfort, and you can see that PB Comfort Armrests are slightly more skewed outwards.
Final Summation
The PB Basic and Comfort Sofas are actually quite different, while the PB Basic Loveseat and Armchair are fairly similar to its PB Comfort counterparts.
However, it’s actually easy to tell the difference between the Pottery Barn Basic and Comfort simply by looking at the shape of the armrests. If the shape pretty much resembles a magnifying glass – then you know it’s the Pottery Barn PB Basic :)
Hopefully this was another mystery solved once again – what sofa model(s) should we do next?
Don’t forget to check out the differences between the Pottery Barn PB Basic Sofa vs IKEA Ektorp 3 seater sofa!
Images courtesy of Potterybarn.com