How To Choose the Best Sofa for Your Living Room
The living room is the heart of your home. It’s the central place where friends, family, and other visitors can come to congregate, work, play, laugh, and relax. That’s why you must pick the right pieces of furniture that put people at ease by giving them a place to sit and rest. No piece of furniture does this better than a comfy couch. But selecting the right one can be a challenge. Since it’s one of the largest pieces of furniture, once you set a sofa in place, it’s there to stay for a very long time. So choose wisely. If you’re afraid you don’t know the first thing about picking out the right couch, read on. Here are a few tips on how to choose the best sofa for your living room!
Consider Size
The first thing you must always consider is size. Specifically, the size of the room and the size of the couch. Some rooms just can’t accommodate certain sofas. You absolutely won’t be able to cram a large couch in a small room. You probably already figured that out, but imagine the heartbreak of buying a couch you’re pretty sure will fit, getting it home, and discovering it doesn’t work. And that scenario is only possible if you can even get it through the front door. To avoid this, take accurate measurements of the room and entryway. Then, calculate the longest and widest couch you could easily (and comfortably) fit inside the room. Drawing a map of the room and determining your planned furniture arrangement will also help you visualize the result. And if your living room is too small for a couch, don’t despair. Fall back on a loveseat instead!
Think About Shape
When you think of a couch, you likely imagine a classic Chesterfield model about three seats wide with a plush back and arms. But couches come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. If you have a large room and want to divide the space to denote one area from another, consider buying a sectional couch. You can expand it with new sections or shape it to keep the couch area closed off or more open. A chaise or more modern design can give a smaller room a freer and airier feel. Choose the shape that suits the room and atmosphere you want to convey. Also, consider if you want the couch to do anything else. Picking a sleeper sofa will help with guests who spend the night, for instance.
Choose Suitable Upholstery
The couch’s upholstery is a dealbreaker. Consider what the couch will encounter during an average day. If you have pets or young children, look for something durable and easy to clean that can take a beating from little hands, feet, and paws (they will jump on it). If you live alone or have exceedingly well-mannered pets and kids, you can go with something a bit chicer and sleeker, such as silk, leather, or linen. Upholstery provides texture visually as well as tactilely, so make sure you like the look of it. If you’re going for a rustic farmhouse look, find a more homely fabric. For modernistic appeal, consider something a bit less cottagey. Of course, pick what feels the most comfortable for all that future entertaining, movie-watching, reading, or resting.
Go for Something Thematically Pleasing
We’ve touched on this before, but it bears repeating. Make sure the couch fits in, and not just physically. If you want to communicate a certain aesthetic through your furniture, make sure it all “harmonizes” by sticking to a style, color, and general feeling. That is unless you’re going for a more eclectic vibe, in which case, anything goes! But generally, it’s good to keep things consistent. Furniture pieces that clash can cause low-level anxiety for some people. Think of your home’s décor as a song. Make sure your couch continues to carry the tune by being tasteful and complementary.
Pick a Fitting Color
When it comes to picking furniture, most folks stop and start with the color. Fair enough—though as we’ve explored above, there are other aspects to consider. But color is still important. On the face of it, you should decide if the hue works in the confines of the room. Considering the walls, ceiling, and floor, does the couch’s color pop too much or not enough? Do the colors of the surrounding furniture overwhelm it, or does it get lost in the mix? None of these things are absolutely bad, by the way. However, you should consider what sort of statement the color of the couch makes in context. More practically, realize that the brighter or whiter the coloring is, the more often you’ll need to clean and do extra work removing unsightly spots.
Check for a Sturdy Structure
Couches are cozy, but not everything about a couch needs to be comfy. A couch has a support structure inside, and you need to pick one you can rely on. The wood in a couch should ideally be of a kiln-dried variety to ensure there’s little moisture inside. Air-dried wood is more prone to warp and bend over time, while kiln-dried wood is far less likely to do so. Also, ensure the couch has a firm construction with superior joinery. Ask the salesperson about the construction and whether the manufacturer or builder fitted or merely stapled it together inside. As for support, you should know that eight-way hand-tied springs give the most long-lasting support beneath the cushions. Other systems work well enough but may not perform as well over time. Test the cushions too, and choose the foam, feather, polyester, or spring interior that gives you the best support.
Next Steps
Those are just a few of the basics on how to choose the best sofa for your living room. To further explore your sofa and other furniture options, contact us today. We’ll be happy to speak with you and offer a consultation on the best pieces for your home, your office, or any other space. We have several living room furniture payment plans to help you with your decision and your budget!
