THE IMPORTANCE OF SOFA’S AND FURNITURE: HOW IT CONVERTS YOUR HOUSE TO A HOME

The concept of how to choose a sofa seems pretty simple, right? You go to the store, you look at it, you sit on it, and then you buy it. Well, today I want to take away all your potential stress around choosing a sofa. Let me give you a full rundown on all the things you need to think about before you even leave the house. Some of these things seem obvious, I know. But there are other considerations that are far less apparent. Until you purchase the wrong sofa, experience buyer’s remorse, and hate your life. Let’s avoid all of that heartache shall we? Because this extensive list is going to very clearly answer the question of how to choose a sofa you won’t hate. That love runs deep.

Let’s Start with the Vibe

The style of your sofa comes first. Examine what kind of style your home currently has and then choose a sofa that’ll fit in with that theme. I know, this step seems super obvious, but many people just buy what they like, and sadly what they like doesn’t suit the style of the room a lot of the time. Or it might not work with the rug in the room, or the art that’ll go above the sofa. All of these elements need to make sense together, so you got to start with getting the look right.
Have a good think about how you want the room to feel when you’re in it. Do you want this space to feel calm and muted (a neutral sofa), fun and exciting (something more colorful), or do you have a really specific theme going on, like mid-Century (in which case Googling ‘mid-Century sofa’ will really come in handy). If you skip this step you might end up with a sofa that’s super comfy but looks completely out of place.

Now Move onto Functionality

What you’re using the sofa for is really important. And yes, I know “to sit on” is the answer, but we need to dig deeper here. For example, is this a formal sitting room where you’ll sit down for drinks when people come over? Or is this the room where you’ll watch TV every day? It is a rumpus room upstairs for the kids where they’ll have friends over and eat/drink on it? Maybe it’s a sofa bed in a guest room.
Each one of the above situations dictates a different style of sofa. Formal can be less comfortable, more structured, more upright. TV-watching sofas need to be cushier; something you can sink into and lay around on. And sofas for kid’s zones need to take more wear and tear as we all know that most teens do not care about sofa maintenance.They really should teach this in high school.

The moral of the story:

don’t skip this necessary ‘how will it be used?’ step.
By now you should have a sofa vibe and use in mind. For example, a bold-colored sofa with a formal feels for a sitting room. Or, a neutral sofa with a cushy relaxed feel for a TV room. Now let’s move onto the next part.

The Ideal Sofa Width & Depth

You have to measure out the sofa you’re considering buying in your current living room. If you don’t do this I guarantee you it probably won’t fit. It’ll either dominate the space or leave no room for a coffee table, or it will be too small and you’ll be left with a dwarfed-looking sofa. The sofa needs to fill the room nicely without feeling too large or too small. To get this right, grab your tape measure and measure out your sofa width first. Consider if you want side tables bedside your sofa, in which case you’ll need to add around 50cm width either side of your sofa measurement (most decent side tables hover around 50cm in width).
Sofa depth is also vital to measure out. Some sofas can be up to one meter in depth (from the front of the sofa cushion to the back of the sofa). Given you’ll need to allow 50cm from the front of your sofa to the edge of your coffee table, and then 50cm minimum on the other side of your coffee table, you’d also be wise to measure your current coffee table and ensure it will work with the sofa you want to buy.

The Height is Also Important

This element is particularly important if your sofa is cutting across an open plan living room. If it’s a sectional sofa, for example, one of the edges is likely to cut across the room, so you want to ensure that the back is low, so your eye can still glide across it.
If the sofa is backing onto a wall, the height isn’t of major concern, although it is still worth thinking about what size art you want to hang above it. Low-back sofas might not work for you if you’re the kind of person who wants neck support when watching TV. I find as I’m getting older, I want to hold my neck up less and less. Sad fact, but it’s true. A high-back sofa is a wise idea if you’re in the same boat.

How Low are the Sofa Cushions?

This is definitely a dimension people don’t think about, especially if they’re looking to order a sofa online. You’ll know right away if the sofa is too low for you if you’re road-testing it in-store, but an online purchase is a different story.
A sofa with a seat height of 40cm or less is quite a low sofa. It will be far harder to get out of it than a sofa with a 60cm seat height. As we age, or even if we have mobility issues, this factor becomes so important. You should be able to comfortably stand up from the seat you’re sitting in, not feel like you need help to get out of the chair.
It’s also good to think about the seat height in relation to the height of your coffee table, because the coffee table should never sit higher than the seat cushions on your sofa. Always the same height or lower. I hope you’re making notes!

Cushion Depth has a Huge Impact

This is especially important for shorter people, because some sofas are so deep that your feet won’t touch the floor. Trust me, this will not be comfortable and you’ll find yourself needing to add additional cushions behind your back all the time.
On the flip side, tall people with long legs will not find a cushion depth of 60cm comfortable to chill out and watch TV in. This goes back to my point about what the sofa will be used for. A tall person on a sofa with a 60cm cushion depth is going to be sitting fairly upright. This is fine in a formal sitting room, but not in a TV- watching chill-out space.
Also remember: sofa depth and cushion depth are two totally different things. Sofa depth is measured from the front of the base cushion right to the back of the sofa. But the cushion depth is from the front of the cushion to the front of the back cushion. The back cushions on your sofa might be 20cm thick, so don’t go by sofa depth when you’re considering how you’ll feel when you sit on the sofa.