Six Tips for Choosing the Perfect Sofa

jordanheko says:

Just purchased a set of sofas for our living room. TOOK FOREVER to decide what kind of sofa we are! Ha! Eventually, after much searching, rested on the Klaussner fifi sofa. Despite the fact that its white cotton Im optomistic that we have matched our combined styles to a tee! Has anyone purchased this sofa or know someone who has that has a good or bad experience with it?

shakalaka says:

I like that you included some places to shop. I'm sofa shopping now, although I already have a lovely teal one in mind.

Vintage Renewal says:

Great choices!

rileysgranny says:

A sofa is on our purchase list for this summer. We've closed in our front porch with windows on 3 sides and opened it up to the dining room/kitchen area. I'm thinking L-shaped or curved for the space covered in a neutral Sunbrella fabric. Then I can change out the pillows with the seasons. My thought is to visually divide the room from the kitchen/dining area with the sofa, but allow unrestricted walking space into the front room. I've seen some pretty hi-end versions, but my budget is a little more modest. Any suggestions are welcomed.

rileysgranny says:

Oh, and hubby wants part of the sofa to have a recliner in it!

rgillenwater says:

I love, love, love the ottoman in the last picture. However, the link provided does not take me to that ottoman and I can't find it on the Anthropologie web site. Any suggestions?

Vanessa Brunner says:

Hey @rgillenwater--so glad you liked it! I think that ottoman in the photo featured is custom made, so I included a link to another funky ottoman just for inspiration. But if you're looking for a cute zebra ottoman to add a little something to your living room, I love this one from Oly Studio: http://www.olystudio.com/products/seating/oliver_ottoman.htm

basilray says:

Great post Vanessa! Looking forward to seeing more from you ;)

Danielle says:

Yes, this was a great ideabook...informative and interesting to look at, a perfect combo! Thanks for sharing...:)

Furnitureland South says:

Some awesome tips, Vanessa! I work in the world's largest furniture store, Furnitureland South, in High Point, NC. People are amazed at how much goes into upholstery selection, but when it's done right, it can be absolutely breathtaking, inspiring and make you look forward to coming home to your new peaceful, functional living room every evening! Here are the sofas on our site if any of your readers are interested in some more upholstery eye candy :) http://www.furniturelandsouth.com/Upholstery-Sofas-CZ156-CY156-5.aspx

Nan says:

Oh, how timely! I've been sofa shopping for the past few weeks. I knew what I wanted in fabric and style, but I'm still stuck on actual arrangement in an awkward room! Also found great fabric I'll buy to make valance boxes & pillows.

jatluke says:

One other point to consider is the type of back you want. We tried the loose pillow back and pillows ended up all over the place and the cushions slid out from under. We now either go with a tight back or a fastened pillow back

tigger1058 says:

Instead of a couch we got 2 loveseats and a chair with ottoman so that we knew our furniture would fit in any room in the future.

mallow says:

This post is so timely, thank you. We ordered a sofa we thought we liked in a fabric we liked. After eight weeks, the sofa was delivered and is sooo hard and uncomfortable. I am so unhappy with it. Now I want to buy a new sofa (yeah, how to justify the extra expense) but worry that unless I sit on the exact sofa I'm buying, I might end up unhappy again. Help! Any suggestions?

Ruth Vallejos says:

Those are some lovely choices. It's sad for me, a middle aged and very tall architect, that most modern sofas are so incredibly low to the ground. The older I get, the harder it is to get out of these contraptions that feel like a futon on the floor. Where once I would use style as the predominant factor in choosing furniture, it's falling away to comfort. Big time. So - has anyone seen any really great sofas out there with a seat height of 17"?

sbillings says:

For those looking at reclining sofas - I bought reclining sofa and loveseat. After 2 years you cannot recline and lean on the arm without the side of the sofa practically falling off. Maybe if the sofa had been purchased from a more expensive place this would not happen? I don't know, but I do know I won't be getting another one.
Great post though, currently searching for a longer lasting sofa to replace the shoddy one.

donnajohnson says:

I have to disagree with the comment that reupholstering an existing sofa is economical and affordable. I just went through this exercise myself and found the cost of labor plus fabric was nearly $2,000. I had not chosen an especially
expensive fabric nor is my existing sofa overly large or complex to reupholster.
Although my sofa is very high quality, it doesn't make good economic sense to
recover it for $2000 when I can buy a new sofa of equal quality for approximately
$3000. So, yes, sofas can cost $5000, but I would never spend that much for a casual everyday sofa for my great room where my 2 doggies join me every evening. I had considered a slipcover instead, but my upholsterer charges the same labor price for slipcovers as for reupholstery. Having used him several times in the past I know he does very high quality work. His prices must be competitive because he stays very, very busy! For some reason, almost no other workrooms do slipcovers. I am simply
offering this as food for thought and suggesting it might NOT be wise to assume that reupholstering is an economical alternative. Others may have a different opinion or a different experience!

mamakat69 says:

thank you for this article!! i desperately want the now-discontinued pacific sectional from pottery barn. the dr. pibb from bob mitchell is great too but very expensive. i have 3 lil kids (9 y.o. son and 4 y.o. boy/girl twins) who still like to snuggle mommy on the sofa and each one insists on being beside me. i've yet to find a sofa deep enough for all of us to fit on.