Have you owned a sectional before? I have/had a similar dilemma and was looking at very expensive (to me) leather sectionals. After looking and looking and not really being in love I bought a sectional on CL. Am I ever glad I did! We have used it in the room for probably 6-8 months and I HATE it. I think it was $400 and so worth the trial for us.

We are now looking for leather sofas again. They just work better and are more functional for us.

To both boopadaboo and eandhl we did/do have a sectional I purchased on CL several years ago. It is now in our basement not being used at all. It is funny because the kids preferred/prefer it. There are many things I did not like about this particular one, as it has too many cushions (I consider it the marshmallow look), and it is a U-shape, not L-shape with the gentle bend, not a direct right-angle. If you asked any of our children they would all scream sectional, but they are not footing the bill.

We will most likely purchase a rug as well: and if we do go for the leather, will get a light-colored one as I like a contrasting look.

Boopadaboo: if you are truly looking for leather sofas again check out Casco Bay Furniture. There have been some postings on this forum regarding their products and I have been in contact with lolauren who has been most helpful. Their line is beautiful, you can customize your sofa/sectional length and while they use the same leather as Restoration Hardware their pricing is about half.

Here is a link that might be useful: Casco Bay Furniture

When I purchased new furniture for the GR, I debated the same issue. I ended up getting a sofa and two larger-than-average slipper chairs. It's easier to re-arrange with the chairs vs 2 sofas, something to think about.

I wouldn't consider a sectional, but that's just me. ;o)

Another vote for two sofas. I hate my sectional.

I could never figure out what I'd do for convenient table space and lighting in the middle of a sectional...

And I worried the whole thing would be a goner if one part got wrecked. The flexibility of multiple pieces appeals to me more - more ways for furniture to live on.

I think a sectional might look crowded.

We love ours through ... a duck slipcovered down cushion MGBW.

What a relevant topic for me! We spent 5 hours today working with a furniture store designer and finally settled on 2 sofas. A sectional was never a consideration for us, but we did consider two chairs and a sofa.

We have a large open floor plan and the great room is 21x19. The fireplace is centered in the room and we decided to set the furniture on an angle so the FP is not the only focal point. Our TV will be enclosed in a cabinet on a tilting/telescoping arm.

Good luck with your project!

Thanks for the link Christine. I did look them up yesterday after you posted the name. Do you know if they are exactly like the restoration hardware couches? I don't think I would want to buy anything without being able to sit in them first.

For upholstered pieces I also like Cisco Furniture. They have a few Cisco Homes stores, but they also sell through lots of other retailers. I really like that they manufacture right here in Los Angeles and they will customize any of their pieces. I recently bought 2 sofas and 2 chairs. I am also "agonizing" over the sofa/chair vs sectional selection for another room.

Another vote for two sofas (or one sofa and two large chairs, or two loveseats, etc.) IMO, sectionals just aren't all that versatile in real life and end up looking HUGE in a room because of all that contiguous surface. I know you can re-arrange the pieces -- but in real life, who does that? And the pulled pieces end up looking 'orphan' if separated from the whole...

And I don't think you get any extra seating... Think about it. Go through an exercise mentally with two sofas and four people -- everyone's happy, right? On a sectional? The two in the middle are less happy. Five people? The fifth would probably choose a chair over a center seat. Six people? Well, maybe then I could see a slight edge to a sectional -- but not much. That logic is why I tend to prefer loveseats to sofas even -- Two people are just as happy on a loveseat as on a sofa and you've got more space for other pieces and other options.

Beautiful room! Honestly I would only do one sofa and a couple of comfy chairs. Two sofas will give you no more versatility than a sectional.

But with two sofas there is room for two people to lay down to watch TV. ;)

vote - 2 sofa's!

Cuddle :)

Can't tell you how closely I've been following this thread since I haven't made my purchase yet!

I've tried emptying my LR and marking the lines of the sofa w/ painters tape but that still didn't give me the best visual. I like how you used fabric to represent the sofa.

Just went through this thought process and we ended up ordering 2 sofas. Two sofas gives us more options in this room or if we ever have to move again, it will be easier to place in a new house. Not that I want or plan on moving, but in this economy you just never know.

I much prefer the look of 2 sofas or a soa and chairs, but a sectional is sometimes a better option. We are a family of 4 who lounges! Right now we have a couch, pair of club chairs, and a leather chair and ottoman. Only one person can really lay down. We end up pushing together chairs and ottomans to make it more comfortable. Don't get me wrong, we aren't always laying around, but when we finally get a chance to all be together in the same one room, it's nice to cuddle. Our kids are teenagers and still love watching movies with mom and dad. I will do anything to encourage that desire for family time, even buy a sectional.
My style is fairly formal and tailored, so it was difficult to go the sectional route. Our family room has 11ft coffered ceilings, heavy moldings, and dark wide plank hardwoods. Shape and fabric make all the difference. A puffy, leather sectional beast wasn't going to work. I chose a dark grey velvetty fabric on a track arm sectional with a gorgeously feminine teal and aqua butterfly fabric pillows and round ottoman. Still another month before delivery, but I am super excited!

Two sofas. That's what I did.

Hi Florenceill: Thank you for your feedback: it is most helpful. May I ask why you are not a fan of Casco Bay? I would appreciate your most candid opinion. Thanks again.

Pretty room/wall color and I love your drapes!
I would prefer 2 sofas vs. the sectional, as well.

And...if you don't mind a question ~~ WHERE is your cable box? Hubs just hung his tv over the fireplace and put the cable box on top. I don't like this at all and said there must be another way to do this and hide that box! TIA~

Hi loribee The cable box is in the closet. When we built the addition I wanted a closet to put everything away in as opposed to a built-in (we had 4 kids then, now 5, and that is where all the toys go as well). I am so happy we did.

If your hubby is interested, something I saw on a Home Crashers with Josh Temple were these speakers that are invisible as they can be mounted on any solid surface: they mounted them on the INSIDE of a closet wall and the sound was incredible. Wish I knew about that when we did our addition. Hope this helps!

i have found that i really love the lounging options with our leather sectional... we sit there mostly to read or watch tv (or nap!)... i like having various position options for lounging and the sectional allows that! (ie:sometimes i really like sitting with my feet up in the 'corner' if it! and i like being able to lie in either direction- i'm a sprawler!)
it has sat 5 people very comfortably over the years too... i think the lack of the extra 2 arms helps... more comfortable/roomy than sitting 3 people on a sofa, imo.

but... our family room is quite large, so the size of it wasn't an issue!

We LOVE the sectional in our family room.

More importantly, it worked very well with our kids and their friends. You can cram a lot of kids onto one for game playing/movies... or sleep many girls during a sleepover.

Kids are grown and gone, and our son and his wife insisted on taking the old sectional!

We got another... even though it is just DH and I for the most part, with plenty of room to sprawl, keep Sunday newspapers near, etc.

Part of it depends on the look you're going after. IMHO a sectional says casual, two sofas are more refined, and a sofa with two chairs is even more refined.
We had a sectional in our living room, but it really limited traffic flow and the ability to rearrange. When we had company over it made for awkward seating. We now have two sofas and large ottoman. At Christmas we were able to push back the sofas and accommodate 25 people in the room to open gifts. A sectional doesn't allow that flexibility. So think how You will use the room.

In our basement family room we have an L-shaped sectional bought off Craigslist, which works well there, but the room is much more casual than yours. Our kids liked the sectional when growing up and now as adults, they like the sectional in the basement so they can slouch down, cuddle with a spouse or just relax.

Your room is beautiful. In that setting I'd not go with a sectional. I think it would be a bit overwhelming or confining.

Thanks, Christine...I'm determined not to let this cable box ruin my family room, lol!
Any decisions on the couches vs. the sectional???

Christine --- I ran across this photo and wanted to share with you. It's not the exact size of what you had in mind, but I think it might help give you something to envision:

This is 158" x 128" ....
{{gwi:1562812}}

Thanks so much lolauren. We have come to a decision: we are going to order two 100" sofas in Brompton Cocoa. While I love the look of white/ivory/cream linen, that would NEVER work in my family. The Brompton Cocoa is such a yummy leather, and that is what is most functional and practical for our family. My friend who is an architect/designer (drew up the plans for our addition several years ago) came over Friday and we laid out tape on the floor for the sofas, coffee table, end table, and two options for rugs. As for rug I think we will end up going with one around the perimeter of the room due in large part to the corner fireplace. It will come to about 10"-12" from the wall and continue around the room. I will probably look for a remnant and have it bound, preferable with a contrasting border. Any suggestions welcome, as I would love some contemporary large pattern, but light in color due to the dark floors and the large leather sofas will eat up a lot of light as well. I will try and attach photos of the templates later. But lolauren, you have been so helpful! Thanks to all of you and I am still open to suggestions.

Good morning all: Well, we went with two 100" Madison leather sofas in Brompton Cocoa from Casco Bay Furniture and they arrived last Thursday, several weeks before expected. We LOVE them! Our sofas were estimated to take about 16 weeks as the size was custom so frames had to be built from new pattern. In addition, Rob was kind enough to send us several hide samples from amongst the numerous they have at the warehouse so we could choose the color we liked. This too was supposed to add to the time and we were thinking a delivery time in May but last Thursday they arrived right on time. My family and I could not be happier. They look EXACTLY like RH Maxwell sofas. I understand that the ones from CB are superior in construction to the ones currently made in China by RH, but since we have only had them one week I can only tell you what they look and feel like. They are beautiful now and we are looking forward to seeing how they "weather" over time. My husband literally started on one end of one sofa, got up, moved down a little, all the way to the end of the second sofa to see if there was any sagging or lifting of cushions: there was none. When we went to the RH Outlet in Wrentham in December/January we sat on several 96"and 108" Lancaster and Maxwell sofas and found the sagging, and if one person sat on the end of one cushion with no one else in the middle, it would lift like a see-saw. The sofas on the floors of RH retail showrooms are most often over 5 years old from when they were constructed in the US: the ones at the Outlets are more consistent with quality of product if ordered today as they are typically customer returns. In the end, we could not be happier and I look forward to doing more business with Casco Bay in the future. /Users/christine/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2012/04/10/20120410-112846/IMG_1678.jpg
/Users/christine/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2012/04/10/20120410-112808/IMG_1677.jpg
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I can't find the photos from your link. :(

I have all 3 options in my house, go figure. There are 3 living room spaces, all of them have their own issue. My Formal living room is longer and narrow, with big windows,not much wall space, So I have one couch, and a chair on each side of the window.

Seen here: http://wp.me/P1MmG7-3B

The third living room is more of the kids play room/add-on. It is in no way complete, and the couches will go ASAP, well, as soon as I can replace them with something more 'Us'

Seen Here; http://wp.me/P1MmG7-eB

The other living room/family room is odd shaped, with only one wall to place seating. The others have hallways, doors and a fireplace. In this room the only thing that would work was our sectional. And it fits like magic! We could not fit a couch or sectional in here to save our lives, due to one super long wall, and one way to short for a love seat wall. but the sectional because it has no arms makes no empty corners and it just tucks right in.

Seen here: http://wp.me/P1MmG7-5s

Here is a link that might be useful: Or you can go to the main page, and see the rooms, click on the links on the top bar.

Good morning all: Well, we went with two 100' Madison leather sofas in Brompton Cocoa from Casco Bay Furniture and they arrived last Thursday, several weeks before expected. We LOVE them! Our sofas were estimated to take about 16 weeks as the size was custom so frames had to be built from new pattern. In addition, Rob was kind enough to send us several hide samples from amongst the numerous they have at the warehouse so we could choose the color we liked. This too was supposed to add to the time and we were thinking a delivery time in May but last Thursday they arrived right on time. My family and I could not be happier. They look EXACTLY like RH Maxwell sofas. I understand that the ones from CB are superior in construction to the ones currently made in China by RH, but since we have only had them one week I can only tell you what they look and feel like. They are beautiful now and we are looking forward to seeing how they 'weather' over time. My husband literally started on one end of one sofa, got up, moved down a little, all the way to the end of the second sofa to see if there was any sagging or lifting of cushions: there was none. When we went to the RH Outlet in Wrentham in December/January we sat on several 96'and 108' Lancaster and Maxwell sofas and found the sagging, and if one person sat on the end of one cushion with no one else in the middle, it would lift like a see-saw. The sofas on the floors of RH retail showrooms are most often over 5 years old from when they were constructed in the US: the ones at the Outlets are more consistent with quality of product if ordered today as they are typically customer returns. In the end, we could not be happier and I look forward to doing more business with Casco Bay in the future.

Christine -- I'm so glad you're happy with them. :) They look very cozy! The drapes look very nice too...

They turned out beautiful! Post your rug when you get it! I want to see it, too!

Christine,

Based on your experience, I went to the Cosco Bay site and found a chair that I'm interested in. You said that you had a custom frame built. How did you determine the dimensions of the sofa - seat height, depth, overall height, etc? Did you have the opportunity to sit in a sofa before you ordered them?

suero - I can answer since I have ordered thru them before. I think most people customize the width typically. The pieces Christine and I purchased are both similar to couches sold at Restoration Hardware in style and size. You can't sit on a CB couch in person, but you can compare it to how the similar RH couches sit.

In my case, I loved how the RH couch felt. I just wanted a different, specific length that fit my space......

I am not sure what customization can be done to a chair, though?

Some places have semi-custom where you can change the length of the furniture and the type of fill material for the cushions. Full custom allows you to custom order all dimensions. I think I mentioned in a previous post having ordered from Cisco furniture. I have on order 2 chairs and I made them a bit taller, wider and deeper than the standard floor models. Luckily they are based in my area, so I can easily go to one of their stores and figure out dimensions with their in house designers. I have learnt my lesson and refuse to order a chair/sofa without being able to sit on similar products by the company.