The difference is that the seat of a sofa with T cushions will extend past the arm of the sofa, and on a sofa with box cushions the arm extends to the full depth of the seat.

So the arms are going to be different, at least slightly.

Box cushions can both be turned over and switched from side to side to even wear, but a cushion with one tongue on it (half a T) can only be flipped over and used on the opposite side of the sofa. That may not make a whole lot of difference, but people do tend to favor once side of the sofa vs. the other.

Neither is dated, neither are trendy, Both are ways of making cushions since loose cushion sofas were invented.

^Agree neither is dated. Our family room sofa has two T cushions. I like that I can switch/flip them periodically. I can do the same with the back cushions since they’re also loose. The sofa is almost 10 years old and still looks great. If it’s any help, I think being able to rotate the cushions has made a big difference.

This is the sofa on it will be 2 cushions. So either T or square boxed seat cushions will look fine?

https://www.bassettfurniture.com/canton-classic-sofa-benchmade-DZC913-72SF

A two cushion sofa, in my opinion, is less useful: no one wants to sit in the middle. 80" is not really small either; 72" can be good for a small space.

I like having a sofa with three cushions that are (roughly) square so that they are all interchangeable. Flipping and rearranging them regularly (I do mine once or twice a month) is a good way to distribute the wear evenly. I think what you pictured is an attractive sofa.

Actually almost nobody will voluntarily sit in the middle of a sofa voluntarily even if it is a three cushion unless it is over 7 feet, or it's a crowded party and there's no place else to sit. So two or three cushion is not much difference at the smaller size.

This may be a reason to also pick a sofa that seats two very comfortably and you can lie on, if you wish, but is not overly long for a small room.

I am a big fan of bench seat cushions. No one sits on the crack and bench seats are very comfortable. I think it kicks the appearance of the room up a notch.

I recently picked up this sofa and lounge chairs off Craigslist. Pure luxury.

I would do box so they can be flipped to wear equaully no one sits in the middle of a sofa usually so if you have a small sofa and 2 chairs you can pull in from somewhere you will be fine.

A long single cushion is a modern and luxurious look, but I am not sure that I would go with a single bench cushion on a Bassett sofa. The construction and upholstery have to be very good to avoid rolling of the fabric around a single cushion, because the cushion acts as kind of a tube. Not to disparage Bassett as a brand in general but the single cushion is a high end sort of detail. Unless you are doing a Benchmade. However I don't see a T style cushion option for this sofa arm on the website?

Thank you everybody for your comments. She would love a bench seat but the sofa does not come with the option. Agreed most likely only two people will sit on an 80 inch sofa. They really like the look of two cushion sofa. They think it looks a little more modern. They decided on a t cushion so the arms don’t appear so boxy.

Oh funny as it may sound my daughter (all 100 pounds of her) loves sitting in the middle on the crack!☺️

Oh another thought about going with two cushions over three. The sofa and loveseat are not drastically different in size and they’ll be more cohesive in a small room with each having 2 back and 2 seat cushions. I think she’ll be pleased with the final result.

@Erin, our sofa I mentioned is also from Bassett. I’ve been really pleased with how it’s held up.