How to Choose a Sofa for Your Home

Having a second-hand sofa is a rite of passage for many when they move into their first home. Eventually though, time catches up with old reliable, and it’s time to find a new sofa that offers both quality and integration with the decor.

If you’ve always had a sofa of convenience rather than shopping for your own, it’s hard to know what to look for aside from something that appeals to you visually. Here are some considerations when purchasing a sofa for your home, other than how it looks with your decor.

Lifestyle Considerations

Sofas tend to be in the common area of a home, so it’s no surprise that parents often hesitate to purchase expensive furniture until their children get a little older. It’s important to consider where you are in life for this reason, as well as many others. If you have children or plan on having children in the near future, a white coach is probably not the right choice for your lifestyle. Pets are another thing to keep in mind when purchasing furniture, for similar reasons.

You’ll also want to consider how often you have company, if you want a sofa with a pull-out bed, if you have back problems that would make it challenging to sit for long on an overly soft piece of furniture. As a sofa is the main focus of a living room, it makes sense to consider how you live when purchasing one.

Size

Before you go shopping for a sofa, you need to know what size to purchase. This is contingent on the size of the room you’re purchasing it for, as well as the functional purpose of the room. If it’s just you and your partner, you can likely get away with a small sofa regardless of the space you have available. If you have your friends over every weekend to watch the game, you’ll want something larger.

Don’t just consider the length of the sofa when buying; think of the depth as well. How far out will it jut into your living space if you put it against the wall? You might also want to consider the height of the sofa. A raised sofa with legs might be more comfortable for a tall person in your home than something that sits low to the ground.

Fabric and Material

Look beyond the print or color of the fabric and consider the material itself. Leather sofas appeal to many, as they have a predominantly masculine aesthetic. Synthetic leather is easy to keep clean, while real leather can be a nightmare. Suede is another fabric that looks and feels great but requires regular treatment to maintain.

Think about how certain types of fabric feel under your skin. If you’re buying a sofa online and wish to feel the fabric, request a swatch or head to your local fabric store to try it out.

Comfort and Support

Comfort and support are essential if you want to love your sofa for a long time. Ideally, you’ll find something that offers both. You want the comfort of a soft sofa to sink into at the end of a long day. On the other hand, you want something that is going to offer structure and support, so you don’t wake up with a sore back or end up in more pain from relaxing.

Look for a sofa with a strong, supportive frame and cushions that are firm with a bit of give. Contrary to popular belief, you want the arms and back of the sofa to be softer and cushier than the cushions themselves.

While visual traits are important when choosing a sofa to pull your decor together, you must also consider the practicality of the furniture you invest in. If you purchase a high-quality sofa and care for it, it could very well be someone else’s second-hand sofa in the future.