Picking out a sofa for your home is a major choice that will impact your life for years to come. Every time you watch a movie, curl up and read a book, or invite company over to relax in your living room, your couch will play a significant role.
A couch must fit specific criteria. It must match the room’s decor, be made of the right material, and provide enough seating. Everyone has a unique living space of their own, as well as their taste and budget.
The right couch is out there, and it’s worth taking the time to find the right one for you! Let’s take a deeper dive into what makes one couch so different from another.
Source: unsplash.com
Choosing a Material
What kind of material should your couch be made of? You need to take a few considerations in mind. Those with children or dogs may be eager to buy a couch made of durable material, probably in a colour that hides stains well.
Leather sofas are easy to clean pet hairs from, and they stand up to a considerable amount of punishment. Different fabrics have textural qualities that can make a couch look retro or contemporary.
In today’s day and age, minimalism is trendy. Once wool couches with browns, yellows, and oranges were all the rage, people like sleeker and plainer styles. You should have a general sense of prevailing modern styles before deciding whether to opt-in or break convention.
Industry leaders like the Thechesterfieldshop.com have a huge selection to choose from, and their friendly sales associates will guide you in modern trends.
Source: unsplash.com
Colour
Your sofa can make a bold, loud statement, or it can fade gently into the background. Perhaps it can act as a nice accent in a room that’s otherwise neutral in colour.
Having a grey, white, or blue sofa is very different than a red or green one! In many ways, the colour you choose may be determined by the colours in the rest of the room. Things like wall art and carpets come to define the colour scheme in a room, and the couch you get should fit in with all these things.
Are you moving into a new home, or getting a new couch for where you’ve already been living? This will help narrow down your colour choices or expand your options.
The colour couch you have can make the room seem larger or smaller. For example, if you have a dark couch in a small space, it will only make the room feel smaller. Choose light colours in small places to create a sense of openness.
Source: unsplash.com
Size
Everyone would love to have a mega couch that can fit all their friends for movie nights or when the big game is on TV. But it’s important to match the size of your couch appropriately to the size of your home.
Too big a couch in a small space will crowd the room and make it feel stuffy. On the flip side, a small couch in a very large and open space is liable to get lost. A couch should have a stabilizing effect on the feel of the room, an anchoring effect that really ties the room together.
Measure out the free space you have carefully and consider the height too. Low-slung couches have a smaller presence, and even if you have more than enough room to accommodate such a couch, you may decide to opt for something that feels grander.
Source: unsplash.com
How Many People Does It Seat?
This may seem like a pretty straightforward question, but you need to consider the space and the vibe of the room. For example, you may want an enormous sectional couch in a basement recreation area that seems designed for hosting parties.
But you may decide to use that space for a different purpose, in which case a smaller couch may be appropriate. If you’re buying a couch to fit a condo, a standard three-seater or a sectional that allows someone to stretch their legs may be the most natural fit.
There are fewer options when outfitting a smaller space. If you want more seating for a small space, there are ways you can do it. For example, some ottomans can be used for both storage and seating.
Some people don’t like entertaining, and they may just want a good chair and perhaps a love seat. There are no wrong answers. The choice is totally yours.
Source: unsplash.com
Is it Comfortable?
This is perhaps the most important question of all: is your couch comfortable? Some people are design-oriented, and the aesthetics may mean more to them than sitting comfortably. But in general, there’s nothing people love more than diving into a deep comfy couch!
Many new, poorly-built couches are designed to look great in an advertisement, but they wear down quickly. If they are comfortable when you buy them, they won’t stay that way for long. Cheap materials degrade quickly — springs lose their bounce, cushions get warped from prolonged use.
Beware of couches that look great in ads, but are uncomfortable to sit in! Some people with large homes may have a seating area that is mostly there for show. Maybe on special or formal occasions, they’ll sit down there.
But your everyday soft should be cozy and comfortable. Especially with people spending more time at home lately than ever, investing in a quality couch you’re eager to lie on can substantially improve the pleasure you get from your home.
Do you really want to binge Netflix on a couch that is kind of uncomfortable? You don’t need to sacrifice looks for comfort — get a couch that has both.
A couch is a vital piece of furniture for the home. It’s where the family rests after a long day, and friends come to relax and talk. A sofa has to look good, feel good, and make the room seem complete. Consider all the criteria listed above when you need to buy a new couch, and invest long-term so the couch you buy will be in excellent condition years from now.
