Five tips for buying a new sofa

Five tips for buying a new sofa

Buying a new sofa is a major investment, it’s a piece of furniture that will become a part of your life for a decade {or more}. We still have the sofa’s that we bought when we first got married and got our own house- although now they have been demoted to the playroom and den. So impulse purchases and sofas are not really a good mix – it’s wise to take some time to think about what sofa will work best for your family, and what you need from a sofa. It’s really wise to buy the best sofa you can afford, I spent ages and ages deciding on which sofa to buy last year when we were moving house.

Here are five tips to help you figure out which sofa is right for you.

Think about who’ll be using it

Do you have kids? Or are you planning on having them? Do you have dogs who’ll be sitting on the sofa? When you’re looking at which sofa to get you need to think about who’ll be sitting on it. If you have dogs with their dirty paws or small children with sticky fingers, then it might be wise to purchase a leather sofa which can be wiped clean easily. Some fabric sofas have removable, washable covers – but think about how practical it may be to remove them, wash and dry them each time they get dirty!

After a decade of fabric sofas {and oh how they have the stains to prove it!}, I chose leather sofa’s this time, and i@m so pleased I did -it’s quick and easy to wipe up a spilt drink, or rub off melted chocolate.

Seating Space

While it’s obvious that you’ll be sitting on your sofa, thinking about seating space is essential – do you like to lie down and watch a movie? Or do you have family who all like to sit together? Our old sofas were only two seaters, meaning they were too short for me to lie fully back on. We opted for extra large three seater sofa’s this time, meaning we can lie back on them and there is plenty of space for all of us to sit down! another option would be a corner sofa or two units that can be pushed together so everyone can sit together.

Five tips for buying a new sofa

Choosing the right colour/pattern

Seeing as a sofa is something that will be a part of your room for a long time, picking a colour or pattern is an important decision. It’s probably wise to stick to a neutral colour that can fit in with different colourways or patterns in the room. We opted for a warm brown colour for our leather sofas. We currently have white walls but we haven’t ruled out adding a feature wall at some point in the future.

Given how often I like to change up my room, I prefer a neutral sofa, adding in pops of colour with cushions and throws. Layering throws can bring tie your sofa into the room nicely, as well as adding warmth. My leather sofas can be cold, but layered up with sheepskins and cosy throws, they look warm and inviting. The pops of colour on these cushions help to brighten them up a little for the spring.

Five tips for buying a new sofa

Choose a style that fits

Do you want a modern sofa? Or how about a more traditional sofa? Rolled arms or box? Skirt or none? Box cushions, knife cushions, attached or loose? There are hundreds of styles and types of sofas. Have a browse through different style sofas and see which ones catch your attention, also look at the other furniture in your room – is that traditional or modern?

My sofa has big, cushioned arms – which are perfect for resting my head on when I’m watching a movie {or resting my laptop on if I’m working!}.

Know what space you have

Once you’ve decided on colour, pattern, style and fabric, it’s vital you stop to think about the room space you have. Will a corner unit fit in? Can you get a three seater sofa in the bay window – or would a two seater work better? Make sure you take into consideration the arm length, seat depth, back height and overall dimensions of a sofa when measuring up. You could mock up a floorplan of the sofa with masking tape on the floor where it will go – or build a mock up out of cardboard boxes to see how it would look.

You should also think about whether you like to change your room around. Personally, I like to move all the furniture around every now and then to refresh the space – so I need sofa’s that could fit into different spaces in the room – a corner sofa that can only go in one corner wouldn’t work for me.

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