Over lockdown I’ve lost count of the number of links I have been sent by my friends of sofas. They arrive with no notice in our WhatsApp chat normally accompanied by a brief message like “What do you think?” or “What about this one?”.
Now I’m not stupid. I know what my friends want to hear…
“Amazing, I love it, you should definitely buy it” with lots of smiling and thumbs-up emojis.
I understand they just want some reassurance so they can confidently ‘add to basket’.
But what I really think is. Hang on a minute! What room is it for? What’s your budget? What size is it? Have you received a sample of the fabric? How durable is it? Will it fit through the door? What colour are the walls? How many people does it need to comfortably seat? What style of furniture is in the room?
I don’t know why this correlation between lockdown and buying sofas has occurred, maybe it’s just because we are sitting down so much more. But what I am sure about is this is definitely not the time to hurriedly buy a sofa online. However, it is the perfect time to start the process and get shortlisting. Buying a new sofa is a big decision and there are lots of things to consider. So take your time.
Working through these steps will help you avoid costly mistakes and should guide you to your perfect sofa. So start with step 1 and by the time you get to the final few steps, we will hopefully be emerging from lockdown.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SOFA
1. ASK YOURSELF SOME QUESTIONS?
If you want to get the right sofa make sure you know what you need from it.
So ask yourself some key questions.
- How many people will need to regularly sit on it at the same time?
- Do you need one big sofa or would a smaller sofa and armchair work better?
- Is it for just sitting on or will you be living on it? Sometimes we just sit on our sofas, but sometimes they’re also for lying down, cuddling, working from home, eating dinner, napping, and gaming.
- What’s your top budget?
- What are you colour matching to; paint on the walls, wallpaper, a rug, some curtains?
- How easy does it need to be to clean?
- Is there someone very tall in your household who will need a higher back?
Thinking through these questions will start to guide you toward what type of sofa you need. It’s easy to just see a sofa and fall in love with it but make sure it ticks all the other boxes, or at least most of them.
2. THE RIGHT SHAPE
The shape of your room and the layout are going to really limit what shape of sofa is right for you. Sadly that could mean the L-shaped sofa of your dreams is not a possibility. Of course, you have some control over the layout of your furniture but there is not much you can do about the position of the doors and windows so a room will normally scream out to you where the sofa should go and what shape it should be.
For example,
A small, narrow living room typical of a Victorian home will suit one long sofa against the back wall. And if it has a bay window this could be perfect for an armchair or loveseat.
A squarer room may suit two smaller sofas sitting opposite each other, this is great for a conversational, sociable space.
A corner sofa suits an open plan space or a larger living room where you have two perpendicular walls uninterrupted with doorways or windows. Or if there are windows just make sure your sofa sits lower than them so they don’t block any light.
Photo by Minh Pham on Unsplash
3. THE RIGHT SIZE
Now you need to measure up to see the maximum size and minimum size you should be looking at. Of course, you don’t want a sofa that’s too big but it’s also just as bad to have one that’s too small for the space.
So have a look at the space where your sofa will be going and think about what size will suit the space. If it’s along wide wall you need a wide sofa so that it feels in proportion, getting a smaller sofa would actually make the room look smaller.
Also consider your coffee table, if you are going for a coffee table in front of your sofa make sure your sofa isn’t going to be too deep, to accommodate it. Ideally, you need 60cm between your sofa and your coffee table. If you are going for side tables make sure there is enough room on either side of your sofa for them.
Also just check what height sofa you are after. This will depend on how tall people are in your household but maybe you also have a radiator that you don’t want poking out of the top, so consider a taller sofa to conceal it.
So by now, you should have your minimum and maximum width, depth and height.
4. COLOUR COORDINATING
Have a look around the room and see what existing colours you have to work with. It may be that you are redecorating completely, if so then choose your sofa first, it’s far easier to match a paint colour to a sofa than the other way around.
But chances are you will have things in the room like a rug, or some blinds that your new sofa will have to get along with. You can either complement these colours or you can contrast with them, either will work.
If you have a particularly small room then choose a very similar tone to your wall colour like this stunning Sofa by Neptune in Isla Fox velvet. This blending effect creates a seamless look that makes your room feel much bigger.
So now you know what shape, size and colour you can actually start shopping and shortlisting sofas. Order fabric samples so you can physically see the colour in your home and see how it works with the other items in your room. All this you can still do in lockdown.
Don’t forget to consider your swatches in natural light and at night time as well to see how the colour appears in artificial light. Also, rub the fabric on your bare skin, make sure it doesn’t have any itch factor!
5. SEE IT IN THE SHOWROOM
So this can be a bit of a stumbling block and is often a step people feel tempted to skip. Maybe the nearest showroom is a 2-hour drive away, maybe there is a worldwide pandemic and it’s illegal to leave your home for a sofa shopping trip. Whatever the barriers try not to miss this step.
A sofa on your laptop screen is a totally different experience from seeing it and sitting on it. There is no substitute for the real-life experience so get out there (when it’s allowed). The sofa I had my heart set on during my last purchase turned out to be way too low on the back and the seat was so deep I struggled to get out of it. It had been on my Pinterest board for months and was ruled out in 30 seconds. Spend time, lounging and sitting. If you lie on your sofa at home, then lie on your sofa in the showroom to make sure the arm isn’t too high for you to comfortably rest your neck on. Chances are you will also see a larger swatch of your fabric or whole sofa in it, because are you really going to trust a swatch the size of your phone to make such an important decision?
So my advice is to wait until the world returns to normal. Your sofa should last you ten years, waiting an extra couple of months shouldn’t hurt you too much. And if it’s a long drive make a trip of it, use it as an opportunity to see new and exciting places.
Photo by Kara Eads on Unsplash
6. Check it fits through the door
So if your sofa is definitely a goer there are two final things to check.
Will it fit through your door? There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing the sofa you waited 10 weeks for being carted off back up the M3 because you didn’t take the time to make sure it fitted through the door. And it’s not just the door to your living room it’s your front door and all the twists and turns along the way.
7. Check the maintenance
The final thing to check is the maintenance of your sofa. And by this, I mean how much plumping does it need? Feather-filled pads are luxurious and comfy but you need to beat the hell out of them every day. Ask about this in the showroom. The staff there make their living making their sofas look good so they will know the pain of endless cushion plumping. If you are lazy and it’s high maintenance then rule it out and find yourself a polyester-filled friend.
It may not be foolproof but this process should safely see you through choosing your new sofa. But if you are still struggling then send me a message or give me a call. It’s such a big decision and you don’t want to get this wrong so sometimes it’s good to get a little help. Or have you recently bought a new sofa? How did you get on?
