The right sofa for your family {revisited}
6 Tips for Choosing and Purchasing a Sofa My husband and I have been successful (and lucky) when buying sofas that are attractive as much as they are practical. We personally own a leather tufted gray sofa and a microfiber light blue sloped armed sofa.
They have been colored with green food coloring, stained with berries, peed on, and used as a trampoline.
Here are some quick tips for when you are considering to purchase or purchasing a sofa that is kid friendly.
Obvious Tips
1. Measure the space where the sofa will live before you shop.
2. Unless you like trends and change, buy a classic style with neutral colors. Chesterfield style or tufted back, rolled and sloped arms, and straight lines are different things to look for. Slip covers bring casualness to the room.
3. Try it out!! Sit on the sofa, make sure you don’t feel springs poking through and check the firmness. Lay on it to see if it is nap worthy.
Tips You Might Not Know
1. Make sure it is well constructed, when you lift one end of it off the ground about 5 inches, the other side should lift too. 2. If you prefer upholstered sofas, look for cushion covers that are removable (to be easily cleaned) in a durable fabric such as Ultrasuede, twill, denim, velvet, wool, flat weave fabrics, and other natural fabrics woven with a little synthetic fiber. To test fabric, run your hand across if, the more noise it makes, the more durable it is. When choosing Ultrasuede, choose one whose fibers do not change colors when you move your hand across is. Leather is always a fantastic choice for easy care, just make sure it is not bonded leather, choose a split grain, full grain, or top grain leather for maximum durability. 3. Check the filling material. Down/feather combinations are the most preferred, but most expensive. A less expensive option is down feather mixed with hr foam (high resilience polyurethane). High density polyurethane lasts longer than polyester and polyfiber. Try to avoid polyfiber mixes and polyester because they lose their shape quicker, flatten, and can clump and become lumpy.
Smaller budget shoppers should look at Macy’s Claudia sofa in leather or Ultrasuede velvet.
Our blue sofa actually came from Value City Furniture and I have been so impressed by its durability.
Don’t forget to check thrift stores and consignment shops. Most older sofas are well made and their appearance is a testimony to how durable they are. You can always reupholster it for a custom appearance. Designers do it all of the time!!
PS. Check out Emily Henderson’s post on upholstering antique sofas. She is amazing!
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| Style by Emily Henderson |
Thank you for your tips on construction. It is so easy to find something that looks amazing, but if you want it to last the durability is a good thing to consider. After reading your advice, I have a better idea of how to shop for a quality sofa. Who like the design of this couch I found? I love the functionality of the sleeper option!
Personally, I find it quite difficult when it comes to buying the right sofa/couch for any of the rooms in the house. Yours is really insightful article I can use in the future. Thank you Kathy.
Thank you for the kind words, I’m glad you found the article insightful. 🙂
Kathy, I wish I would have read your article before I bought my new leather sofa. I didnt take any measurements before that and I had to go back and forth getting a new one (and that was a hassle…). One good thing was that when I returned it there was better deal :), thanks
I’m glad you were able to get a better deal! Thanks for stopping by.