There are a lot of considerations when it comes to choosing a just-right couch—from style and size to plushness and price. Follow these smart shopping tips from local experts to ensure your pick is perfect.
Start With the Room
Begin by thinking about your space. “You have to consider the scale of your room—not only the size and shape, but also the ceiling height,” says Claire Paquin, founder of Scarsdale’s Clean Design Partners. Your pieces need to relate to each other and to the whole space; a large-scale room would require a large-scale sofa, but the same piece would overwhelm a smaller room. Patricia Arjune, Design Consultant at Willow Furniture & Design in Bedford Hills, recommends a sofa between 84 and 90 inches wide and 37 to 40 inches tall for a medium-sized room with a standard-sized ceiling, which is eight to nine feet. Be sure to allot space around the sofa for pieces like end tables and to have a good flow. If you’re outfitting a small room, consider a 72-inch wide apartment-sized sofa.
Another important factor: the purpose of the room. Paquin has multiple sofas in her house, and each one is tailored to the feel of the room. Her living room is more formal, so that sofa has the shallowest seat depth. The couch in her basement, on the other hand, is the deepest and most snuggly for lounging.
What Seat Depth Is Best?
This consideration is very personal and there’s no one right answer, only the right answer for you. A long-legged person who’s six feet tall needs a different seat depth than somebody who’s five feet tall. Paquin recommends trial and error: “I have [clients] sit in various sofas to discover their preferred seat depth.” To accommodate people of multiple heights, Arjune recommends a depth of 40 or 42 inches.
It’s also important to note that seat depth is not the same thing as sofa depth. Sofa depth refers to the overall distance from the back of the sofa to the front while seat depth only refers to the distance between the front of the seat and the back cushion. A tight-back sofa allows for a deeper seat on a slimmer couch than a model with oversized, loose cushions.
Choosing the Right Fabric
When it comes to family room sofas that get a lot of use, Paquin prefers microfiber velvet that’s easy to clean with soap and water versus finicky fabrics like chenille or natural fiber velvets. If you have pets or children, or you entertain often, Arjune recommends a high-performance fabric such as Crypton or even Sunbrella. “Anything that has a little bit of polyester is easy to clean,” she says.
Consider Your Cushions
If your current couch feels a bit too sloppy for your taste, or you think it aged too quickly, it might be due to your cushion style. Loose-back cushions are the quickest to collapse and show wear and tear, Paquin explains. When she has a client who is particularly bothered by that lived-in look, she encourages them to go with a tight-backed option. Many clients are wary, because they’re concerned it won’t be comfortable. But that’s where factors like seat depth, seat height, and arm height come in, as well as throw pillows for extra cushioning.
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