If your living room is the center-piece of your home, then your sofa has got to be the heart of this center-piece that can make or break your home design. So, in this third series of Reno 101, we’ll share with you the 5 easy steps to selecting your perfect sofa! 🛋

Step 1: What’s your usage?

Cost aside, the first thing to consider in selecting your sofa, is your usage. Some questions you can ask yourself are:

• How many people am I catering this sofa for?
• Is it mainly for display only? Or does it need to be comfy enough for those couch potato times?
• Does anyone using the sofa have special needs? e.g. if you’re expecting kids and pets to be climbing up and down the couch, you might want something without sharp corners and is also durable and easy to clean. But if you have an elderly at home, you might want something that’s tall and firm enough such that it’s easy for them to climb in and out of.

Step 2: What size do you need?

Once you know how your sofa will be used, the next step is to consider the size you need. And, this is also the step you’ll probably can’t afford to screw up. Imagine how awkward your sofa will look in your living room, if it’s either too big or too small!. 😱 

To determine the size of your sofa, consider these few factors:

• What is the maximum length and breadth your sofa can have? Do set aside sufficient walking space in your living room around the sofa. And if the sofa length you need is not easily available in the market, consider paying little more to have yours customised by the furniture manufacturers.
• How many seats do you need?
• How high do you need the sofa seat to be? If you’re catering for elderly, you might want to avoid sofa seats that are lower than their usual chair height, to ensure they can get on and off the sofa easily.
• How high and wide do you want the arm rests to be? Some homeowners prefer lower arm rests for napping purposes, while others might prefer slimmer arm rests for a wider seating space. 
• How high do you want your backrest to be? Depending on the sofa design, the height of the backrest may vary. If you’re looking for something with better support for your head and neck, you might want to go for sofas with higher backrests.

Step 3: What type of sofa do you need?

Once you know how your sofa will be used, the next you need is to decide on the sofa design. There are plenty of sofa designs, but these 4 are the more commonly used ones:

Chesterfield Sofas

Commonly known for their tufted design, chesterfield sofas are a must have especially for Luxe or European designs.

Sectional Sofas

If you’re looking for flexibility in your sofas, you won’t want to miss out on sectional multi-piece sofas, that let you arrange them in various configurations that are fit for various room sizes.

Loveseat Sofas

As the name says it, loveseat sofas are the sofas made just for two people. So, if space is a constraint for you, loveseat sofas are definitely a plus for your home design! 

Wooden Settee Sofas

These back-to-basic wooden chairs are a common choice in Oriental and Asian-themed homes. Although not as plushy as the other sofa types, the basic structure of wooden settees is sure to give your living room a lighter and less-cluttered look.

Step 4: What material is good for you?

Once you know the type of sofa you need, the rest will be so much easier to decide, even on the type of material you need! Most sofa types only go well with a limited variety of material options.  But, two of the most common materials are leather and fabric.

Leather sofas are known for their luxurious look. Although they tend to absorb more heat, making you feel hotter sitting on it, leather sofas are firmer and do not easily trap dust like in the case of fabric sofas. However, one key point to note is that leather sofas, especially those of lower quality are easily damaged by scratches. So, if you have jumping children or roaming pets with claws, do consider avoiding leather sofas.

Fabric sofas, on the other hand, are known for their comfort. Given that they trap dust easily, do keep a look out for those that are easy to wash and clean. If you foresee heavy traffic on your sofa, why not consider going for darker sofa colours to hide those stains and dust!

Step 5: What colour should your sofa be?

Finally, the last step of your sofa selection journey is to decide on your sofa colours. Although there’s no right or wrong in selecting your sofa colours, a major deciding factor lies in your home design style. For instance, minimalist and Scandinavian  home designs usually go well with muted or lighter shades.

Chic and art deco designs, on the other hand, go better with vibrant and contrasting colours. One tip to keep your colours coherent, is to match your sofa colour with some of the other furnishings in the room, similar to how this sofa was contrasting in its colour, but was of a similar shade with the TV console!

At the end of the day, finding your perfect sofa is really all about finding one that fits your needs, both aesthetically and physically. 👍🏻