Stopping on a particular piece of furniture to equip a room in your home is not always an elementary process. Sometimes we face spatial restrictions, in other cases it is mainly our planned budget that limits us. Anyway, the criteria to be considered are quite numerous and no detail should not be underestimated. And if in the bedroom we are the only witnesses of our decorative successes or missteps, in the modern living room the situation is drastically different. So, how to choose your living room sofa, arrange it well and highlight it with full grace?
The first criteria when choosing a sofa are obviously its size and shape and they are often interdependent. In other words, a corner sofa is rarely compact while a straight sofa is normally only 2 or 3 places. Dimensions and configuration therefore go hand in hand and they must always be examined together in order to start off on the right foot. Above all, take into consideration the number of people using the room at the same time.
It goes without saying that owners of large living rooms can afford any model that comes to mind. A "circular arc" seat or a large 3 or 4 seater sofa with a chaise longue and a matching armchair next to it, all oriented towards the central axis of the coffee table, are among the most comfortable and aesthetically pleasing options. time. But we will talk more about the layout in the second part of the article…
These days, we have the advantage of an additional option - that of the modular sofa that we can recompose many times. It is a particularly beneficial variant when the square centimeters on the ground are not a problem, the living area is open and the same space is used for relaxing, reading, watching TV, entertaining friends, family fun and so on.
Okay, mansion owners are spoiled for choice, but how do you choose your sofa when you have to live on 40m²? Opt, for example, for a small loveseat with a contemporary design, like the super elegant model shown in the photo above. If space permits, add an original armchair and swap the classic coffee table for a multifunctional rigid pouf.
The layout of your sofa is just as important for comfort of use as its specific model, if not more so. It's true that a sofa is for sitting, but that doesn't mean that's its sole purpose. For example, by overlapping it with a well-placed rug, it can be used to clearly delimit the lounge area in the context of a living room open to the kitchen or dining room.
The key to design success is developing a strategy and sticking to it to achieve the design goals you set for yourself. As logic dictates, orient the back of your sofa towards a large window if this piece of furniture is the main ingredient of your reading corner, however ensure thick curtains that will allow you to block the daylight here it is also your home theater space.
The large living rooms give the possibility of integrating several pieces of furniture as well as a more artistic arrangement of the sofa. In the image above, we see a magnificent composition of a pair of 3-seater sofas arranged at an angle and oriented towards a large white square table. They're layered over a matching striped rug and complemented by two white armchairs, side tables, and even a console table leaning against one of the divans.
Once again, amateur decorators who don't like fixed layouts can turn to modular furniture. Another very ingenious flexible solution is to choose a small sofa on wheels and move it if necessary. The model above is compact, easily movable, super attractive and comfortable at the same time thanks to its curved armrests and its fairly generous padding.
When you ask yourself how to choose your sofa, you inevitably ask yourself another question: which upholstery fabrics should you choose? As you can imagine, this is not a one-size-fits-all question because each subject has its own merits and disadvantages that must be weighed in order to make an informed choice. Ease of cleaning, wear rate and tactile comfort are just some of the weight factors.
Leather, for example, is very durable, does not retain unpleasant odors and does not allow dust to penetrate. But it is expensive and not exactly comfortable to the touch in summer unlike natural cotton tapestries. The latter offer a plethora of trendy colors and patterns but can be difficult to maintain and wear out relatively quickly due to the more delicate nature of their fibers.
The same goes for velvet sofas which are currently back on the design scene. However, we must admit that their decidedly aristocratic texture is able to create an unparalleled cozy atmosphere in the living room, which explains why a large number of high-income owners prefer them and transform them into the focal point of their sophisticated interior.
Decor tip: if you are tempted by the richness of velvet, but you find it optically "heavy", you can resort to a simplistic yet 100% effective solution to compensate for its somewhat imposing presence. Choose a sofa model mounted on legs and thus create a visual distance between the floor and the furniture. Even better, the very thin or transparent legs create an optical illusion of a sofa floating in the air!
When you don't furnish an apartment from scratch (which is quite often the case), but you simply replace your obsolete or damaged furniture, you have to think about how to choose your sofa to match the color of the existing wall paint, the material of the flooring, the tones of the other furniture in the living room and all the other elements of the interior that are not planned to be renewed.
Specialists advise tipping the balance in favor of neutral natural tones and pastel colors. The reasons behind a safe choice of this kind are that the sofa is a large piece of furniture that does not go unnoticed and is also relatively expensive. We could not therefore replace him every few years and we would then have to live with his final, even permanent decision.
However, playing the card of caution is not fun, unless it is an ordinary living room that you are targeting. Ultimately, the world belongs to the bold and interior design is no exception to this diction. So, how to choose your sofa to achieve an artistic and unusual decor that shows good taste? The answer is quite logical - by striving for the perfect balance!
We immediately explain what we have in mind. If, for example, your walls are white or painted in a light neutral color, allow yourself a sofa in an intense dark color. The duller the colors of the backdrop, the flashier your couch should be. Another successful decorative approach is to use the white on white, black on black, white on gray etc. technique. However beware! Layering similar (non-)colors requires a mastery of the use of textures to not end badly with a boring living room.
Another point worth mentioning is that the described layering works wonderfully in the ultra-modern living room, but would be more difficult to pull off in a bohemian or retro chic stye room which is normally contrasty and bold . So, we ask ourselves the question: how to choose your sofa according to the style of your living room (current or targeted)? The answers - through the following photos!
Minimalist style pearl gray sofa to further modernize a purist space
Who wants to give a modern twist to their living room can bet on a sofa with a design that is as simplified as possible. To ennoble it, you have to choose a Chesterfield in real brown leather or a revisited variant in padded mustard yellow velvet. In order to make the interior retro chic, one can move towards a vintage model inspired by the middle of the previous century. Finally, here is how to choose your sofa: only after having explored all the possibilities!
Magnificent Chesterfield sofa in padded mustard yellow velvet
Chic corner sofa in vintage 50s and 60s style (mid-century modern)
Here's how to choose your sofa by going through all the possible leads!
