If you ever spend a whole morning searching for your purse, car key, cellphone, or TV controller, there is a chance they are hiding beneath the sofa. Well, talking about hiding, it looks familiar to when we watch “the Ring,” peaking it behind the couch.
In our lifetime, on average, about 800 guests enjoy their cup of tea on your couch, including that annoying neighbor — hundreds of other times, we nap, watch TV and hug each other the sofa too. So why not choose the best of it?
From a random advertisement from IKEA, we tent to get over-excited over a beautiful sofa in a splendid living room setting. However, is it worth to change all of the room settings over a couch? Having a brand new lovely room is good, but add a modern sofa to your “already good” place seems to be better.
Chance is that the new sofa might not fit in because of its size, shapes, material, style, color. But you should not worry as you are reading this article.
Proportion is important
Thinking about the size of the couch in the living room, my first concern is how to bring to a couch inside without it getting stuck on the door? Unless it is dissembled. All right, we might leave the problem for your furniture seller. Once the sofa is brought in to the living room, it takes all of the living space, or worse; you might not realize there is a couch because it is too small.
The size of the couch should be smaller than two-third the space of the wall, and it should keep an 18-inch distance apart from the coffee table, lower than 120 inches from the ottoman, if you have one. According to the designing expert Mary McDonald, a reasonable size of an average couch is 36-inch height, 40 inches deep, and 60 inches long. Moreover, Binging Netflix can make your eyes tired, so keep it at least 7 feet away from the TV.
Also the Material
Through time, every interior furniture is getting depreciated by the weather, termite, pets, children, and us. The sofa is no exception. Considering choosing the right material is an effective solution to not only reduce the issue above but also make the sofa design last longer to match with changing interior trends.
The material is essential for the sofa in two different parts – the frame and the upholstery. The frame is like the skeleton, where it requires a strong and durable material. Wood and metal are the standard material in most of the couches. The couches with wooden frames look more friendly, natural, and environmentally friendly, while metal offers a fresh, dynamic feeling while able to resist the effects of overheating, hygroscopic, and decay.
It is also crucial to pick the right upholstery. Seat cushion, backrest, and paddles are the elements that decide the comfort of the sofa. Metal springs and foam can create a bouncing function. On the other hand, the material used in upholstery can be variable in materials such as:
Natural Fiber
Natural Fiber has existed on the market for a long time. They include Cotton, Linen, Wool, and Silk. These materials are favorable by their ability to resist the environmental effects and resilience to wrinkling or shrinking. Another advantage of natural fiber is the chemical-free, reduce the harmful effects from the fabric to sensitive skin. Available with a wide range of prices and colors, natural material is undoubtedly suitable for all style and fashion upholstery choices.
Synthesis Fiber
Introduce during the 30s by Dupond; Polyester is one of the most popular synthesis fabric until today, beside Rayon, Spandex, Acrylic, and Acetate. Similar to Polyester, all other synthesis fabric types share the same characteristic of water-resistant, durable to withstand pointy and stabby knives or pets claws. They are also incredible due to the elasticity, as they can stretch up to 5 times their size. However, they might not be as exclusive, looking as leather and velvet.
Leather and Velvet
Both leather and velvet share the similarities in their fancy looking and pleasant feeling. Leather, on one hand, offers a timeless design value as it matches with both modern and traditional decor, plus it elegant and bold for masculine characteristics. Velvet, on the other hand, favorable for its seamless and smooth texture, creates a pleasant, soft, and feminine feeling.
Don’t Forget the Style
Bridge water sofa
Bridge Water Sofa is the conventional type of sofa that is versatile in any decoration style. It is also known as an English rolled back arm. This sofa set is soft and comfortable with low arm-rest and maximizes the sitting area.
Lawson sofa
Similar to the Bridge Water, Lawson Sofa is also designed to maximize the sitting and napping comfort. However, the model is more model with visible finished and the separate back cushion.
Tuxedo sofa
The sofa designed to fit in with the lavish room setting, it has a smooth and clean element due to the equivalent proportion between the arm-rest and the back. This sofa looks gentle and elegant just like its name.
Mid Century sofa
The Mid-century couch is one of the solid choices for the modern living room. If you watched the movie “Mad Men”, you would understand the functionality when the characters can freely napping, chatting and meeting on it.
Sectional
Also encouraging the use of napping, the sectional sofa has multi-function purpose by having a roomy place for the whole family to spend time together. The design is the combination of a single bed and a double sofa.
Chesterfield
Mostly made by leather, the Chesterfield sofa design is a break over from the traditional tuxedo sofa. However, the rolled top outward provides more comfort and looks more elegant.
