This article was written by Ryan Podnar, furniture expert at La-Z-Boy South Texas
Buying a new sofa is a fun process to experience. Whether you’re looking for a leather reclining sofa or a chaise lounge sofa, when you find the right one, it’s hard to wait to get it into your living room.
When you’re looking for a new sofa couch, one of the most important steps you need to take is to find the best fitted sofa for you. This may sound like an easy step to take, but it can sometimes feel like you can never find the right one.
To simplify the process and make it a lot easier, this article walks you through 5 tips for finding the best fitted sofa for you.
Whether you prefer leather or fabric, keeping your priorities in mind should be a top priority
You'll need to get a sofa that fits the entire family, so keep your family size in mind
The most important step to finding the best fitted sofa for you is to sit on one yourself!
1. Keep Your Priorities Front of Mind
When shopping for a new sofa, it can be easy to get lost in all of the details.
Once you have ensured that you measured your room to get the right furniture, you should be making sure that your priorities have been ironed out. According to Joel at La-Z-Boy San Antonio, this is the most important part of the process, and is also the easiest way to find out what’s best for you.
Are you looking for a leather recliner sofa? How about a formal living room sofa? Whatever your personal preferences are, they should be weighed in order of importance to you.
For example, maybe you love the modern look of the Maimz Sofa at Ashley Furniture. However, when you went to the store to sit on it, you weren’t satisfied with the comfort of the modern sofa.
Another important step to finding the best fitting sofa for you is to consider the others in your home who will be sitting on it. A sofa should act as a central gathering point in a home, where family members come together to relax, socialize, and enjoy entertainment.
For smaller families, a compact sofa or a round sofa might suffice, offering enough space without overwhelming a smaller living room. This can also allow for more flexible arrangement of other furniture or decorative elements.
For larger families, however, a large reclining sofa might be more appropriate. These sofas offer ample seating and will satisfy everybody’s desires when it comes to comfort.
If you don’t have a larger family but have frequent guests, a sleeper sofa may be a great fit for your home. Sleeper sofas, often known as sofa beds, have a mattress built within the sofa frame that can act as a pull-out bed to accommodate overnight guests who need a comfy place to sleep.
Additionally, the durability of the sofa becomes more important with more users, particularly in households with children or pets. A well-chosen sofa can accommodate the entire family comfortably for movie nights, casual lounging, or hosting guests, making it a pivotal investment in the overall functionality and comfort of the living space.
3. Fabric Sofa Vs. Leather Sofa
Choosing between a fabric sofa and a leather sofa will also affect how well a sofa fits you.
Both fabric and leather present their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, a gray fabric sofa will bring an inviting feeling to your room, while a brown leather sofa may bring more of a formal or rustic feel to your living room area.
Not only does each type of material have their own aesthetic advantages, they will also feel much differently when you sit on them. Fabric will oftentimes bring a warmer, cozier feel to your sofa, while leather will feel a little cooler to the touch.
It’s also important to note that leather is typically more durable than fabric. This should factor into your decision as well.
Reclining sofas and stationary sofas serve different purposes and cater to varying preferences in terms of comfort, functionality, and design aesthetics. It’s important to know the difference between the two types of sofas, and which will fit better for you.
A reclining sofa is designed with movable parts that allow the back of the sofa and the footrest to adjust, providing customizable comfort. These sofas are ideal for those who enjoy relaxing in a reclined position, and they are great sofas for back pain or improving circulation.
Typically equipped with levers or electronic buttons, sofa recliners allow each person to adjust their seating position according to their comfort needs.
In contrast, stationary sofas do not have moving parts and are fixed in one position. They are designed for formal or more traditional living spaces where the aesthetic of symmetry and order is prioritized.
Stationary sofas often feature more varied and sophisticated styles, materials, and fabric choices. They can include various types of cushions, arm styles, and back designs, catering to a broader range of interior decor themes.
The lack of mechanical components generally makes stationary sofas more durable and possibly less prone to maintenance issues over time. However, a stationary sofa is less customizable, which can make it tougher to find the right fit for you.
5. Sit On a Sofa Yourself!
As helpful as deciding between fabric and leather can be to helping you identify your priorities, the most important tip will be for you to come into a furniture store to sit on a sofa for yourself.
By coming into a store, you’ll be able to narrow down your search significantly by getting a feel for the sofas you’re interested in. You’ll find out whether you prefer the feeling of fabric or leather, whether it’s big enough for your family, and whether you prefer a reclining or a stationary sofa.
If you’re interested in a reclining sofa, you should test out different reclining angles to see how you feel in each angle when you come into a store. This will show you how well a sofa fits you.
Additionally, by coming into a store, you’ll have direct access to in-store design experts who will help you in any way you need. Whether you need to see the fabric selection or would like to have help on where to look based on your priorities, design experts will be able to assist you.