1. Consider size first.
If you have a bigger living room, you’ll need to decide exactly how much of the living room you want your couch to fill. Do you want to include other couches or chairs? Do you want a coffee table? If so, a simple sofa, or one with a slight L-shape is probably the best fit. If you’re looking for a sofa that will be the focal point of your living room, look for rounder couch shapes that take up a bit more room and provide a lot of seating.
If you have a small living room, odds are you’ll need a smaller couch. With less space, any couch or sofa is going to be in the spotlight, so it’s important to pick something that is practical, but is also of a strong design that carries and complements the rest of the space.
2. Decide exactly how the sofa will be oriented.
Successfully organizing a living space starts with analyzing your lifestyle. What do you do the most in that space? Do you like to wind down in front of the TV? Make sure your couch faces that direction. Love hosting game or wine nights? Create a semi circle (or even full circle) around a central table.
Does your family use the living room to lounge, relax and read? Surround your sofa with chairs and cushions to create multiple seating areas that can be enjoyed individually, or as a large group.
3. Determine which shape will suit the room best.
Now that you’ve decided your sofa’s function, it’s time to figure out which shape will help it fulfill that purpose. A clean L-shape is great for open areas that need to be divided — such as separating the living room from the dining room.
4. Research upholstery materials. Which will be best for you?
Aesthetic is important, but functionality is key when it comes to choosing a material for your sofa. A lot of us that would love to indulge in a plush, white suede sofa — they’re so gorgeous, but so dangerous. Suede can be a poor choice if you have pets or small children who will cause some serious damage.
Leather — particularly in darker colors — is consistently in style, generally wears well with age, and can be fairly easy to clean.
5. Sofa color
Neutral or Accent?
If you have a bigger living room, you’ll need to decide exactly how much of the living room you want your couch to fill. Do you want to include other couches or chairs? Do you want a coffee table? If so, a simple sofa, or one with a slight L-shape is probably the best fit. If you’re looking for a sofa that will be the focal point of your living room, look for rounder couch shapes that take up a bit more room and provide a lot of seating.
If you have a small living room, odds are you’ll need a smaller couch. With less space, any couch or sofa is going to be in the spotlight, so it’s important to pick something that is practical, but is also of a strong design that carries and complements the rest of the space.
2. Decide exactly how the sofa will be oriented.
Successfully organizing a living space starts with analyzing your lifestyle. What do you do the most in that space? Do you like to wind down in front of the TV? Make sure your couch faces that direction. Love hosting game or wine nights? Create a semi circle (or even full circle) around a central table.
Does your family use the living room to lounge, relax and read? Surround your sofa with chairs and cushions to create multiple seating areas that can be enjoyed individually, or as a large group.
3. Determine which shape will suit the room best.
Now that you’ve decided your sofa’s function, it’s time to figure out which shape will help it fulfill that purpose. A clean L-shape is great for open areas that need to be divided — such as separating the living room from the dining room.
4. Research upholstery materials. Which will be best for you?
Aesthetic is important, but functionality is key when it comes to choosing a material for your sofa. A lot of us that would love to indulge in a plush, white suede sofa — they’re so gorgeous, but so dangerous. Suede can be a poor choice if you have pets or small children who will cause some serious damage.
Leather — particularly in darker colors — is consistently in style, generally wears well with age, and can be fairly easy to clean.
5. Sofa color
Neutral or Accent?
If you’re starting a decorating project from scratch, a sofa can be chosen first so you can decorate around it. A showpiece sofa as inspiration for a room could be upholstered in a vibrant luxury fabric, or covered in a colorful print. It is a focal point of the room.
If you are adding a sofa to an already decorated room or if you’d prefer the sofa play a supporting role, then choosing color becomes important. Choosing a new sofa for an existing color palette means that you'll have to decide if the sofa will be neutral, or if it will take on an accent role.
There are designers that favor a sofa that matches the wall color to unify the room and make the room look larger. This is a creative idea for a harmonious color scheme. If you are buying a sofa to match your wall color, then changing the wall color in the future could be complicated. The most common approach is to choose a sofa that complements the other decor and is not the center of attention nor camouflaged into the wall color. This is why neutral sofa colors are the most popular for most homes.
Light or Dark?
Once you decide if your sofa will be an accent or neutral color, you'll need to decide if your sofa will be light or dark. Your floor color has a big effect on choosing the right sofa color. If you're considering a potential sofa sitting on your floor, will it float on a sea of dark wood flooring or carpet or will it blend into it? Since a sofa is traditionally large and upholstered, and most fabric absorbs light, it can darken a room considerably.
Which Color Option Is Right for Your Needs?
Once you've considered the light and dark of your new sofa, it's time to think about color. If you're not working with a showpiece sofa, then a sofa in a neutral color is a popular choice. Neutral sofas are easy to decorate around, and can easily keep up with your style as it changes over the years.
A sofa of any color can be beautifully integrated into your space if you treat it as another color from your color scheme. This means adding accessories or prints in the same color as the sofa, to spread the color around the room. A sofa is a large expanse of fabric, by repeating pops of the same color as an accent, it can balance your room.
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