Choosing your sofa

In choosing your sofa, function and aesthetics require equal consideration. The people who will be using the sofas should spend a few minutes sitting, or lying, on the sofa being considered. The depth of the sofa, measured from the front edge to the back seat cushion is a critical measurement for comfort. Tall people need more depth, short the opposite. If your feet can not rest comfortably flat on the floor when in an upright, sitting position, your legs will tense up the longer you sit in the sofa. If people intend to recline on the sofa, then the arm should be comfortable and not too high so it can serve as a pillow.

Most people want the sofa to look inviting as one enters the room. Sofas and chairs "beckon" for us to sit in them. A sofa filled with dressy pillows says, "go sit somewhere else." Colors can be equally inviting. When choosing a sofa, the wall colors, the color of the other furniture, and most importantly, the color and design of the rug that sits directly in front of the sofa, should be considered. Again, if you feel lost in making these decisions, just bring your color samples and fabric swatches to the store and we will assist you. In large rooms, the area rug in front of the sofa will help to settle the eye on the seating area, and give a feeling of restfulness to the room. Depending on the size of the room, a 6 x 9 rug is usually sufficient although larger rooms can use the 8 x 11 size and expand the "seating circle."

Today most people prefer using a solid color or "body cloth" on the sofa and save larger patterns for accent pillows and side chairs. Seldom do customers use the same fabric on all pieces: the exception being the case in formal settings. Contrary to popular myth, you can still buy sofas with narrow arms. The wide arm craze of the late nineties left many people shaking their heads when they went shopping for a smaller sofa.