What your couch is made from will not only dictate its appearance, but its durability, ease of cleaning, and more. The first thing you’ll want to consider is the frame material, as a sturdy frame will ensure your sofa lasts for years.
Multi-cushion sofas can also be accommodating, as you can move cushions around, especially useful if one becomes stained. However, these sofas can look less crisp than their single-cushion counterparts. Three common leg types include bun feet, straight, and turned. Turned legs cast a more antique feel, while straight legs have a universal appeal.
While couches can last years, they also suffer a lot of wear and tear over time—particularly in households with children or pets. Fortunately, there’s plenty you can do to revive an aging couch. You can restuff couch cushions to help it feel plush and comfortable again, reupholster it to give it a whole new look , and even fix any sagging. In the U.S., couch and sofa mean precisely the same thing—a long, upholstered piece of furniture for sitting. “Couch” comes from the French “couche,” meaning furniture with no armrests for sitting, much like a chaise lounge today.
That way, the sofa won’t clash with the rest of the room if you ever decide to change things up,” she explains. Choosing the right fabric is crucial for both design and practicality. Arditi emphasizes the importance of selecting a fabric you love that “will never go out of fashion.” Essentially, the height of your sofa needs to be smaller than the narrowest section it will travel through. Don’t think it will squash down if it’s taller than the hallway is wide.
How to Properly Measure a Sofa
We’re loving the Abisko Sofa, which has a durable wood frame with corner-blocked reinforcements. While we found it to be quite firm during initial use, that firmness actually proved to be quite comfortable after settling in.
The 12 Best Couches of 2023, Tested and Reviewed
Read more about flexform citterio here.
Online options allow you to order for delivery, sight unseen. Unlike a conventional sofa, sectionals are versatile and have multiple independent pieces that you may arrange in many ways. Sectionals commonly come in “L” or “U”-shape configurations that make for great cozy, conversational settings. This type of sofa makes sense for people who often entertain or have larger families.
“Reupholstering a sofa can be costly, but sometimes it’s worth it if it had great meaning or was once a quality piece, but the fabric has faded or worn out,” Carroll says. In the DC area, where Carroll is based, she estimates around $2,500 for labor and $1,800 for fabric and trim. Mackie suggests Sunbrella for a “super cleanable” sofa, which you can opt for with the Joybird Briar. If your living room is doing double duty as a guest room, this sleeper sofa is the best couch for you. The company provided assembly for us, which took about five minutes. It’s comfortable, but not so comfortable that anyone is likely to fall asleep—it’s better for sitting and watching television than it is for snuggling in.
You may need durable fabrics that can hold up against pets and kids. In this case, look for terms like stain-resistant or pet-friendly when shopping for couch upholstery fabrics. We also spoke with interior designer Jessie Neuman of Numi Interior Design, who explained her process for selecting couches for clients. When testing a couch for comfort, you should sit and lie down on it.
Consider your current sofa or sofas you’ve used in the past, and what—if anything—you would like to add to it. Couches may have cupholders, reclining seats, built-in beds, replaceable covers, built-in storage, and other features to suit buyers’ needs and add greater opportunities for personalization. Knowing what you would most enjoy can help you sift through the array of features out there. More than one sofa has been returned to the store because the delivery service could not get it through the doorway. Letting the pros handle the stain will cost more but will take the stress off and ensure your sofa is getting the best possible treatment. Just make sure the cleaner you are using is safe for your particular sofa – the easiest way to do this is by cross-checking the cleaning codes on the tag attached to the sofa. Thanks to our Fabric Care Kit, you can keep upholstered items looking so fresh and so clean when life happens.
Multiple products in this roundup, including the Room & Board Metro Sofa and Article Abisko Sofa, were real-world tested in order to see how the sofas held up for at least one month. We sent the sofas to our volunteer testers’ homes to note how they performed in real-world situations after consistent use. We asked testers to consider the ease of assembly, comfort, durability, quality, and value. Testers took note of each product’s sturdiness, firmness, size, frame materials, and upholstery texture.
