Guide to Home Furniture

Tips buying sofa

Modern living means a sofa has become much more than somewhere to rest your legs of an evening.

The days of the three-piece suite may be gone, but there’s still an almost endless selection of sofa shapes and styles on offer. ‘No other piece of furniture rings the changes like a new sofa,’ says Polly Dickens, creative director at The Conran Shop.

Think about your lifestyle and how the sofa will need to function. What about a sofa bed for guests? Measure up before you shop and work out how big a sofa you can accommodate. Two smaller sofas or one large one and a couple of armchairs may be more flexible. Some sofas ease the process by having detachable arms or coming in sections.

Consider the shape and style

‘If you’re someone who likes to lie down and relax, you may want a sofa with low arms and lots of loose cushions to get cosy on,’ advises Paul Staden, marketing director at Sofa Workshop.

Consider the Fabric

The material you choose to cover your sofa is crucial to its feel and comfort. Fabrics give a huge range of colour and texture options, but where leather often improves with age, fabric will show wear and tear. In a household with children or pets, machine-washable loose covers are a practical option.

Cushion fillings vary widely. ‘A combination of feather-wrapped foam seat cushions and serpentine springs makes for extremely soft and comfortable sofas,’ says Rohan Blacker, co-founder of Sofa.com. ‘Plus, this type of filling will maintain its shape and reduce the need for continuous plumping.’