A comfortable living room invites people to gather, hold conversations, and enjoy each other’s company. It’s important then, that you spend some time considering what furniture pieces make the most sense in your living room. Below, you’ll find some helpful ideas on how to choose living room furniture.
The Main Furniture Pieces
Flexibility makes a lot of sense when it comes to furnishing your living room. Individual pieces that can be moved around allow for occasional rearrangement – either out of need when hosting a large gathering or out of the desire to simply mix things up. We also recommend, when purchasing living room furniture, that you keep the colors neutral for the main pieces. Neutral colors last longer in terms of trends and can be accented with throw pillows allowing you to add different splashes of color and mix things up easily..
The Sofa
When it comes to the sofa, size matters. Most sofas range from 84” – 90” and will fit a variety of spaces. If you have a smaller area, you can find more petite sized sofas in the 75” – 80” range. Do know, that an overstuffed sofa, although comfortable in the show room, will often appear massive and out of place. And, even though they are quite popular, a sectional may be too inflexible when you want to rearrange for a gathering or bring a Christmas tree into the space. Often times, you can achieve a similar look and feel with two sofas.
Also, think about how many people you want to seat on your sofa. If you choose a sofa with three cushions, three people will naturally sit there. If you get one with one or two larger cushions, you can often seat up to four allowing for more seating flexibility.
The Chairs
In terms of chairs, we recommend chairs that are attractive both from the front and the back. We also recommend chairs that have arms on them. People like to lean. Once again, flexibility is key when selecting chairs. You’ll want to be able to float them in the room or place them in a corner. Look for chairs that are 30” – 38” wide. Anything bigger takes up a lot of space and becomes too big to be useful. Look for chairs that seat one person comfortably.
The Ottoman
An ottoman allows for a little variety, and a comfortable place to rest the legs. Your ottoman doesn’t have to match your furniture. You can add some texture, patterns and color to the area and play with your ottoman more easily than with your main pieces of furniture. Once again, think about where you will keep the ottoman and how large it is. It should be a very flexible piece of furniture.
The Coffee Table
We love the look of a square coffee table, but let’s face it, they’re not very flexible. We almost always recommend a rectangular table due to the flexibility for different placements around the room. Don’t purchase the largest table you can find. You want people to be able to walk around it comfortably in relationship to the other furniture pieces in the room.
Quality Matters
You want furniture you can live on. Get pieces with nice quality upholstery. They last a long time. Make sure the cushions upholstered on all sides. If you do end up with a spill that won’t come out, you can flip it over and hide the stain. When you sit on a sofa, you shouldn’t be able to ffel the frame. If you do, don’t buy it. It won’t last. Look for 8-way hand tied pieces. This is a great marker of quality. There are also many performance fabrics available too. These resist spills and fading and typically last longer. If you have kids, a pet or a messy spouse, you’ll definitely want performace fabrics. They also come in a variety of attractive options these days.
Get an Opinion
We love to visit people’s spaces and walk them through how to choose living room furniture. If you’re in the market, stop in and talk with us. We can arrange a visit and help you think through your plans.
Looking more for a living room refresh rather than refurnishing? Read How to Do a Living Room Refresh.
