I am a bit embarrassed to say that over the past 30 years, I have bought and sold too many sofas and chairs due to size, fit and often colour or style. As we learnt, choose a sofa that has the right back for the support you want, don’t get swayed by sales, and measure carefully if moving.

 

 

Sofas we have known and loved:

  • Floral sofa-bed in a tiny Australian cottage in case of visitors and grey modular lounge in the living area;
  • A big mistake of two lemon coloured Habitat sofas – we didn’t sit on them properly when buying  and after three months, sold them;
  • Classic L-shaped beige lounge which we had for 15 years so feel better about that.We sold the contents with the house;
  • Two really comfortable IKEA sofas, re-upholstered in a coffee colour with white trim which we had for six years but couldn’t get them up the stairs in the French dollhouse we restored;
  • A dark grey sofa bed that we ended up giving away – it couldn’t fit in the New York shoebox apartment;
  • A white faux leather sofa bought in a sale thinking the cats couldn’t scratch it; they could and did – a young student bought it for a song and was very happy with it

A beige BoConcept modern sofa in Berlin which I could curl my feet up on which was given to a friend in need before we left. We now have a soft ivory sofa in France, who knows for our last step forward back to Sydney.

 

 

 

Measure, Measure, Measure

If you can, measure not only the size of the sofa but where it is going to be put and how you will get it into the apartment or house. In Europe, there are hoists that people sometimes rent to get a sofa through a window. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a sofa in a place it wasn’t meant to be. Some may have removable backs, bases and legs so check that out.

Try Before You Buy

We worked out I like to curl my legs up and my husband likes to have a back that is a reasonable height and not too angled. Having made a mistake years ago, we now sit for a while. I ask if I can kick off my shoes and pull my legs up. Decide if you want a soft or firm cushion as they will vary. Buy the most expensive frame you can afford if you want something to last. If it is furniture you may trade on, IKEA is still great and you can dress it up with covers and colour and even the legs these days. Check out the various IKEA hacks sites.

Material and Colour

While I love velvet and other fabrics, we have had enthusiastic cats. It is important to get a fabric that they can’t damage. A neutral colour is often chosen as you can dress up with cushions, throws and a coloured ottoman. If you have the space, this could be the wow factor of the room. A friend has lovely navy and white sofas and they are a real statement while being practical.