HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SOFA FOR YOUR HOME
The right sofa for your home. As an interior designer in Bangkok, the first thing I notice in a living room is the SOFA. A sofa is the heart of a living room. It makes or breaks the look of the whole living room. But you cannot buy a sofa just for its looks.
The living room is very important in your house, and it gets the most traffic too. When buying a sofa, you must look for a piece that combines style and functionality.
You will find a plethora of sofas in the market. There are hundreds of styles, designs, and shapes. You will come across a large variety of colors, textures, patterns, fillings, and fabric.
The perfect sofa for your living room should be perfectly suitable for your unique needs.
When people contact me for interior design service Bangkok, I make sure I find the right piece for them that seems like it is tailor-made for their unique family and designing style.
But you don’t have to be an interior designer to get the best sofa. I will share with you some tips that will help you choose the best sofa for your house.
1. The right sofa for your home! TAKE OUT YOUR MEASURING TAPE
When you are out and you see a sofa that you think is perfect, or if you find one online, it will be very frustrating to go and measure the area. So, rule this one out first.
Figure out where you will place the sofa, and take measurements. It is very important to measure before buying. This is the time to think about seating capacity. If you have a small apartment, buy a small three-seater. Don’t buy a love seat to a place like a sofa.
Although a love seat looks like it’s made for two, but the dimensions of most love seats are very small. Your safest bet is to stick to a three-seater.
Another thing to do is to keep in mind your decoration goals. Maybe you still have to buy accent chairs or love seat to place next to the sofa, or maybe you already have them. Whatever is the case, when taking measurements to keep in mind where you will place the other pieces of furniture.
While you are measuring, measure your stairways and doorways to make sure that the sofa you buy can get in. for very small places, choose a design with removable legs.
2. PICK A STYLE
The next thing to consider is your design and décor style. If you are looking for a farmhouse theme, or whether you want to go traditional. Maybe you love contemporary and modern, or maybe you want some glam and luxe.
If you haven’t already picked a style, let me help you. As an interior designer Bangkok, I have seen people get lured by current trends and end up making a home styling mistake.
Look at the big picture! Instead of following trends that might not last long, look for a timeless style. Most of you, when choose the right sofa for your home, should choosing contemporary and traditional design styles.
3. FRAME QUALITY MATTERS
A sofa is the largest and probably the most expensive piece of furniture in a living room. Buying a sofa is a big investment. Therefore, it is important to buy one that is high-quality to last you a lifetime.
One of the biggest problems is that most retail stores make sofas that beautiful and have great exterior. Their price also seems like a good bargain.
But what’s the difference between a sofa bought from a retail shop, and a professional designer shop?
If you want a durable piece, stay away from a sofa with a frame of particleboard or metal. For a sofa that will last you a lifetime, choose a design with a hardwood frame.
Well, it is the quality of the material, and the durability of the built, and the details in the design. It is important to buy a sofa that will stay with you for a long time. You might have to spend more at the time of purchase, but you won’t have to replace it any time soon.
4. CHOOSE A COLOR
Make a list of a few colors that you think will go well in your living room. You can either stick to the color palette of your home décor, or you can choose a contrasting color.
Some people like to go bold! If you want to go bold, make sure the surroundings complement your sofa. If you are choosing colors like midnight purple, royal blue or lush green, you can add some golds in your accessories, or even on the hardware of your sofa.
As an interior designer Bangkok, I like to provide my clients what they want and add my artistic sense to give a perfect look to their space. I recommend people to stick to the basic, contemporary colors like grey, and beige. You can use them in any setting, and they will fit.
You can never go wrong with how you decorate the space around them. Moreover, they are timeless. And in the world of interior design Bangkok, timeless and classic styles and colors are always a hit.
5. CHECK THE FILLING
‘Should I buy my sofa online?’ I have been asked this question more times during my interior design service Bangkok than you can imagine. I encourage clients to stick to their budget and do proper research before buying an item.
Although, as an interior designer Bangkok, I want to see an item with my eyes, and feel it before spending a hefty amount on it. When it comes to the ‘cushiness’ of the sofa, everyone has different preferences.
If you will be using your sofa to entertain guests or watch TV for an hour or two, you can look for something firm, and can stay in shape for longer. But if you and your family would be living and napping on the couch, you need it to be soft and snuggly and to stay in shape.
The perfect way to achieve that goal is to buy a sofa with a mixed filling of both foam and feathers. The ideal combination is to have back cushions filled with feathers, and seat cushions filled with foam. It will make it just the right amount of soft and plush, and it will keep looking great till longer.
6. UPHOLSTERY
This is the most important part of buying a sofa. For upholstery, choose a fabric that is comfortable and durable. Synthetic fabrics are better than natural fabrics as they last longer, and don’t fade easily.
Look for upholstery that is easier to clean.
On average, a sofa gets around 1600 spills in its lifetime. So look for upholstery that will be easier to clean, because no matter how much you try, that sofa is going to get spilled on.
For families with children and pets, it can be very convenient if you can buy a sofa with removable upholstery. And then, when the inevitable happens, all you have to do is to toss the upholstery in the laundry.
Another safe option can be to buy a sofa with leather. Leather is very easy to clean, that’s a given. However, make sure to choose a sofa with high-quality leather. Some leather dyes may come off and seep in, so try to find one with a water-resistant quality.
INTERIOR DESIGNER’S SECRETS TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SOFA FOR YOUR HOME
Now that you know how to choose the right sofa, let me tell you how to choose one that has a designer quality to it.
As an interior designer Bangkok, I have a natural eye for style, comfort, and quality. A sofa is not just a piece of furniture, in the world of interior design Bangkok, it is a binding unit, and everything in the room should compliment it. A good sofa would adhere to the whole look of your living room.
While you have already read the basics that you need to buy a sofa, I will now tell you about the minor and major details that matter. From the arm of the sofa to the legs of its frame, we will talk about features to look for when decorating your living room.
If you want your sofa to make a statement, GO BOLD!! GO LUXE!! The key is to buy a lavish piece with velvet upholstery, and stunning bold color. Think lush green, or midnight blue. You can use brass contrasting to give it a more luxurious look.
For a big family, I recommend choosing a design that screams comfort. Splurge on a sofa that has a clean and casual look, but also a polished style to make it look comfy yet stylish. Go for a traditional or contemporary style. Choose neutral colors so you can make it work with any style.
If you want a chic and romantic look, choose a sofa with a vintage style. The vintage design will have beauty, quality, and authenticity. A vintage piece will look great if the surroundings complement it.
An average person spends four hours a day on a sofa. but if you are the guy who likes to stay on the couch for longer, choose a sink-worthy comfortable sofa.
Check the sofa in-store to see the quality and feel the comfort yourself. I would recommend looking for a more modern style with low back and slim arms.
If you live in a small apartment and want to make it look spacy with smart styling, choose for a contemporary or modern style with slim arms and legs. The slim arms make a sofa look less intrusive, and the slim legs add more space to the visual quality of the living room.
When looking at the size of a sofa, don’t forget to consider the seat depth. A sofa with a smart silhouette, sleek frame, and deep seat will look more comfy and expensive as compared to a traditional sofa.
If you have a big family but you don’t want to go with a sectional, I have the right solution for you. You can choose a sofa with an extra-broad frame and deep seats. The broad frame design was a hit in the 1970s, and many designer brands are making beautiful pieces of high-quality. A sofa like that can fit into a large family easily and doesn’t look casual as a sectional.
There is something about genuine leather that shouts quality and luxury. But leather is not everyone’s style. However, if you want to choose a leather sofa look for a high-quality piece that is durable, and doesn’t require much care.
When looking for a sofa, look at its back. If you are looking for a family-friendly, comfortable sofa with a traditional style, go for a plush, pillow-cushioned back. While, if you want a modern piece that stands out, choose one with a tufted back.
Look for little details that lift the look of your sofa. For contemporary and modern style, you can find one with nickel-brushed studs. The added feature of hardware will make it easier for you to design the whole place.
When you are finally ready to buy the sofa, look for a good guarantee. A manufacturer who makes a quality product will stand behind it. So look for a sofa with a lifetime guarantee or at the least 15-years guarantee.
Which sofa is best for home?
The choice of the best sofa for home should be oriented at first to focus at the comfort and the seat capability, alongside the color matching and the design that must fit in the environment. Saying that, is a nice challenge to find a sofa and discover so many possibilities that the market offer, from luxury brands with a certain quality and price to average medium-cost products that respect the quality with an affordable price range.
How do I pick the right couch?
Choosing a sofa could be an amazing experience or a challenging matter finding the best solution with an affordable price. The best thing to do is first taking a look in the web in interior design pages and especially searching the best sofa brand productions, to have an idea of the shapes, sizes, colors and mood. Then I recommend investing some time going in the furniture and sofa’s showrooms to try and seat on them, starting to get on it by feeling the comfort and the seating experience. The cover is also very important and nowadays there is a large choice in fabrics and leathers, touch it and feel what covering could suites for you.
Which sofa is best for the living room?
A sofa can fit in many home spaces, from the entrance to the bedroom to living rooms. When we place a couch in the living room we must think first at the space we have available if an L shape can fit in or a linear sofa could be a better choice. If the living room is big enough then the choice can be easier going by a C shape or a wide L shape, or linear sofa placed in a parallel way facing each other, with maybe few armchairs on a side, with a central large coffee table. If the living room is not so big, then probably a linear couch is the best choice
How much should I spend on a sofa?
Finding the right sofa for your home could be an amazing experience or a challenging matter if the budget is tight. To find the best solution with a reasonable price sometimes can be stressful and if the price matter it could be an obstacle in the choice. If the budget is low as a designer, I recommend giving more importance to the couch to respect other loose furniture because the sofa is where we sit and enjoy our time in the living room watching TV, chatting with friends and for our relaxing time at home. If the budget is sufficient for a very good quality and design sofa the choice is wide and the experience buying a sofa is surely more exciting. From fabrics, we can go for leather covering, with a dramatic positive impact on the final comfort and beauty.
Sofa selection tips
- Sit and try it
- Check the strength of the structure
- Ask for the internal materials and fillers
- Look the stitchings
- Check the size of the arms for the comfort
- Think about the softness of the seat cushions and verify if not too soft or too hard
- Ask if the back cushions are filled with goose feathers, as a quality sofa should be
- Ask if the fabric covers are removable for easy cleaning and washing
- Pay attention at the feet strength and design
Common mistakes when buying a sofa
A common mistake when finding the right sofa for your home could be buying by catalog and made to order, not trying the seat comfort directly in the showroom. Nowadays we like to check and shopping on the web with all the benefits that this amazing technology gives to us. But unfortunately, this is not the case like buying a journey or an airplane ticket or make a reservation in a SPA for a treatment or such services we find easy to purchase online. The comfort of a couch comes at first, so looking just the design by seeing images online could be a trap in which is easy to fall. Go in the shop trying the comfort personally is a must to avoid any bad surprise.
What to consider when buying a sofa
- Comfort
- Design
- Size
- Cover materials, choosing fabric or leather
- Price
- Washing and removable covers
- Durability
Which brand sofa is the best?
As an Italian designer I’m oriented to give you some tips about the best Italians brands, our quality products are often unbeatable and are not a secret that most of the best world sofa brands are from Italy.
Here a list of quality sofa brands from very high end to more affordable products:
If product excellence has to do with manufacturing quality, it is equally true that Italy’s great competitive advantage is beauty. And beauty generates beauty as in the succession of Flexform collections. Beauty lasts over time and never sets.
Key formula of Minotti identity is the full expression of the concept of “Made in Italy”, which today blends tradition and innovation in an indissoluble way: the knowledge of the artisans refines a product born from the most modern technologies, while the intelligence of the hands offers sensitivity and emotion to industrial precision.
We are obsessed by details, the absence of details is itself a detail and there is no rule in this. It’s something you feel, breathe, see and live.
Edra is the evolution of modern technology and artistic tradition. The production is the result of a blend of talent for invention, specialized craftsmanship, research on innovative technologies and materials.
Natuzzi history is an ongoing research & development process. Over the years, it has produced successful products that have changed the world of interior decoration forever
Contemporary design and timeless elegance
Simplicity is a philosophy that can be applied to almost everything in life. It is the first of a whole cultural approach, a way of feeling change, of thinking that complex problems also contain simple solutions
Zanotta expresses a vision of the world, a philosophy that has tried in every age to go beyond the present, to identify languages and products, able to speak forever
Ideas that work and excite, now and over time
For more than 20 years we only realize sofas and armchairs, strictly hand made in Italy
The right sofa for your home! Final Word
Choosing a sofa can be a little tricky as it is the most expensive furniture item in your house. To find the right sofa look for basic elements like size, style, comfort, and durability. For a big family, you can choose a contemporary or traditional style with volume, comfort, and strength.
For entertaining, look for a contemporary or modern style with a sleek design and sophisticated silhouette.
Or when in doubt, go the easy way, and call the pro! As Interior Designer Bangkok, I have many years of experience in bringing quality, functionality, style and personal touch. Explore with me this amazing world of design and emotions that bring beauty and joy in our lifestyle.
