How to Choose the Perfect Sofa

Your sofa is the largest piece of furniture in your home. It's the focal point of the room and the starting point from which lots of design styles start. Most people keep their sofas around for 5 to 8 years on average. That's longer then some people keep their cars. It's a long time to have the same piece of furniture, but with just a bit of thought on your part before your purchase you can have a sofa you'll love for a long time. First off consider your budget and how long you plan to keep your sofa. If you're purchasing a sofa with the idea of holding onto it for 2 or 3 years then don't spend a lot of money. However, if you are looking to invest in a sofa you're going to be keeping for 5 or more years, spend more. Also, consider the usage the sofa will get. Is this a sofa for a dorm room? For use in a family room? A living room? Consider what options you may want. If you live in a small home or apartment and if you from time to time have overnight guests you may want to invest in a sleeper sofa or convertible sofa. Perhaps the size of the room your sofa is going into isn't large enough to accommodate many pieces of furniture and you'd really like to have that reclining chair. Relax, today a lot of sofas come with reclining seats. Generally sofas are broken down into two groups, contemporary and traditional, that's fairly standard. Within those two categories there are hundreds of styles.

Almost every sofa you see will come with decorative accent pillows. Some people like to mix it up a bit and put a more traditional sofa within a modern setting. There is no firm set rule. Some people put two sofas in a living room.

Something that can really change the mood of a sofa is fabric. There are hundreds of different types of fabrics available on sofas. The choice of a floral fabric and a striped fabric can make the same sofa look completely different. Generally bold and bright colors and geometric designs are used on contemporary sofas and softer muted colors and prints are used on traditional sofas.

Be aware though, fabrics range from inexpensive to exorbitantly expensive and your choice of fabric can add hundreds of dollars to the final price of a sofa. Regardless of what type of fabric you choose you will always want to have anti-stain treatment applied to your sofa. Your fabric sofa should be thoroughly vacuumed every other month.

When you choose a style for your living room remember you may have to change your curtains so they will go well with your new sofa.  You may want to add things like decorative curtain rods and other accents in your living room like modern decorative clocks or antique wall clocks which will add a great deal towards the style of your living room.

Perhaps you want a leather sofa. Leather is an extremely popular fabric choice and can last a lifetime with minimal care. Like fabric sofas, there are many different grades of leather. Premium leather sofas have premium price tags to match. Leather sofas are very easy to care for with occasional vacuuming and a wipe with a damp cloth. Twice a year your leather sofa should be treated with saddle soap.

The most important piece of choosing a sofa is it's comfort. How firm is the seat? How deep is the seat. Are the pillows soft? Are the pillows attached? Sit on it. Lie down on it. Make sure that the sofa is comfortable for you.