Sofas & Chairs

Comfort and style are essential requirements for your sofas and chairs.

Do your feet swing half-way to the floor? Does your head loll about without support when you sit down to watch the television? It probably means that you didn't put your sofa or armchair through all its paces when you went to choose it from the showroom.

The first rule of buying any piece of furniture is to sit, lie, snuggle and be a drama queen - act out all of your usual positions before you hand over the cheque. If you like to curl up in comfort, make sure your design comes with lots of throw-on cushions. The second rule is to measure it and make sure that it will get into your home.

Imagine the disappointment after waiting weeks for your custom-made sofa when it won't make it through the front door. Winch hire is an expensive business unless you are friendly with the owner of a large construction firm. You'll also have to deal with really grumpy delivery men, not a nice prospect at any time but particularly stressful when you've been camped out on the floor for weeks and are desperate to sit down in comfort.

The idea of the three-piece suite has a place for some people. I tend to associate it with the design of a bygone age. It is much better visually to have different pieces of furniture in a room that are tied in by colour or style but not necessarily because they are a perfect match. That way you can put a cotton-covered sofa next to a leather armchair in the lounge or a couple of armchairs in the same room as a chaise longue. I do think you are limiting yourself if you buy every seat in a matching design. Avoiding the three-piece also frees you up to spend more on a spectacular sofa, one with wonderfully luxurious feather-filled cushions and a frame which has been dowelled, screwed and glued and is constructed in hardwood. Yes it will cost a lot, but you can be sure it will last for years. You can then choose chairs that cost a little less but if upholstered in a complementary fabric and dressed up with cushions will look quite OK beside your designer sofa.

When you are investing in these pieces of furniture you should also bear in mind that you may well decide to redecorate and change the colour scheme in your room long before they are worn out. Now it is possible that if you have a small armchair upholstered in blue, which was one of the colours of the scheme that you were working with when you brought it, you could afford to have it reupholstered when you decide to opt for an all-white room. However, with a red sofa that no longer works with the room, you are looking at a much larger investment to replace the covers. I'm not saying that you should always choose neutral colours for sofas and chairs, because that would be very boring indeed. But what I am suggesting is that you have in mind future options. Loose covers might be worth considering, for example. Sometimes you can get two sets for the price of one in summer sales and that opens up your options considerably. For this same reason, unless you are wealthy enough to change sofas and chairs every few years, it's a good idea to avoid high-fashion or gimmicky designs that will look dated quickly.

Antiques and collectable pieces really sit outside of this framework. The sheer diversity in chair design can be quite bewildering, and these are pieces of furniture that become collectable items much more quickly than sofas.

Of course there are the historical designs. A classic Charles Rennie Mackintosh curved wooden armchair or an upholstered Bauhaus design by Walter Groupius, for example, would both be happy additions to any expert's chair collection. But if you aren't looking for investments and just want somewhere comfortable to sit, then one or two different armchairs from a high-street department store are just what you need.

Whatever style of furniture you choose, make sure it fulfils the most important criteria of all: comfort.


Custom Search