Your sofa will definitely be the most costly — and most utilized — piece of furniture you purchase for your house. It’s a spot where you’ll spend hours with your family or friends, so it should be comfy! However, it must also be fashionable, useful, long-lasting, and reliable.
If you go furniture shopping, you are greeted with a wide range of options. A lot of times that overwhelming rage of options lead people to make judgments in rush. When customers see enormous deals at the store, they often wind up buying a sofa or couch that doesn’t work but was “such a great deal!”
When purchasing a sofa, there are several variables to consider.
Let’s go through some of the most typical mistakes to avoid when purchasing a sofa for your home:
Not deciding on a Sofa Budget
When you purchase a couch, you are purchasing more than just a piece of furniture. Regardless of price, purchasing furniture is a major expense. You’re investing in something that will enhance the comfort and attractiveness of your living area, something that will be a part of your life for many years to come.
Whether you’re replacing an old couch with a new one or looking for one that would complement your ideal house, make sure you choose wisely. I always push to spend a little bit more than a little bit less, as this is your biggest purchase in home decor.
Purchasing the incorrect size sofa (too small or too big!)
It is critical to evaluate the area available for your new furniture before purchasing it to verify that it will fit! If you don’t measure ahead of time, there are numerous web tactics and hacks for making any size of furniture work, but this can lead to extra effort that you could have easily avoided by completing your study ahead of time.
A small sofa might appear tiny in a large living room, just as a giant couch can feel crowded in a small living room. If you have a restricted amount of floor space, you should know how much furniture can fit comfortably in that area and pick appropriately.
Choosing the incorrect fabric for a couch
There are a few things you need know about textiles in order to locate your perfect match. Cotton, linen, and wool are natural fibres that are soft, breathable, and long-lasting. They will last longer than synthetic materials like polyester or acrylic.
Cotton is also hypoallergenic, making it ideal for persons with extremely sensitive skin. Polyester materials are extremely soft and comfortable to wear. They are stain-resistant and simple to clean, but they are prone to getting over-stretched or frayed as a result of repeated use.
If you have kids look for easy clean materials or couches that come with extra cushion covers. Before purchase, make sure the fabric is labelled as “durable,” and you should be good to go!
Not Knowing What the Sofa’s Purpose Is
You’re not going to settle for the first sofa that comes your way, of course. You’re not going to buy a one-seater snuggler when you need a lengthy couch set, are you?
If your kids are going to sit on the couch to snack and play video games you don’t want a beautiful white sofa that easily stains. If you have throw pillows you love will they work with the sofa.
Make sure you are being realistic about how the sofa will be used.
Buying a Sofa without Sitting on it
The sofa you choose will be with you for a long time and you want it to be comfortable. By siting on it you make sure that it is comfortable for you. Not too low to the ground, not too squish, not to firm, etc.
So, make sure the one you choose meets your needs for comfort and functionality.
It may not always be feasible to physically test the sofa, but if you can see it in person, do not pass it up.
Ways to Avoid These Mistakes in Purchasing a Sofa
Some of the ways to avoid mistakes while buying sofa are:
Sizing
The most common error individuals make when looking for a couch is purchasing one that is either too big or too tiny for their area. This generally occurs when you fail to evaluate your area before you begin shopping and fall in love with an item that is disproportionally huge for your space. The size of a couch in a showroom is not a good indication of its true size because showrooms are deliberately constructed to showcase the beauty of a chair and elevate it so that more people are inclined to buy it.
So, while a couch may appear deceptively little in a showroom, it may not fit through your doorways when you bring it home. To avoid this, measure your area before you begin buying and explore online by filtering out larger/smaller pieces before visiting any physical places.
Testing it out
While you’re in the store, try out a sofa the way you’d use it at home. If you prefer to snooze on it in the evenings, lie down, and tuck your legs in if you want to snuggle up with a nice book. Don’t be afraid to ask. This is a huge choice, and one of the worst mistakes you can make is not thoroughly testing your sofa.
We always recommend that you double-check that the sofa’s arms are at the proper height. This is the most common issue that people overlook.
Style is important
A typical error individuals make when purchasing a couch is failing to select a piece that will complement the design of their current furniture. While a sofa may be a statement piece, it should also be able to integrate in with the environment you’re building in a way that you’re comfortable with, not only visually but functionally.
Not sure of your design style? Take our free quiz!
The design of your perfect sofa determines its style function. In the same way that a huge white statement piece would not work stylistically in an eclectic living area packed with children’s toys, a leather item will not work well in a wide open-plan living room. Style harmony should be your objective.
Focus on Fabrics
You should base your decision on how your new couch will be utilised in your area, as well as where it will be positioned in the living room.
For example, if you want to buy a huge couch for your living room that you and your family will use every evening, we recommend avoiding fragile textiles in lighter colours. Especially if you want to position this couch in bright sunshine, since the fabric will be ruined before you get a chance to appreciate it fully.
We recommend that you bring a swatch of the fabrics you are interested in home with you to examine. This allows you to compare the shade to other pieces of furniture in your area, the colours of your walls, and how the fabric interacts to light in your house.
Choose Quality
The final piece of advice we usually tell our customers who ask us how to prevent common mistakes people make when purchasing a couch is to always invest in quality sofas for their house. While keeping to a budget is vital, if there is one purchase worth making, it is the sofa. When you buy a quality couch, you won’t have to replace it in a couple of years because quality components are made to last.
A low-quality couch will lose its form fast (particularly in the cushions), potentially within months. Even though your cushions appear plump after a year, low-quality couches have low-quality frames that are prone to breaking apparently out of nowhere, leaving you with nowhere to sit and enjoy family time.
Wherever possible, it is worthwhile to invest in a high-quality piece of furniture.
I hope these tips help you feel confident in choosing the right sofa or couch and help you avoid the common mistakes made when buying a sofa!