How to choose a sofa
Buying a sofa is a big decision. It’s one of the most expensive pieces of furniture you’ll ever buy for your home and due to it’s scale, it’s going to make a big visual impact in the space. Not to mention the comfort factor which is paramount to how you will feel using the room. I recently had the amazing opportunity to design my own range of sofa’s for Dfs and I pulled on all my experience of what I know works for a colourful, comfy and maximalist space. So let’s get into it- what should you be looking for when making that all important investment.
Choosing a colour
From colour to comfort, from style to size, so many decisions can lead to the feeling of overwhelm when you start your sofa search. This unfortunately results in many people playing it ‘safe’. The fear kicks in and doubts around choosing something too bold or too patterned are met with concerns around growing bored of it, or the trend dating or worry about it working with your other decor choices. Dfs data shows us that people buy a new sofa every seven years, so you need to invest in something that will work for you over many years. So…before you know it you’ve popped the beige option in the shopping basket with the promise to yourself to pop some colourful cushions on it. But is this actually the best investment? While a neutral sofa may be the right thing for you, I’d urge you to really consider what makes your heart sing. Is it beige? Is it though? If you feel a flutter by looking at that buttercup yellow sofa, or blush at the rose pink, I’d listen to the voice. Choosing a colourful sofa will add oodles of impact to your room, and if you pick a colour you love despite of trends, it will never date, and you will always love it. I’ve included nine beautiful colours in my sofa collection, and yes, that includes a soft biscuit and silver colourway, so you can find the sofa which is going to be pivotal to building up the rest of the room scheme. This fuchsia pink colour has always been one of my top favourites and I love pairing it with cobalt blue. The Wonderland floral wallpaper from Harlequin, ties all the colours together beautifully.
Pashley armchair in Dappled Dot with fuchsia piping; Wakehurst sofa in Plain Jane velvet fuchsia; Square buttoned footstool in Plain Jane velvet cobalt with fuchsia piping; all DFS x Sophie Robinson.
Shape and style
So many styles of sofa on offer, but my preference is to keep it simple. Because I love to embellish the sofa with armfulls of cushions, as well as filling the room with lots of other decorative elements, I like to keep the sofa shape tailored. The style you opt for should speak to the rest of your taste, so for example a more classic shape will work well in a period home or with vintage style while a cleaner more modern shape suits contemporay tastes. A iconic mid century modern shape with tailored arms, raised on legs kind of straggles the century and goes with every style. If you have your sofa in the middle of the room, have a think about how it looks from the back too. I find a classic style like my Wakehurst sofa would work well for this.
While we are on this topic, it’s very wise to check the dimensions of your favourite sofa, all available online, to check they fit in the room, where you want to position it. If you’re having trouble visualising whether it’ll feel too big for the space, you can always mark the outline on your floor with some masking tape or layout empty cardboard boxes. More and more sofas are coming with removable arms or feet to help with transportation and access. Again check the details on the website to ensure you will be able to fit this through your front door and into the living room. All my sofa styles come with detachable arms to overcome problem access routes.
The midcentury shape of the Standen sofa, goes with any period style, from traditional to modern, maximalist to minimalist. Standen square buttoned footstool in Honeycomb Buttercup; Standen Sofa in Plain Jane velvet in buttercup: scatter cushions all DFS x Sophie Robinson.
Comfort
Once you’ve picked the one, I’d always advise you visit a showroom if possible to try it out. You can ring ahead to check they’ve got the styles you’d like to try and if you can see a swatch book of all the fabrics available so you can check the colours while you’re there. I like to the whole family and make a day of it. Don’t feel self-conscious really giving it a go. If you generally like lie on your sofa (not just me?) then lie on the one in the showroom (maybe with shoes off!). Pop corn optional. Everyone wants differnt things from a sofa. Some people like to sit upright, supported to read. It’s also worth having a think about how you sit on the sofa, do you like a taller back for sitting, or bigger arms for resting a head on if you lay down on your sofa a lot? I love to slouch. My Mum can’t bare a deep seated sofa as she finds it hard to sit up and get up from. However I love a deep seated sofa that allows me to pile on the scatter cushions, so I make sure there is room for that, which adds visual delight and added comfort.
Deep seated sofa’s are perfect for piling on the scatter cushions. Fairlight sofa in Plain Jane velvet Rose with Floral Bloom and Wildflower scatter cushions; all DFS x Sophie Robinson.
Fabric
I’m obsessed with upholstery and a giddy about fabrics, so this bit get’s me excited. Opt for a pattern and it will be the show piece in the room. It’s more common to opt for a plain fabric and let the scatter cushions do the pattern talking. A bold sofa colour will really set the cushions off so consider the sofa fabric and the scatters at the same time. Thats why I’ve designed 24 scatter cushions for my collection with Dfs so you have plenty to choose from and can build up your look with the confidence that they all work together, with the sofa fabrics too. You can also get creative around contrast piping or using more than one fabric on a sofa. This is really only ever an option if you are having a pice covered by an upholster so you have the ultimate creative control. However we have offered contrast piping details on our Pashley armchairs and Wakehurst footstools which is a lovely way to elevate the look with a design detail.
When choosing the fabric for your sofa, you’ll need to have a think about the practical nature of your choice too. For instance, a patterned fabric can hide a multitude of sins and may be an option if your sofa gets heavy use, you sit and eat while watching TV, or you have young children or pets. On the other hand, the technology behind fabric is improving every year and man made velvets in particular are so hardwearing and easy to clean. Leather is traditionally great for busy households due to its ‘wipeableness’, but I cant handle the fact that scatter cushions don’t sit well on a leather sofa because they slide, so it’s never an option for me! Another consideration is removable washable covers, which gives a softer more relaxed look, but in my opinion only really works well in a cotton/linen type fabric.
The Wakehurst footstool in cobalt with fuchsia pink piping and button detail, and Pashley armchair in Dapple dot with fuchsia piping, all by Sophie Robinson at Dfs.
Legs
Often overlooked but I like a sofa raised on legs. It helps make the sofa look more elegant, less imposing and creates a feeling of space as you can see more floor. The style of the legs is also a nod to your overall aesthetic. The legs on my collection are simple and curved which again suits both modern and traditional room scheme’s. The type of timber you choose is another consideration and I’d pick a timber that matches in with your owther tones of furniture and flooring.
And finally make sure you don’t choose a sofa in isolation. it’s an integral part of your room scheme and can really help to anchor all the colours you wish to pull together. Do the work and build up a mood board room design which includes all the other elements, from paint, wallpaper, soft furnishing and artwork to make sure the sofa will sing. The sofa colour will be pivotal to the overall colour scheme so choose something you really love and then you can build the rest of the look up slowly over time. You might not be in a postion to buy everything at once, so start with the sopfa and the walls and add rugs, curtsins, artwork even a footstool at a lter date. But by having a vision from the get go will ensure that it all works beautifully. I reach this process over on my Interior Design school, and yes, you too can Be Your Own Interior Designer.
Do you want to discover your style and get confident with colour? My online courses will help you navigate the incredible world of interior design with ease and inspiration. Click here.
