What Kind of Couch Should I Get? The Ultimate Guide

Buying a couch or sofa is an important investment in furniture that you may live with for decades. So it is okay to ask questions like What kind of couch should I get?

Therefore, take a little extra time to do your homework and due diligence before you buy one.

Couches should never be boring, they should add color to the house. Style preference is a personal matter, but when choosing a high-quality couch, there are objective criteria that can be used to ensure you end up with a good couch.

Think about how you want to use it, what room you want to have it in, and what style you want it to be. This comprehensive guide will help you decipher good quality from all the inferior materials out there.

Before you choose a couch, ensure you consider the color, features, material and size of your space, so as to cure your curiosity of “What kind of couch should I get?”

So First off, Is it a Couch or a Sofa?

In the United States, sofa and couch have exactly the same meaning. That is, long upholstered seat furniture.

Historically, the two were clearly different. “Couch” comes from the French word “couche“, which means furniture without armrests, similar to today’s chaise lounges.

On the other hand, “sofa” is derived from the Arabic word “soffah“, which means a raised part of the floor, covered with abundant rugs and cushions, and used for seats.

Before Changing Your Couch

Couches are able to last for a good number of years, but they suffer a lot of damage over time, mostly in homes where there are children and pets.

But fortunately, you can do a lot to rejuvenate an aging couch.

You can also re-cushion the couch to make it feel fluffy and comfortable, re-cover it with a brand new look (replace worn, torn, or stained fabric), and fix slack.

How about Replacing Your Couch?

However, it may be cost-effective to replace the couch. If your current couch is damaged or irreparable if it has a shape or style that doesn’t suit your needs.

If it’s just too small, you should consider looking out for a new couch.

If you don’t have a couch at all, buying a couch will give your living space a gathering spot, so you should start looking for it as soon as possible.

Things to Consider When Buying a Couch

Most people tend to waltz into a furniture store and pick up any couch that catches their fancy or even order it online.

There are a few things that you need to pay attention to before choosing a couch for your home. These things include:

Space

Make sure the size of the couch does not overwhelm the room or obstruct the flow of traffic. Measure the entire room, especially the walls you plan to place before shopping.

Also, measure the height, width, and diagonal openings of all the doors in your house and have these numbers ready when you buy your couch.

It’s very exhausting to get a couch and upon delivery, the delivery service is unable to pass the door, so many couches have been returned due to this.

Although many couches have legs that can be unscrewed and removed to make delivery easier to manage.

In some cases, the door can be removed from the hinges to widen the opening enough to push the large couch inward.

Also, consider the style of your space. Couches come in many styles, including.

Contemporary, Mid-Century Modern, Scandinavian, Victorian, and more. Spend extra time narrowing down the couch options that suit your style.

Tip: Be sure that any couch you are buying will fit in your space. This will save you a lot of struggles.

Materials

Choosing the right fabric is important for the look of your couch. If you have kids or pets, you need to choose a material that is durable and easier to care for.

Also, note that couches that are made from microfiber are ideal for heavily worn areas. They’re attractive in the eyes and are very easy to clean.

Textured fabrics are known to wear less than smooth fabrics, with leather being a good choice if you are looking for durability.

There is much debate about the best padding for couch cushions. Many people like overstuffed couches and fluffy pillows, with polyurethane foam being one of the most commonly used materials.

High-Resilient foams are a further development of polyurethane, ensuring a comfortable and durable cushion.

Some experts recommend hybrid pillows made of feathers and feather-wrapped HR foams which are known to be both durable and comfortable.

Expensive couches often use goose down mixed with feathers, but luxury is expensive and cushions often need to be plumped often.

Tip: Choosing a fabric that will last for you should be centered on your maintenance habit, the number of people who live with you, and if you have kids, pets, or not.

Size

Choose the size that best suits your couch plan. Whether it’s relaxing or reading, you name it.

The seats should be comfortable for the whole family and the couch should be large enough to accommodate the whole family.

Consider a larger couch, or if you have frequent guests, combine the couch with an armchair or additional seats. The golden rule of proportion in a room is that the sofa should be about two-thirds the size of the wall it opposes.

Do not fill the entire wall,  space is required on both sides.

Another size consideration is the depth of the seat. Choose a deep seat or a flat seat depending on your height. When buying a reclining couch, make sure you are comfortable in all positions.

Behind the couch, your feet should be flat on the floor and your back should be well supported with your knees facing slightly in front of the lower seat cushions.

Also, if you like to take a nap on the couch, lie down on the couch to see if it’s long enough for a comfortable snooze.

Tip: Make sure to choose a couch that is as sizeableable as you want. This will guarantee your comfort

Features

Think about your current couch or more couches you’ve used in the past and what you want to add if any.

Some couches are equipped with cup holders, reclining seats, built-in beds, replaceable covers, built-in storage, and other features to meet buyers’ needs and increase personalization opportunities.

Some have built-in coolers and plugs to charge the device. Knowing what you enjoy most can help you screen out the many features available.

Tip: If you love fancy and cozy stuff, be sure to look out for couches with amazing features when making your plans.

What Kind of Couch Should I Get if I Have Cats?

As a cat owner, you might be thinking “What kind of couch should I get?”. Well, cats and couches usually aren’t a good match, mainly because cats are very contact animals.

They need to always scratch with their claws as normal as they do it to express emotions like excitement or stress or mark objects with their scent.

As cat owners, this can be very unbearable as the damages did could be very expensive to fix or completely unfixable.

So here  are the  best scratch-proof furniture materials that your cute cats can’t ruthlessly damage;

• Micro Fiber
• Faux Suede
• Synthetic
• Denim

What Kind of Couch Should I Get for a House with Dogs?

When picking a couch as a dog owner, it is slightly different, as dogs are naturally more playful when excited.

So I advise you to pick couches with darker colors so as to hide dirt easily.

Couch Materials more suitable to dog owners include;

• Canvas
• Denim
• Micro Fiber
• Leather

In Conclusion

Settling for the right couch is one of the most difficult but truly important aspects of choosing a couch.

It might seem simple, but a lot has to be taken into consideration when picking the best couch for you or your family.

The article above should help when answering important questions like; What kind of couch should I get?.