Buying a new sofa for your living room is a major decision, as the costs for a new sofa start from €700 and can go up to a good few thousand! So, before picking the right one for you, there are a few things you should consider! So, before picking the right one for you, there are a few things you should consider when visiting a furniture store!
1. Really know the function of your sofa
When choosing your sofas, make sure you pick one that matches your living room and what you’re planning to use it for. You can check out st-barts.com.au which will provide you with the perfect sofas for your needs. If you spend a lot of time watching TV, so this is the best option. If you like to read while wrapped in a blanket, maybe get a cuddle, too! And if you know your friends always end up staying over, it would be a good idea to buy a sofa bed! Ideally, the sofa and armchairs should be facing each other. Try to create a space that encourages conversations and it’s functional. You don’t want people shouting at each other from different corners of the room. Modular sofas are brilliant if you are a person who gets bored easily. You can change their appearance by just separating them into different shapes and moving them around the room. You can consider placing a small coffee table in the middle and a rug under it.
2. Measure
Make sure you measure the space and the sofa so it fits. While you may love a specific model, that may not fit your home, it could be either too big or too small. If the sofa is too big for your living room, it will make everything look bulky and crowded. If it’s too small, it will leave a lot of empty space and it will make the room look unfinished.
Another important aspect is measuring the doors, as you may have a surprise when you get home and try to fit your furniture through them. Even though most sofas will come in packages, they still may not fit if the pieces are too large.
Here’s a nice tip! If you’d like to have a better visual of how much space the sofa is going to take, use some old newspapers and place them around the floor in the shape and size of the couch you like.
3.Take note on quality
The main difference in the cost of a suite of furniture is made by the frame. When buying a new sofa, make sure you go for a solid hard-wood frame, even though it’s more expensive. Anything that’s made of plywood or particleboard is going to be a cheaper sofa, but the quality will be poor. Once you pick a good quality frame, you can reupholster the cushions if they become dull or you want to go for a change.
While you may want to save some money and get a good deal, make sure you don’t bargain on quality. A good sofa will last for years, while a cheap one can break in a few months, especially if you have young children jumping on it.
4. Choose a sofa that’s easy to clean
When selecting the sofa you like, you have to think ahead about the cleaning aspect. As much as you try to prevent it, there will still be spills and stains. Especially if you have children or pets! If you’re planning to spend a lot of time on that sofa and you know a lot of other people will too, maybe go for a darker color, like gray, brown, or why not, black. Also, be careful when buying a designer sofa, as most of them are upholstered with delicate fabric that is very hard and expensive to clean.
Viscose and rayon sofas are extremely difficult to clean and require extensive knowledge from the sofa cleaning company. Therefore, the price of the cleaning is always high and unfortunately, the outcome is not always satisfactory.
On the other hand, polyester and microfiber sofas are easy to maintain and they always come up great after a professional sofa cleaning.
A sofa cleaning company like Happy Clean will know how to differentiate the different types of materials in order to pick the most effective cleaning method.
When buying the sofa, some shops may offer you the option to have it stain proofed for a couple of hundreds more. Here’s a tip! If you wait until you get home and hire a sofa cleaning service to do it for you, it’ll usually cost you half the price!
5. Ask for opinions
Nowadays you can find out everything about anything at a simple Google search. So, the final step before putting the money down for a new sofa is to see what other people have to say about it There are many websites where people can leave a review about a specific product, or forums where people expose their honest opinions. You can also get feedback from friends who have the same sofa you may want. As attractive as some pieces of furniture may look, they may have downsides that you weren’t aware of.
Now that you have all these in mind it’s time to go shopping. You can start by browsing online, but if you have the chance to actually see and feel the sofa you like, we recommend doing so. As gorgeous as it may look in photos, it may not be nice at a touch or comfortable to sit on. Always prepare a little bit extra on the budget, just in case you see some nice cushions or a rug that goes with it!