The sofa in a modern apartment is almost the most favorite place for relaxation for all family members. During the day, it is pleasant to sit on it or lie down on the TV, watching your favorite show, and at night to sleep.
Surely many still remember the days when the sofa was a luxury, and it could be purchased with great difficulty, and the range was very scarce. Now, there are hundreds of styles and brands, as well as a wide variety of models for every taste. Sometimes they just run their eyes! But before deciding to purchase such essential household furniture as a sofa, you need to carefully consider and weigh the pros and cons. In this article we will try to decide which sofa is better to choose. And also talk about its quality and color of the upholstery.
Criterias of choice
Quite often it happens that the stylish look of an acquired item and its originality delight the eye and amuse our pride. But only at home does it become clear that it is completely impractical, and this unearthly beauty will stand almost dead weight.
When choosing a sofa, in addition to its appearance, you need to take into account a lot of other aspects: width, stiffness, height of the armrests and head restraints, filler, upholstery quality. These seemingly little things can turn your favorite vacation spot into a real nightmare. To prevent this from happening, you need to know how to choose the right sofa.
Orthopedic models
The furniture industry does not stand still. Manufacturers are constantly developing new technologies and models. The best among them are orthopedic sofas. How to choose the most suitable model for your home? It should be noted that such sofas are not only of a classic type, but also in the form of couches, sofas, double and single. Do not forget about the children. They make absolutely charming models of unusual shapes with bright upholstery.
How to choose an orthopedic sofa
First you need to decide for what specific purposes you need upholstered furniture. When its purpose becomes clear, it will be much easier to understand which sofa is better to choose. For example, for an official reception, a shallow product with a fairly wide back is perfect, and for relaxation - a curvaceous model with large pillows. For the living room and daily sleep, the best option is a folding sofa bed. Also, when choosing it is worth considering the complexion of a person. So, for people of high growth, a deep model is suitable, and for a person who is overweight, a product with an elastic or rigid orthopedic mattress.
Now stores offer a truly huge assortment of various upholstered furniture. Including orthopedic sofas. How to choose a suitable model and not be mistaken with its size? Everything is very simple. In order not to occupy too much space, it is necessary to purchase a convertible sofa. For a large room, a product with sections is suitable, and for a small room - an integral model with an understated fit.
We can say that sofas with orthopedic mattresses meet all the basic requirements for places of sleep and rest. They are very easy to use, durable and reliable, and also have many different types and styles, colors and shapes. In addition, these products increase and improve the quality of life, bring a feeling of comfort and luxury to the house.
Orthopedic sofa for the child
Before you go to the store for a purchase, it will not be out of place to find out some nuances that facilitate the selection of a model of upholstered furniture.In order to understand how to choose a good sofa for your child, you need to pay attention to such characteristics:
● naturalness and environmental friendliness of materials that were used for its manufacture;
● the presence of an orthopedic mattress with polyurethane foam filling or a spring block;
● the uniformity and smoothness of the bed, this can be checked by laying out the children's sofa;
● a significant margin of safety of the frame, which should easily withstand jumps and other children's games on the couch;
● the presence of sides so that the child is reliably protected from falling during sleep;
● the compactness of the sofa, since the furniture in the children's room should not be too voluminous and occupying a lot of space, it’s better to leave more space for games, in this case, a roll-out or folding children's sofa may be the best option;
● a safe folding mechanism, which the child can easily handle himself;
● lack of sharp corners and other hard parts so that the child could not get hurt;
● the presence of removable upholstery, which can be removed and cleaned or washed if necessary;
● quality and durability of fabric;
● you need to take into account the length of the sofa so that you don’t have to buy a new one after 2 years, as children grow very quickly;
● availability of a certificate of quality and safety for this product.
And the last tip on how to choose a sofa: it is very important to ask the views of the child himself, for whom the purchase is made. If he likes his crib, then he will always go to sleep and wake up in it in a good mood.
Sofa for sleeping
In small one-room apartments, in which the same room plays the role of a bedroom and a living room, it makes sense to place universal furniture. It should be suitable not only in case of receiving guests, but also serve as a place for the owners to relax. In this case, you need to choose a sofa for daily sleep.
First of all, it should be practical and convenient. In addition, you need to pay attention to a few of the following parameters:
● To prevent bedding from sliding on the sofa, it should be equipped with armrests on both sides. A suitable layout is Eurobook, and you can choose jacquard, flock or vinyl as upholstery.
● Before choosing a sofa for sleeping, be sure to ask which unit is installed on it. It’s best to choose a spring version and it doesn’t matter if it is dependent or not.
● The frame of the sofa itself should be made of high-quality wood, and niches can be made of both laminated particleboard and plywood. Particular attention should be paid to the linen department. It should not have any defects, otherwise the bedding will be all in puffs.
And another recommendation regarding how to choose a sofa bed relates to its layout mechanism. It should have roller guides equipped with special wheels. Sometimes they are placed at the bottom of the sofa. It is best if the wheels are rubberized, since the plastic scratches the floor covering. Do not think that this can completely protect him from damage. In any case, over time, traces left by them on the floor will still become noticeable.
Sofa for living room
Ideal guest furniture should be unpretentious and withstand heavy loads. In order to correctly approach the question of how to choose a sofa for the living room, you need to decide on its model, type of layout and indoor unit.
First, let's figure out the form. It is best to purchase a corner or modular sofa. The second type is more preferable, as it has several options for complete sets. For example, a chair or a side bench can be included in the kit. The indoor unit should be spring-loaded, and on top covered with high-quality elastic foam. And finally, the type of layout. The most convenient in this case is French or Belgian, in which the back of the sofa remains motionless. It should be done with a slight slope.You also need to consider that many people like high backs, where neck support is provided.
Besides the fact that you are now armed with knowledge on how to choose a sofa in the living room, you must sit down on the model you have chosen before buying. This is necessary to determine a comfortable seat length. If it is narrow, then the legs will protrude too far beyond the sofa and it will not work comfortably to settle on it. Therefore, guests will not be able to fully enjoy the hospitable and warm atmosphere that prevails in your home.
Upholstery
Some believe that the characteristics of fabrics covering upholstered furniture are not as important as their color. But this is a fallacy, since the question of which upholstery to choose for the sofa is actually very relevant. First of all, you need to pay attention to the strength of the fabric. It is determined using the Martindale test. The wear resistance of the material depends on the possible number of cycles of its use. For clarity, you can run your hand through the fabric - this will be the first of them. Durable and high-quality upholstery have a level of 70 thousand cycles. But most often, tissues passing only 25 are found. Such information is usually placed on samples. It should be noted here that high-quality wear-resistant fabric is not always the most expensive.
If you compare two similar upholstery materials, but from different manufacturers, it turns out that one of them is more expensive than the other. This is due to three reasons: the country of manufacture, the popularity of the brand and the richness of the choice of patterns and colors of upholstery in one collection. For example, a sofa model decorated with a fabric of equivalent quality, but from different manufacturers, may turn out to be 2 times more expensive than its counterpart.
Four main suppliers of upholstery fabric for furniture now prevail in our market: Russia, Turkey, Belgium and Italy. The last two manufacturing countries are world leaders in this industry. Their product is characterized by a wide variety of design and widespread use of natural materials that make up the composition.
Among such a variety, the question of which fabric to choose for the sofa arises quite reasonably. Teflon coating is considered very practical, which is a special impregnation that repels liquid. In this case, if you pour a drink on the sofa, it can easily be removed from the surface without leaving any traces.
Pet lovers can choose to flock their sofa upholstery. This fabric is ideal, since wool does not stick to it, claw marks do not remain, and it is well washed. Among flock upholstery delicate beige and peach shades prevail. But do not puzzle for a long time over what fabric to choose for the sofa. It is not necessary to be afraid of light tones, since this material is characterized by good strength and durability, which allows it to maintain its original appearance for a rather long time. That is why flock is the best option for those who have various pets.
It is worth remembering that no matter how high-quality the fabric is, it still wears out much faster than the frame. Therefore, before choosing a sofa with expensive upholstery, think and decide when you plan the next repair. If not later than after 5 years, then it makes no sense to purchase furniture with too expensive fabric, since in this case you still have to change it.
Color selection
Typically, the sofa is the center of the room and a piece of furniture around which the whole decor is created. Therefore, it should harmoniously fit into the interior of the room. And for this you need to know how to choose the color of the sofa.
There are three selection options and the first of them - the furniture must match the interior, the second - can coincide with some basic elements and the third - can stand out and have nothing to do with the environment.
Depending on the nature and lifestyle of specific people, their preferences also depend.Some love calm shades, while bright colors annoy them. Others, on the contrary, prefer rich colors. For lovers of calm tones, a minimalistic combination of shades of gray, white and beige is recommended. For example, a gray sofa is decorated with white and beige pillows, which look very profitable against its background.
For fans of bright colors, designers are advised to take seriously the question of what color to choose a sofa. In any case, it should be in harmony with at least one of the decor items. For example, a turquoise sofa will be perfectly combined with the same curtains, and the decorative pillows decorating it can have a whole range of colors: blue, purple, as well as other shades of turquoise.
Most of all, upholstered furniture with upholstery in white, green, red and blue tones is suitable for various styles of interiors. A white sofa will look good in a classic living room, furnished with dark furniture, as well as in a room decorated in an ultra-modern hi-tech style.
The green color of the upholstery is ideal for a room with an antique setting that uses gold and brass trim. Looks good with curtains and pillows of beige and cream colors.
A bright red sofa is an excellent choice for a modern living room, in which the furniture has many metal details or a lacquered white surface. He will give the room more brightness. Dark red or burgundy upholstery is suitable for the living room with classic furniture made of dark wood. In this case, the curtains should be of the appropriate color.
A blue sofa is ideal for a classic living room with dark cherry or walnut furniture. White pillows are chosen for him, and those who like bright colors can add orange and yellow.
Sofa blocks
People who are going to buy new upholstered furniture quite often ask themselves how to choose the right sofa for the living room so that it is not too soft. The answer is very simple - you need to purchase a product that has a springless unit. They usually use foam rubber. It must be of high quality, fairly dense and resilient, otherwise it will quickly sit out and then crumble. In more expensive models, thermoplastic or so-called “memory foam” foam, which was once developed for space purposes, is now actively used. The fact is that under the influence of temperature it can take on the shape of a human figure, which significantly reduces pressure on the spine.
In one-room apartments, the sofa is used not only to receive guests, but also sleep on it. Therefore, the question begs itself: "How to choose a sofa for sleeping, so that it is as convenient and comfortable as possible?" In this case, it is better to dwell on the product with a spring block, which is divided into two types: independent and dependent. In the first case, each individual spring has its own case. If one of them breaks, then the rest continue to work further, supporting the human body.
To find out what type of spring unit is used in the sofa, you need to sit on it and put a cup next to it. If it continues to stand, then independent springs were used in this model.
Modular sofas
In apartments with a small living area, space saving is a very important factor. Therefore, the problem of how to choose a sofa so that it does not take up too much space is paramount. In addition, there are often situations when furniture of standard sizes does not fit either in size or does not correspond to the designer's idea. In this case, modular sofas are an excellent way out of this situation.
Manufacturers of upholstered furniture produce various transformation systems. It is thanks to them that during the day a comfortable sofa is obtained for relaxing and receiving guests, and at night a cozy sleeping place. But at the same time, all its main parameters, such as width, length and height, do not change.
The situation is completely different with modular sofas, which are more like constructors or cubes, but only for adults. They consist of many separate “parts” and any design can be assembled from them. At the same time, the owner of a modular sofa is his own designer.
The process of buying such furniture is fundamentally different from what is already known to all of us. But do not worry about this. There is nothing complicated in choosing a sofa consisting of modules. First, the buyer turns to the designer and tries to describe as accurately as possible the model that he wants to get in the end. Next, a room plan and sketches of the future sofa are compiled, and they are also determined with the size and number of blocks necessary for it. In addition, the customer reports what type of connection should be.
I must say that there are two types of modular sofas: sectional and consisting of separate "parts". The first option is always assembled at a furniture factory according to a design project approved by the customer. At the same time, they are rigidly interconnected, and they cannot be disconnected by themselves. Ordinary modular sofas consist of loose blocks that can be independently moved and swapped, thus collecting various options for upholstered furniture.
Such systems provide their owners with great opportunities that allow you to change the interior of the apartment almost every day. For example, today you can make two sofas from blocks, tomorrow - several poufs spread throughout the apartment, and the day after tomorrow - two armchairs and one sofa. So from the modules pretty original ensembles are obtained. This makes such upholstered furniture very popular for those people who own non-standard rooms.
And finally, one tip: after you know all the characteristics of the sofa you like, be sure to try to sit on it and even lie down. After all, it is known that the most beautiful and reliable furniture does not always guarantee convenience and comfort. In any case, the final choice of sofa is always yours.
