Last week, I shared our living room ideas read more about our ideas here. In the past few months Hasani and I have done a lot of sofa shopping at various stores in our area, we went as recently as Sunday afternoon. I wanted get another look at fabric options now that I narrowed down our fabrics for the living room. When we first started thinking about sofa options, we liked the idea of getting a large sectional to for our living room verses the one sofa and two chairs we had prior. I love the idea of having one big sofa for my family of four to pile onto. In the end, I knew there was a strong possibility it would make our living room look smaller. If you follow me on Instagram then you may have seen this picture of me yesterday checking out fabric samples, searching for the perfect shade of grey while at Scandinavian Designs. Follow Me on Instragram @MrsClh
After much thought we decided two sofas matching sofas would be more practical, and still give us plenty of seating and not overwhelm our living room. After-all I wanted our living room to be more than just one big sofa. If we had a larger living room I think two different sofas would be fun, but since our living room is on the small side the matching sofas create a nice seamless look and the patterns and pillows and other elements in the room become the focal points. Love the vibe of the living room below, the matching sofas create a great canvas for the whole room.
Now that we nailed it down to two sofas, we had to determine the style we wanted. I made my list of what I wanted and didn't want in a sofa. For my family our sofa is an investment piece something we don't plan on replacing for a few years, so I want to make sure its what really want. I decided to make a list of items and wanted and didn't want in our next sofa. A few items that my no list were do to my last sofa, which I loved but also a hated a few things. I wanted the loose back cushions, I was forever fixing those things. The cushions just never stayed just so one my pet peeves.
My Sofa List
We bought our last sofa at Scandinavian Designs, which held up really nice and so we decided to begin our sofa search there. I'm a big fan of Scandinavian Designs, they have a great selection of modern and classic style sofas and also a have a large selection of fabric to choose from. After looking at several sofas, I liked the Martin Sofa the best it had everything I was and wasn't looking for in a sofa. I really like this sofa, its exactly what we've been looking for and met all my above requirements. Sadly when we popped in there to check out the sofa in person again, they didn't have the floor model in stock (expecting it in stock in 11 days) So I wasn't able to get any in person pictures. Funny enough, the store manager remembered me from last time I popped in there, I'm guessing it was my long list of requirements that had him remember me, lol?!? Embarrassing, yes, lol
The other sofa that I really, really like was the Hennessay Sofa from Crate & Barrel. This sofa is almost exactly like the Martin sofa, except for the feet and fabric choices. I really like this sofa and flexi springs in the cushions. Good cushions, that will last are really important to me. I also really like this sofa in person and think it will look nice in our living room. However, I worry about two things: the shade of grey being too dark since there's limited color choices. The sales associate was nice enough to give me a sample of the grey fabric, which I like because its a nice woven fabric. The sales associate said the fabric would appear lighter on a large piece of furniture vs. small swatch. I really like the 'on screen color' below, perfect medium grey.
There's put top two sofa contenders, we like them both. I think we when purchase our pair of sofas, in the end it will come down to fabric choices, quality and warranty both sofas are made in the USA! Which is a nice bonus. In case your wondering what other stores we checked out while sofa shopping here's our list: Macys, JCP, Becks and a Local Consignment Center (where we find some goodies, for other rooms in our house!) I'll share those details soon. While I was at Scandinavian Designs yesterday, I got distracted by some pretty mirrors are good prices, this round beauty caught my eye.
Both sofas are super similar, but which one do you prefer? What are some of your must haves while looking for the perfect sofa that will suit your needs?
After much thought we decided two sofas matching sofas would be more practical, and still give us plenty of seating and not overwhelm our living room. After-all I wanted our living room to be more than just one big sofa. If we had a larger living room I think two different sofas would be fun, but since our living room is on the small side the matching sofas create a nice seamless look and the patterns and pillows and other elements in the room become the focal points. Love the vibe of the living room below, the matching sofas create a great canvas for the whole room.
via Pinterest
Now that we nailed it down to two sofas, we had to determine the style we wanted. I made my list of what I wanted and didn't want in a sofa. For my family our sofa is an investment piece something we don't plan on replacing for a few years, so I want to make sure its what really want. I decided to make a list of items and wanted and didn't want in our next sofa. A few items that my no list were do to my last sofa, which I loved but also a hated a few things. I wanted the loose back cushions, I was forever fixing those things. The cushions just never stayed just so one my pet peeves.
My Sofa List
- Tight back Sofa
- Firm Cushions
- Straight Arms
- Piping on Arms or Sofa Cushions, added bonus
- Exposed Wood Feet
- Flippable Cushions
- Not too Mid Century Modern feeling, but a smidgen is good
- No Slip Cover
- No Rolled Arms
- No Loose Back Cushions
- No Leather
- No Tufting
We bought our last sofa at Scandinavian Designs, which held up really nice and so we decided to begin our sofa search there. I'm a big fan of Scandinavian Designs, they have a great selection of modern and classic style sofas and also a have a large selection of fabric to choose from. After looking at several sofas, I liked the Martin Sofa the best it had everything I was and wasn't looking for in a sofa. I really like this sofa, its exactly what we've been looking for and met all my above requirements. Sadly when we popped in there to check out the sofa in person again, they didn't have the floor model in stock (expecting it in stock in 11 days) So I wasn't able to get any in person pictures. Funny enough, the store manager remembered me from last time I popped in there, I'm guessing it was my long list of requirements that had him remember me, lol?!? Embarrassing, yes, lol
I like the clean lines of the side view of the sofa
The other sofa that I really, really like was the Hennessay Sofa from Crate & Barrel. This sofa is almost exactly like the Martin sofa, except for the feet and fabric choices. I really like this sofa and flexi springs in the cushions. Good cushions, that will last are really important to me. I also really like this sofa in person and think it will look nice in our living room. However, I worry about two things: the shade of grey being too dark since there's limited color choices. The sales associate was nice enough to give me a sample of the grey fabric, which I like because its a nice woven fabric. The sales associate said the fabric would appear lighter on a large piece of furniture vs. small swatch. I really like the 'on screen color' below, perfect medium grey.
Here's and in room view of the sofa, again the clean lines of the side view of the sofa make me happy.
There's put top two sofa contenders, we like them both. I think we when purchase our pair of sofas, in the end it will come down to fabric choices, quality and warranty both sofas are made in the USA! Which is a nice bonus. In case your wondering what other stores we checked out while sofa shopping here's our list: Macys, JCP, Becks and a Local Consignment Center (where we find some goodies, for other rooms in our house!) I'll share those details soon. While I was at Scandinavian Designs yesterday, I got distracted by some pretty mirrors are good prices, this round beauty caught my eye.
Both sofas are super similar, but which one do you prefer? What are some of your must haves while looking for the perfect sofa that will suit your needs?
