Couch Guide

Price Goal

• Set a realistic price goal before you even start shopping. Couches can run anywhere from just a few hundred dollars for mass produced styles to more than $15,000 for a genuine antique as of May 2011. Give yourself a price range that starts with a bottom dollar price consistent with the quality you are looking for, and work up toward a ceiling above which you will not go.

Durability

• A few items found in the typical house need to be more durable than others, and the couch is right there alongside a furnace and washing machine. This furnishing may be used heavily for 15 years, or it may be rarely used for just a few years. Be realistic about how long you plan to keep the couch and what kind of wear and tear you expect it to see.

Size

• The size of a couch should be determined not just by how many people you expect may use it during heavily used periods. Consider whether the couch will be used mostly for sitting or whether you expect quite a bit of lounging to be done. Body size should also come into play; slender family can get away with a shorter couch more easily than a family with wider body types.

Situating the Couch

• Take location into consideration when looking at couches. Consider whether you might situate the couch perpendicular to the room, up tightly against the wall or in the middle of a room working as a divider. Another thing well worth working out is whether you would be better off with two smaller couches set against each other than you would be with an oversize model.

Portability Issues

• A couch that may find itself shifted from one room to another in a large house should take doorway size, corners and halls into consideration more than a couch you plan to plant in the living room and only occasionally move from one side of the room to another. If you even have the slightest thought that the couch may be moved through the house, measure the spaces available for right angle turns, tight doorways, small halls and stairways.

Fabric Considerations

• Fabric choice in couches can often be made on the basis of style rather than honest assessment of lifestyle. Leather can fade if left in direct sunlight for extended periods. Brocade provides a sense of class and elegance but is not the most comfortable material. Couches inside homes with pets should be made of material that contributes to dander accumulation and flea infestation.