We got the Rochelle sofa from Crate and Barrel but added the Petrie ottoman, which is wide enough for two sets of feet. When we're not lounging (i.e., most of the time) we have the ottoman off to the side. It makes for great extra seating at a party. We got the in the sofa and ottoman in two different, custom fabrics and are really happy with both.

By the way, if anyone is looking for a great deal on a nice clean-lined sofa, Crate and Barrel is discontinuing the Kinsey, so it's on sale for $1199. You can't choose your fabric, but it does have down cushions.

I bought a sofa bed with a chaise end. Fortunately, it came with a separate sofa cushion so that you could remove the chaise and still use it as a regular sofa. I always use the chaise- so nice for two people to watch tv.

I went through the exact same thing -- and had decided to go with a regular sofa and then found the one I ended up buying: it's a three-seater sofa with a "floating" chaise -- basically, it's an ottoman that can be moved to either end of the sofa. It also came with an extra regular sofa cushion in case you decide to not use the ottoman at all (still trying to figure out where to put the extra cushion ...) My sofa is similar to this one: http://tinyurl.com/pnxcq -- the picture shows how the ottoman can detach, and also how it uses a larger cushion on ottoman end. I love sitting in the corner of the sofa with the ottoman end -- it's great to stretch out on. HTH!

I've never been a fan of sectionals with a chaise end especially if there's a wall alongside the chaise. I like being able to see over the chaise, having it function as a visual room divider rather than a comfy place to sit.

I had a very difficult time finding a sectional to fit a particularly tight space in my tv room. I ended up having it fabricated custom to maximize the space and opted for no chaise to allow for more seating.

I have a very similar sofa, with the 'floating' chaise described above, and I really like it. It is not against a wall, and it really makes lounging in front of the tv wonderful for two people at once. It's an Ikea Karlanda, in light turquoise. The only thing is that the big cushion for the chaise part slides out and has to be pushed back in, but isn't that a regular problem with many couches (having to re-adjust the cushions once in a while) or am I just used to cheaper sofas?

I've recommended this sofa to clients who have bought it and love it. Solid construction, and a comfortable seat. A good option for comfy TV/DVD viewing if you don't want an ugly cheap recliner and can't afford a really chic high end one.

speaking of sofa's ...Does anyone have advice on the best sofa/fabrics to buy if you have a long hair cat with claws? I really want to get rid of my futon and go with a sofa but I am concerned about the cat factor.

I can tell you what NOT to do. No fabric with any kind of weave, like a basket weave, no matter how durable it seems. This is what I did. It was stupid. Now I have found a buyer for my brand new La-Z-Boy "Daphne" (at a $200 loss on my part, due to the claw 'pulls' in the fabric) and am shopping again.

I am told that microfiber is the best way to go, like an ultrasuede, and I see the wisdom of it.

good luck!

thanks! I did actually try an microfiber/ultrasuede futon cover because I heard it was good with cats. Little did I know it was a FUR MAGNET! So - before you buy a new sofa - I suggest trying a small piece of fabric and testing it with your cat.

Regular claw clipping helps with unintentional snags. Choosing sturdy materials, such as twill, cotton duck, denim, helps. As does selecting a pattern that will hide most snags. The best bet, in my opinion, it to choose a sofa that has slipcovers readily available. IKEA has lots of them. LaZBoy has several styles that allow you to change the look with slipcovers.

As for the sectional, I'd go with the style that allows the chaise portion to be moved or eliminated. Or a regular sofa and an ottoman. The ottoman allows you to move it wherever it may be needed, which makes more sense to me.

Hey, and whatever happened to good, old-fashioned, putting your feet on the coffee table? ;)

I have two very long hair cats with claws and we have a light tan leather sofa (very soft leather). It's perfect. Our cats are not interested in scratching on the leather. It doesn't collect hair to get over your clothing or look terrible (like our fabric chairs do). If you look very, very closely you can see a few nail pricks here and there but they are very hard to see.

We've had the sofa for three years and it looks as good as they day it arrived. I will only buy leather sofas again as long as I have cats and a dog. I know it's more expensive, but this sofa will certainly last much longer than our old fabric ones ever did.

Our microsuede sofa is looking like it needs a good lint-brushing, but neither cat has yet shown an interest in clawing it, and it's been over a year.

The leather chair, alas, has a lot of snags because they hop up on it and then fall off. As soon as they feel their little paws slipping, out come the claws!

The nice thing about a chaise-type sectional like this is that 2/3 of it actually IS a regular sofa - unlike the completely componentized sectional my mother had which persisted on sliding apart underneath you if you tried to recline at all.

I have a sofabed sectional that looks almost identical to the one above, and because both pieces are pretty heavy - and it's rare that anyone would sit on the split anyway - it's been very comfortable to use. There's only two drawbacks I've experienced: First, the chaise cushion can't be flipped over in the event of stainage or cat scratches; secondly, if you move a sectional is definitely far less flexible; even if you have enough space, the arm might be on the wrong side.

The adaptable models mentioned by the other contributors to the thread would obviously solve the second problem, so why not go for it! I myself am trading in the current sectional (which was loved not wisely but well by two cats) for the Room & Board Jasper in black leather (thanks for the reassurance on leather as well, posters!) the second my finances permit.

I went back and forth, sofa vs.sectional, and after 10 months finally got a sofa with a detachable chaise. I love it! The chaise is only 60 inches long so it doesn't take up that much space. And, unlike the one above, the arms on mine are high (tuxedo style). I got it at the now closed Schrager Home store.

I've had a sofa like this and the arm being on the wrong side if you move or rearrange your space isn't as big of a problem as you might think... just put the sofa on an angle, with the center of the L facing whatever you'd like it to face. Effective in squarish rooms but doable in rectangular rooms too.

We got rid of it because the asymmetry did bother me after a while for some reason, but it was comfortable.

My ladytype and I are sitting on a chaise sofa right now. We chose one in tan sueded microfiber (which is the God fabric for sofas...durable, easy to clean, feels nice, looks great), since we chickened out on the red sofa.

We like it a lot. The model we chose has two square and one rectangular cushion. It's a clever design. The rectangular section is sized such that you can put it on the couch, with one of the square cushions, and then use the other square cushion on the ottoman part, for a separate seating unit. That design also lets you put the chaise part on either end, or (as we have it configured now) in the middle so we can both put our feet on it.

Some other chaise sofas I've seen have a weird-shaped cushion for the chaise part, and sometimes has extra cushions to change into couch-and-ottoman mode. I think this design is better. No extra parts to keep track of.

One thing I would change is the back cushions. They're made with fiberfill batting in a tyvek bag, and they don't hold their shape well at all. I'm looking forward to rebuilding them with a foam core and fiberfill. Should look a lot nicer after I've been lounging on it all day.

I considered getting a sectional for a long time, but ultimately bought a sofa with a matching ottoman. I'm VERY happy with this choice, since I get the comfort of a chaise and the flexibility of being able to move the ottoman around.

Concerned cat owner -

I went to a fabric store and picked up a bunch of swatches of fabrics that I liked and that I thought would be cat friendly and brought them home to teseet them out on the cats. I even pinned them to a safety pin, tied the pin to a rope, and mad e a cat toy out of the swatches. The swatch that survives the kitty test wins!

In the end, I found the some microfibers (but not all) stand up well to punctures (they close on their own), but they can be snagged. There are some velour or chenile-like fabrics that don't show snags or holes that I like.

The funny thing is that the most scratch resistant fabric is fur!! Yes, tacky, but maybe a short-haired (fake) furry couch could look good. :)

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=931&f=8684

Hmm, I think I will pass on the chaise. Thanks for the feedback.

Are the back cusions on Crate and Barrel sofas slippy?

I've got one similar to the one pictured in ultrasuede. I like it, but my driver to buy it was not a space limitation - as I have as fairly large walk-up loft.

I've turned my loft into a home theatre and most home theatre furnitue is just plain ugly. They must have tapped into the guys who design seating for motorhomes to design this stuff. This chaise/sofa seamed to be a good compromise between comfort, the capability to seat three people and something that wasn't the size of a small car.

Sometimes these choices are the are a series of best compromises.

I own the Troy sofa from Crate & Barrel. Great because of the low back and arms it fits in small spaces (like a third floor walk up in an old building). I've enjoyed the chaise part of it, and love the way it looks. Have to admit that I don't think its as comfortable as it could be--pillows (both back and base) are not great and I end up supplementing with a lot of throw pillows, which isn't terrible if you love to buy pillows, but if you are looking for a sofa you'll really feel comfortable on, I'd look elsewhere.

One of my favorite little joys is to push the ottoman into the "L" formed by the chaise on my leather sofa, create a double bed-like area, and snuggle up on it to watch TV with my boyfriend. A plain sofa and ottoman wouldn't be the same.

The best seat in the house is the chaise section of my sofa. And it creates a sense of a room and enclosure without "eating space" in this apartment as successfully as it did in my last.

I think if you have the room, including the chaise section is a no brainer.

And a sectional couch moves a million times easier than a solid one.

I have a chaise/sectional/sofabed from Jennifer Convertibles. I have had it for about 5 years and I really like it. It's extremely comfortable and I don't see any drawbacks in getting a chaise sofa. One problem: mine is denim and my cat still has her claws. After 5 years, she has scratched the hell out of one side of the couch. It's not hide-able at all. So if you have a cat, denim or canvas is not the way to go.

Hey moofie, what's a "ladytype"? I hope it's not a blow-up doll!

Concerned cat owner -

For the clawing problem....

We just got SoftPaws for our cat. It's been about a week since we put them on (they are little soft caps that slide over the claws - you affix them w/ glue) and aside from tugging at them a little bit at first and having to replace one, they are all in place and doing a good job saving our new sofa from his claws.

You can get them at amazon or from softpaws.com

Re: Softpaws - heard great things about them. Bought a set at pet store plus crazy glue from nail salon since pet store had no glue. Spent one hour trying to get them on Kitty's paws. Glued own fingers together. Had to knock on neighbor's door for help. Felt stupid. Kitty chewed off Softpaws in 3 days. Continued to scratch couch. Better luck to you!

Yeah, I have a sectional sort of like this one, and my only caveat is to make sure you actually SIT on the sofa you want to buy, even if it's a non-sectional version. We were very enthusiastic about the style of our Mitchell Gold sectional, but we only sat in a chair version. As a sectional, it's a little narrow, so the chaise part is the prime seat and the other part is not as comfy....

Just got my sectional sofa out from storage. Love the chaise. They were placed in storage while were were remodeling. Unfortunately the pins (used to attached the two sections) were misplaced and lost. Anyone has thoughts on how and where I can get replacement? The sofa is made of leather and manufactured by natuzzi. I cannot fing the customer support phone number nor do I know what the name of the part is. Any help would be appreciated.

Aside from Boston Interiors, where can you buy sectional sofas with detachable chaise/ottoman things? I've been going back and forth on a sectional sofa, regualar sofa, sofa bed...I'm thinking that the happy medium is a sectional sofa with a chaise (takes up less room than a traditional L shape sectional) with a sofa bed (you can always use an extra bed). I've been looking at Room & Board's York. Any thoughts?

We have a sectional couch, no chaise, just five pieces that form an L. Its an older couch but we can't get a new one just yet, only problem is it definitly doesn't match our new apartment in august. So we need an inexpansive slipcover to fit. Any ideas where to fit one? Thank you!

I found all of your comments very helpful. I am also looking for an sofa with chaise and like the idea of a removable cushion. I need a size (90sh x 70sh overall) and have found a few options online, but do not want to buy anything until I sit on it and get a feel for it. Where would you recommend going?

And has anyone owned an armless couch as the one in:
http://ww1.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm?src=shpcfursctbar%7Crshop%2Fshpcfursctpfc%7Crshop%2Fpipcfursctbar%7Cgp6538%7Ck%7Crshop%7Cs&sid=PBW14GPY7VMJ9UZ66RMWD5E4SF3GZQUP200607051944&pkey=cfursctbar&gids=p6538&ftest=1&cmreferrer=&flash=on

Buy yourself a good 3 seater sofa and one or two co-ordinating (not matching) chairs. Trust me: waaay more flexible if you ever move house...and you will.

I have a long living room. I would like a sofa with a chaise to visually seperate the living and dining room. Would a curved end piece create the same effect?

Not sure if anyone is still watching this post, but I've had great luck with the SoftPaws for my cat (who had also done some damage to a new sofa). They work great. You just have to get your cat when he/she's tired. Less fighting that way.

We can't vacuum under our Crate & Barrel sectional! It's too heavy to push around!

Any suggestions?

I just got a 3 peace sectional couch I need to find a slip cover or something to fit it this color I picked was nice till you get it home with kids and a dog. lol