My aunt and I recently went sofa shopping for her. She is tall with a bad hip. Most were too low and also too deep. You sit back so far and so low that if you have hip or back problems, it can be a real problem. Out of about 20 sofas, only 3 were comfortable depth and height wise.

I think being (a short) female I didn't think about this a lot when I was buying my sofa, but it is low and when large/tall people visit it's obvious that my sofa is NOT comfortable for other people. Next sofa will be bigger!

I'm only 5 feet tall and nearly all furniture is too big for me. My feet do not touch the ground when I'm sitting back in a 'normal- sized' chair. I even cut the legs down on my sofa. So, I kind of like sitting down on the lower furniture.

However, getting back up isn't always as easy as it could be.

The 27" sofa would only work for me if I used the back of it to sit on. Otherwise I think this is one trend I will pass on. I just hope when it's time to go sofa shopping, I don't run into the same obstacles that lordor01 ran into.

Anything you sit on should be about 18 inches high. Of course, smaller people might like a bit lower, taller people a bit taller.

The seat depth is also an indicator: taller people will generally feel more comfortable in deeper furniture and vice-versa. (I don't know the average measurements alas.)

So the 27-inch description is meaningless without the seat height. What it does tell you is that, overall, the sofa is low slung.

I am not particularly aged, and recently acquired 2 ikea ps karljohan side tables to double as stools. They're a little under 11in high and, I think, a comfortable height for this purpose. Whether I would still think this in 10 years is unknown. I should be kind to my knees.

I like that orange chair in the background, and how the low ottoman/coffee table looks here, although it really is the accompanying table that makes the setup non-useless.

Assuming you ever want to have a drink while sitting on your white sofa on your white rug, that is.

As Terry pointed out above, the height of the *back* of the sofa is an entirely different matter than the seat height. And, while back height is not irrelevant, it's much *less* relevant to the overall seated comfort.

That said, I like the overall look of low-slung furniture, but that's a personal preference. As a short woman, that West Elm couch probably still wouldn't be comfortable because the seat area itself is really deep.

The Library where I work is planning a renovation, and I'm "project manager". One Big Deal to everyone is getting rid of some low slung, overly soft-cushioned "comfortable" chairs. Elderly people can't get up from them gracefully. They are awful.

I'm no spring chicken, either, but I'm five feet tall -- it's a quandry for me, to both have a comfortable seat height and my feet on the floor.

I think very low furniture is best for those who are young and limber or those accustomed to it culturally -- I don't know if contemporary Japan still tends toward seating on the floor, but traditional Japan did -- if you are used to it, it might not hurt so much!

I always think my reaction to this is an age thing. As I get older, the whole really low furniture thing becomes more of a pain--literally. Getting up from low down becomes more challenging.

Design is ultimately form and function and I dont think this trend has the function. It reminds me of homes that have been staged where practicality doesn't matter, just looking pretty. And that it does!

I live in a tall-people household. We had a couch that was too low (but oh-so-cute), so we put it on bed risers. I'm sure it looked tacky, but it was more comfortable for all of us to use.

I am sitting on the couch pictured above and it rocks! My aunt looked at it and said "that looks hideously uncomfortable" and then proceeded to fall asleep on it saying it was fabulous.

It's too low if your elderly parents and friends have difficulty getting up.

I'm confused. The sofa pictured has a seat height of 18 inches which falls directly in the average for living room seating. The only seating that tends to be higher is for dining which tends to be 20 inches for a chair and higher for stool. Is this more a post about that ottoman?

Gosh, that's a pretty room. I barely noticed the furniture.

I have the tillary from west elm too...and I love it...mostly. It IS comfortable, and we dont' find it too low...I've had people sleep on it and rave about it. Only problem we have is that it's floating in our room, and we can't keep the back cushions on it. Low to the ground is all good. Looks great too.

I prefer low but I'm only 5'1",& Japanese & not too young but not too old either, just right :-)...... Especially my couch floats in a room a few feet away from a kitchen island. When I tried to put a bigger puffier couch there, it looked huge & out of scale. The lower streamlined couch fits wonderfully.

What seems very low to me in the above pic is the ottoman, the ottoman I use with my low sectional is about the same height as the seat.

I own nearly the same couch as above, from West Elm. My mom had great advice before I bought it: "How often do you just SIT on a couch?"

It's great to lounge back on in the corners. Though if I were going for comfort alone, I'd just buy a few lazy-boys!

I had that exact sofa. Hated it.

It was too low, the moveable cushions never stayed and it was uncomfortable.

It's a combination of seat height, depth, and firmness that makes for a comfortable sofa in my household. A height of 19" is OK, but too deep and too soft (as in you sink down when you sit) and we have problems: 1) if knees are higher than hips we're talking extreme pain and 2) a deep seat that sinks down is impossible to rise out of. It's embarassing to have to scooch forward and shove against the back, or have someone lend a hand for a hoist up, or worse yet to just have to roll out and onto the floor and then hie oneself up (I had not been drinking at the time!). I think if you ever have guests, it's best to have different types of seating, some quite firm to offset the squooshy deep stuff.

Thanks for this thread. I have a wonderful, comfortable, expensive classic leather sofa that I got on sale in 1995. I am re-doing my loft and want something sleek and modern - but everything is too low since I have a bad knee and am getting on in age. I want a sofa that will be with me for a LONG time.

Now I know that I am not the only person who dislikes the low trend so I will hang onto my sofa until furniture manufacturers move to a new trend. I am so tired of designs that aren't functional.

I am xx years of age, but until last year when I had two knee replacements, I could not seat myself or rise from the new rage of low seating.
If your space will ever have a guest over the age of 35, please provide a chair with a higher seat out of common courtesy.

My mother had her knee replaced, and prior to that had her toilet replaced with a newer, taller, age-friendly one. It is SO much better to use than the typical toilet, I can't imagine why they didn't just make toilets taller when they invented them.

So, yeah... if I prefer her toilet at 48, I think I'll pass on excessively low couches.

I have been debating the poul kjaerholm pk22 chair for ages now. I love it, but this is exactly what I am worried about. With a 13.5 inch seat height should I even be considering it? Has anyone lived with this particular chair?

Being the shorty in a house filled with 6'+ people, I *HATE* big furniture - I can't sit on anything in our living room comfortably for more than a sitcom (so movie watching with the family requires real dedication). I would love just one chair sized for me!

I, for one, would love for architectural norms to be updated to average heights of the 21st century. I bet everything would be raised an inch or two. And chiropracters would lose a quarter of their business from healthier backs...

Not a fan of low couches at all. I don't like low backs either. Having become disallusioned with the couches I saw at furniture stores, I ended up having my new couches made-to-measure. They are the perfect size for me.

I'm young and able-bodied enough, but I really don't like low furniture. I grew up in a house full of high furniture -- everything from couches to chairs to counters was chosen by my mom (5'11") and my dad (6'6"). I'm a 5'9" woman, but when I moved out of their house and into a college dorm, I felt like I was moving into a shrunken world!

Now in my own place, things are appropriately high. My bed is on double risers, and my favorite seating is a princessy Queen Anne stool that's about 20" and perfectly soft-but-firm. Now if only I could do something about my apartment's counters! I hate bending over so far to cook or wash dishes -- everything's a million times easier and less painful at my parents'.

Low furniture is great if you don't want to encourage your popped-by-because-I-was-in-the-neighborhood-friends to stay. They'll look at your low sofa and chairs and decide to not sit down.

(I augmented with higher seating)