Jina was wondering...
Hello AT, I am eyeing Room & Board's Avalon right-wing sofa in Tetris Flannel for my one bedroom apartment. I absolutely love the sofa, but am worried that it may be too formal and narrow for everyday use. I was wondering if any AT readers have lived with it and if so, what their impressions are? Also, does anyone have any suggestions for dressing it down?
Hi Jina- you have excellent taste. The Avalon sofa you picked is truly a beauty! We don't think it's necessarily "too formal." It really depends upon what you put with it. The fact that it doesn't have any arms or decorative tufting, etc... keeps it very modern and simple. An easy solution to "dress it down" could simply be adding fun and whimsical colored pillows, and maybe a chunky bright throw blanket. Look for a pillow that has a fun design or graphic, maybe something like this bird motif or this one, or even this radial sun... or even a funny animal one... just make sure you mix it up and balance it with a solid basic one or two. Anyone have any other suggestions for Jina?
I had a sofa with no arms in my old apartment and you could never really relax in it. If you tried to slouch a bit you would just fall sideways.
Jina -
I had my eye on a couple of R&B sofas including the Avalon. Once I sat on it (during a trip to the showroom in Costa Mesa, OC) I ruled it out immediately. It was not AT ALL comfortable. I felt perched on a bench -- and this is coming from someone who puts form way ahead of function. I decided on the Studio Jasper instead.
Hope this helps!
I think viually it's a great piece but you need to see if it's comfortable for your body & how you will use it. If you like to curl up this doesn't look like the place to do it.
That's visually - oops
It's very pretty but does not look well conceived as a casual lounging sofa, ie one that gets a lot of casual use. Nice in a formal space. My cousin Jackie (320lbs) plops back and down on that and I bet the legs give.
Test drive any sofa and really plop down hard like people will do. Bring a BIG friend to help. Slouch, scrunch over too reach the beer on the end table. Don't be shy. The sofa is the foundation of the Living area. If it doesn't work then the whole room won't work.
Ditto the arms comment too.
Thank you all for the wonderful advice. I really love the sofa's design, but there are clearly a lot of things that I need to consider. Thank you again for all your help!