Help Choosing a Sofa Shape at the Right Price via O At Home, An Oprah Magazine (Spring 2008)

Help Choosing a Sofa Shape at the Right Price
via O At Home, An Oprah Magazine (Spring 2008)

We love planes for catching up on our magazines. That's where we came across an article in the latest issue of O At Home, An Oprah Magazine (Spring 2008) which simplifies the process of buying a sofa, often the biggest, scariest and most expensive piece of furniture you will purchase.

While the article concentrates on white sofas, we think that the format -- sofas are broken down by style (formal, traditional, soft, tailored, minimalist and ultramodern) and price (under 2000; 2000-5000; and, above 5000), make this a must-read article for anyone who's considering buying a sofa of any colour.

[Images via O, The Oprah Magazine]

Comments (4)

That was good to know. So I'm a tailored sofa kind of guy! I've always loved being neatly categorized.... And under the auspice of O herself. Wow; that's pretty cool...

posted by quiltmaster on May 18th 2008 at 9:33pm
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none of the types of sofas that interest me are ever featured in these articles, so I always find them irrelevant...

posted by mschatelaine on May 18th 2008 at 9:50pm
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Hey monika1, what kinds of sofas DO you like? Any of these posts where there is a subject that names something general, like "Sofa", that's a GREAT place to share your own sources, preferences, ideas.

Not just WHAT you like, but WHY you like it.

We rarely stand alone in our own personal preferences. For instance, there are a gazillion (at least) people that have to deal with sun fade possibilities. People that have children or pets. People that need it to be a comfortable sofa AND a comfortable guest/spare bed.

Those articles don't always focus on what we prefer or what we need. Tall people will need more depth and height to a sofa. While petites (and even kids) don't always want to sit on a sofa where their legs stick out. Ha!

For sofas, one size does NOT fit all. That's pretty much when you go to chairs only, and there is no such thing as the right sofa at any price.

posted by TRUE BLUE on May 19th 2008 at 2:19am
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"Those articles don't always focus on what we prefer or what we need. "

Very true, True Blue.

When I was 10, I fell in love with Ligne Roset's Togo.

http://www.ligne-roset-usa.com/?sec=products&pid=11&cid=16&rid=157&page=1

I vowed it was going to be my first sofa -- and in grad school, broke as we (my husband & I) were, it was. Now, not only I love it, but my husband does, and so do our kids. Actually, our cats are huge fans too. It is the perfect sofa for cuddling and lounging.

That said, as much as we love our Togo, we realize that people with arthritis, bad backs or who are pregnant, are not going to find it that appealing... So we keep it in the tv watching area, and are on the look-out for the other "perfect sofa" --

-something we will continue to love for the next 20 or 30 years (and so it must be not just beautiful, but very solidly built -- the kind of sofa it is worthwhile to reupholster, not replace);

-something that marries well with different styles (have to keep our options open);

-something that is supremely comfortable -- the correct height from the floor (i.e., fairly low, but not as low as the Togo); deep, to allow you to pull your legs up; and with a tight back (my husband hates the back cushions on sofas).

We found what we searching for in the sofas of Axel Vervoordt, but my point is that none of these "useful" articles has ever been useful to me -- that Oprah article basically just describes 3 variations each of 2 basic sofas. Where is there a discussion of sectionals? seat heights and depths? stylistic fit (for example, sofa suggestions that work well with several different styles)?