It's a common misconception that small spaces can't handle large furnishings. One large piece can do a lot to make a small room inviting, anchored, and even feel bigger! Take the sofa, for instance:
Arranging a small sofa in a tight space with a couple of other chairs can make a space feel over-full, with little spots of furniture all over the place (not to mention all of those legs!). But one great sectional that accommodates all seating in one swoop can actually make a small room feel more gracious: it multitasks by defining space, providing space to stretch out for a nap, and accommodating guests with plenty of seating for everyone!
Featured in the gallery up top are some favorite examples of small rooms with large sofas. What do you think of going this route over lots of small pieces of furniture?
(Images: 1. Antero Kjaer, 2. Apartment Therapy, 3. Young House Love, 4. Leah Moss, 5. Home Away, 6. Maren via Apartment Therapy, 7. Rogers Design, 8. Better Homes and Gardens)
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I've done the same thing and put a sectional in my awkward living room. It's a long room with 5 doorways going off of it, so it creates strange breaks in the room that are hard to work with. The sectional gave us the most bang for the buck in terms of seating, but we do have a weird empty space in the room still. (Though I think that space would be a problem whether we had a couch or a sectional.)
it's all about finding the focal point
Sigh I've been pining for the Jasper sectional (left arm/right arm loveseat & corner) for YEARS but its not small enough to fit in any NY apt i can afford ;-(
Best. Thing. Ever. We finally figured this out in our tiny apartment and it changed everything! We LOVE our sectional!
I think I'm going to try moving my sectional around a bit. I've got a nice, comfortable one. It's not the ugly, but it's not all that beautiful either. Everyone likes it, so I won't be replacing it soon.
This is our solution for our living room that really only has one suitable "seating wall". It does make the room feel much bigger and there is ample seating for our friends. I do wish I had just a little more space for a really cool chair, but that's just because I want an excuse to buy a really cool chair...hehe
Can anybody recommend one to me.
I am looking for a light brown leather sectional, I do have a dog that is allowed on the couch ( although he doesn't use that privilege much).Also no cushions or corner piece that would slide away.
I'd like to know more about the picture rail in the third picture!
That is the gallery frame from Red Envelope http://gifts.redenvelope.com/frames/hall-gallery-frame-set-25385203?ref=REDorganicgglgeneric_&prid=rbseogg&viewpos=1&trackingpgroup=rwdec
I've been contemplating a sectional for awhile since we have only 80 inches of wall to sit a sofa against. I have worried that it might be over powering since the wall sits between the stairway and the living room closet. But now I may reconsider...
It may fit in your small space but not necessarily make it through the door or in the elevator. I found this out the hard way!
Love #4's wall graphics and room feel...
We have an Ikea Karlstad sectional, and love it! Our space is open plan, with the approx 10x14 designated for the living room. The previous furniture covered almost the same footprint as the sectional, but was of the overstuffed style, so lots of usable space was lost to furniture arms and backs. The Karlstad is low and spare enough that the space feels totally opened up. And, it's big enough for 2 grown adults to nap comfortably.
I had a very comfortable beige sectional for years and really got my moneysworth out of it. Then I decided to redecorate my living room and gave away my sectional in favour of a pair of new couches that gave my room a different look.
Now I wish I'd never done it...! I miss my sectional so much that I'm seriously thinking of selling the new ones and buying myself another sectional. It was really just perfect for my small home and I regretted giving it away after only a month or so.
@CARRIE8: Thank you!
Because we rent out apartment, and are uncertain of our tenure, we ultimately opted for a regular couch. Even though a sectional would maximize this space and really compliment the apartment's layout, we agreed that they only work in some spaces, and we didn't want to be looking to swap out the sofa (again) when our lease ends. Until we are making more permanent choices, I think we'll stick with (predominantly Craigslist) furniture versatile enough to handle most spaces. (But oh, my love for the benchmade teal/gray corduroy sectional we looked at. I would look so good on that couch!)
inneedofmakeover, I am super happy with our Gus sectional. They have several options. They also go on a 20% sale every year, so keep an eye out for that if you like them.
Oh Wow what a great tip, I love their site and they are close by in miami.
thank you wormy
I have a Karlstad from Ikea, and we've been super happy about how washable it has been, since we have a toddler and linen/natural slipcovers! it also works well as an extra guest bed in a pinch. I've taken numerous naps on it.
One question - what else do you put in the room for seating? a pair of extra chairs facing the sectional? What kind of style matches a sectional well without also being very bulky?
I've got the full corner Karlstad IKEA sofa as well and I can honestly say it is amazing! Started off life as breaking one long rectangular room into two square areas (living room and dining area) by using one side of the sofa to create a natural barrier. Now I have moved and unfortunately not all of it will fit in my new place :( So had to get creative - I ended up using the longer side against one wall and the matching footstool up against it to create a mini "L" shape - brilliant as it is flexible to move round if needed for visitors, and leaves space for my cool white "spacey" chair opposite. It's the best sofa ever too, so comfy...
We just bought our fist sectional, it was super pricey and so so big. one side is 2.41 meters and the other one 3.10 meters. and 1.10 meters of deptheness. the wall that goes to the 2.41 side is about 2.75 meters long and it has a big window and the wall that goes towards the other side is pretty long.
Our floor plan is open as well so it might look good. The company is delivering the sofa on monday.
I hope it will look good.
I have the same issue with wondering what other seating to add to my sectional. It's a regular size sectional and it seems without the corner cushion exposed, you don't get much use from the corner. We can really only fit about 4 people comfortably. I have been looking at chairs but they all seem as tho they would stand out too much or dominate the sectional.
I was happy to see this article-I have a sectional in my 850sq feet condo and felt bad that I didn't get loveseat couches instead and thought what are we thinking? Ours is pretty long and the chaise we chose can not be interchangeable,it's L shape so the shorter part was only able to fit on one side of the wall while the longer part wraps around but breaks the open layout between our kitchen and living room which is kinda nice. I regret getting a rectangular coffee table though but it's low from Ikea and has drawers which is what appealed to us. We got our sectional and coffee table before we bought our place when we were living in an apt.
Now my challenge will be to throw a house party this summer, 30 people in my small condo, but we have a balcony too so that should help :-)
Does anyone know where I can purchase this sofa? Would love to buy it or one very similar! Thank so much.
We have a Rowe sectional...have had it for 3 years..very small space, open concept no walls from living room to kitchen. Love it...seats 5 people easy then i bring out some a couple of Ghost chairs. It works. However beware..make sure sections fit thru doors! Mine didn't. It had to be cut in our hall and reupholstered in our living room.