No Couch? No Problem! Here’s How to Hack a Living Room Sectional for Less

Let’s be honest: Good furniture does not come cheap. One of the most expensive pieces of furniture you may ever buy is a couch. It’s almost like the better-looking and comfier the sofa, the more money it costs. But what if you could have a unique, sectional-like seating area for less? Turns out, you can — that is, if you have a spare or empty corner in your living room and are willing to get a little creative.

I loved Amarachi N. Ukachu’s recent house tour, where she walked us through her chic, boho rental refresh in New Orleans. Being that her space was only 550 square feet, she admitted her biggest challenge was not having enough seating in her tiny living room. I’d bet that many renters in small spaces have the same exact problem.

Not only can couches cost a lot of money, but they also can take up a lot of space. Your first thought when furnishing your small living room may be to opt for a loveseat, but why not get creative instead? Like most interior decorating struggles, there’s a smart hack here, and Ukachu found it with floor cushions.

She began looking into cool, non-traditional seating ideas and created her living room’s faux sectional with 18 floor cushions from World Market. Each “seat” was made up of three separate floor cushions: one for the base (to give it height), one for the seat (to actually sit on), and one as a back (for lumbar support). She continued that pattern in an L-shape to make a huge, comfy, unconventional sectional, and I’m so here for it. Of course, it helped that she had an empty corner, too, since the walls provide somewhat of a framework for the piece.

I’m not going to lie, when I used to think of pillows on the floor, I’d imagine a child’s seating area or playroom — or even just extra cushions strewn about in a living room when company comes over. These are still great solutions, but when it comes to alternative seating that truly feels stylish and intentional as decor, texture, size, color, and how you arrange your floor cushions are all game-changers. Even better, Ukachu’s hack comes in at just over $800 when full-priced, which is way cheaper than most sectionals out there.