The living room is the heart of any home. It’s not only the place where you kick back and relax together on an evening, but also the place where you feed your tiny ones, set up their toys, laugh, and joke, and talk together. It’s the place where you enjoy a glass of wine with your husband, and the place where you sit with your friends to talk about life, and love, and all things girly.
This makes it a very special room, and one of the most important pieces of furniture in it is your sofa. When it comes to replacing it, it’s a harder decision than you might imagine. There are so many different factors to consider: it needs to match the color scheme, it needs to be soft enough and comfy enough for little ones to bounce on and off, fancy enough for entertaining, but not too nice to end up with food ground into it by little hands.
So, to help you out, here are three top tips for choosing the perfect family sofa for you…
Tip #1: Choose Your Color Carefully
When it comes to choosing the color of your sofa, your first consideration is always going to be how well it complements the rest of your décor. However, once you have children, there’s a whole lot more to think about. Your cream walls and carpets might look very elegant and sophisticated, but a pale cream sofa to match them is not a good idea. Stains and spillages are inevitable, as are dirty hands leaving a million tiny marks. No matter how good you are at cleaning, your life will be a whole lot easier if you go for a dark color. Black is the obvious choice, but don’t rule out browns, red, and navies if you want something a little different.
Tip #2: Avoid Hard Edges
Another thing to consider is keeping everything soft, safe, and comfortable for the children. Some sofas feature surprisingly hard edges, and these are just begging for little ones to bang themselves on them. Gently cushioned corners and sides are much better, and also make a great place to put your baby or toddler down for a nap if you want to keep them with you.
Tip #3: Throws Are Your Best Friend
As we mentioned above, choosing dark colors is a very good idea once you have children to take into account. However, sometimes that pale cream sofa is calling your name, and you simply can’t resist. If this is the case, then throws are your best friend. Nice furry, woolen, and patterned examples can be found relatively cheaply, and if you have a color scheme to adhere to, there are lots of different choices available, meaning that you can create a look that’s as pulled together during the day as it is when you whip off the throws come evening.
Follow these three top tips today to choose the perfect sofa for your family.