subject: Who Will Be Living On Your Living Room Furniture? [print this page] When the time comes to buy new living room furniture for your house or apartment, many things need to be taken into consideration. You want it to look beautiful, of course, and you want it to fit your living room decor, as well as your budget. It is also a nice bonus if it can fit through your front door without too much trouble. Above all, you want to know that you are getting a good value for your money and that it will last, because new furniture is an investment that you do not want to have to repeat frequently.
When choosing the perfect pieces for your home, there is one important question you must ask yourself before you bring home any living room furniture: Who, exactly, is going to be living on your living room furniture and what will they be doing?
Considering Comfort and Activities
First of all, there may be a big difference between sitting comfort and lying down comfort. If you just want to sit and watch television, then soft sofa cushions with a deep sink might be perfect. But if you want to lie down and nap, then you are going to need something firmer that will distribute your body weight evenly without too much sink in the middle. If you are going to socialize, then you also might want to rethink the softer cushions, since trying to twist your body to talk to someone sitting next to you while you are slumping deeper and deeper into the sofa is a very uncomfortable experience, to say the least. Do you or someone in your family like to eat with a plate on your lap while you watch television? If so, then again, soft cushions on a chair or sofa might be less than ideal.
Instead of enjoying television, maybe you are a person who likes to read at night to relax. If this is the case, you will want to take special care when selecting lamps, ensuring that they will give off adequate light and that the height of table and floor lamps coordinates with sitting and lying positions for comfortable reading. If you are someone who likes to lie down to read, the length of the sofa or chaise also becomes an important consideration.
Choosing Furniture Fabrics
You might be attracted to light colored fabrics, but will you have children or pets using your living room? If so, then you might want to consider darker or patterned fabrics instead, unless you have no problem using furniture covers, pillows or throws to protect your furnishings from stains or other types of damage. In this case, you will need to choose your furniture colors to go with these decorative additions, and you should consider protective coatings that can enhance the stain resistance of your furniture.
Choosing living room furniture is an exciting endeavor, whether you are purchasing your first matched set or are refreshing your look after several years in your home. Keeping this short list of considerations in mind as you shop for your new furniture will assist you in making well thought out decisions that you will not regret once you have the furniture home. Unless you are outfitting a separate, formal sitting room, it is important to remember that your living room is not just a decorative showroom meant to impress guests, but a space where your family will come together to spend time, your children will play and your pets will lounge while you and your partner cuddle on the couch.
In most homes, the living room is where the majority of living that does not involve sleeping or cooking takes place. This makes your living room furniture an important investment - not just in your home, but in your comfort and your family.
