How to Find the Perfect Small-Space Sofa

Photo:
Kate Maloney Interior Design

One of the first things my boyfriend and I realized upon moving into our new apartment was that the doors and staircases were incredibly narrow. That's pretty easy to overlook before signing the lease—and before we had our gigantic sleeper sofa out of the moving truck. Our door frames measured at a very slim 32 inches. Needless to say, our rather bulky sofa didn't make it into our new home.

A sofa is, unsurprisingly, a must-have for a living room. We tried to get by with two armchairs, but the attempt to fool ourselves that everything was okay didn't last long.

Thus, the sofa shopping began. It was surprisingly difficult to find a small sofa that was stylish, comfortable, and also affordable. Through my search, I learned a few things.

Here are a three tips for how to find the perfect sofa for a small space.​

1. Measure Thoroughly

You know when you were shopping for shoes as a kid, and sometimes you'd lie to your mom about how well the shoes fit because it was the last pair in that style and you really wanted the cool pair of shoes? No? Just me? Well, you can't do that with furniture…

​First things first: measure the space you have for the sofa. Take into account whether you'll want to put a side table next to the sofa or how much space you may need as an entrance into a room. Think about the size of other furniture in the room. Be realistic about the (small) space that you have to work with.

The less obvious, but equally important, advice is to measure everything in your home that the sofa will have to pass through. This should include the width of the door, and if your poor soul has to move anything upstairs like us, the width and height of the staircase. Small rooms often mean small buildings!

Photo: A Detailed Palette

2. Read Carefully

Whether online or shopping in the store, read the descriptions thoroughly. Be sure to know the details, features, and dimensions. First rule of the internet: pictures can be deceiving. This is true for sofas, as well. Furthermore, just because you are in a showroom, it doesn't mean that it will look or fit exactly how you envision it at home.

Envisioning is subjective. Dimensions aren't. You've already measured all of the spaces in your house, so carefully check the measurements of the sofa to be sure it's the right one for the room.

Tip! An especially important measurement to note: the height of the sofa. You want to make sure that the height of the sofa is smaller than the width of your doorframe.​

3. Maximize Comfort

While style preferences are sure to be varied, I feel most people would unanimously agree that they want their sofa to be comfortable. This is especially important for a smaller sofa. If you already have to skimp on size, you want to make sure you maximize on comfort.

The best way to ensure comfort is to go check out the sofa yourself. Make sure you're getting the firmness or softness you're looking for. Pay attention to the material—be sure it's something you'll want to lounge on. And don't forget to consider pillows as a way to up the comfort ante. ​

Tip! If you're shopping online, customer reviews are a good way to go to help determine comfort. Avoid putting too much weight on someone who writes, "This sofa sucks and was uncomfortable." Instead, look for descriptive reviews like "This sofa has firm seat cushions that feel uncomfortable and are hard to sit on after a while. It is not plush in any way." Even if you prefer a firmer sofa, this descriptive review is helpful enough to let you know that you should move on.

Dog tested, dog approved.
Photo: A Detailed Palette

I hope these three tips help you find the perfect sofa for your small space!