An L shaped sofa or corner sofa is a popular choice of furniture for the modern day home offering a practical alternative to the traditional three piece suite. L shaped sofas come in all shapes, sizes and finishes so there is a good chance you can find the perfect corner suite for your living space. With so many options available, shopping for a corner suite can seem like a daunting task, here are a few tips to hopefully make the process of buying a new L shaped sofa a little easier.
Which type should I buy?
There are two main types of L shaped sofas available, those with an arm on each end or those with a chaise lounge section. A chaise lounge is an extended part of the sofa specifically designed for lying back and putting your feet up! You can add a footstool to a standard sofa to achieve a similar effect. Other variations of L shape sofas available include a corner sofa bed which comprises a standard corner sofa with built in bed settee and modular corner sofas where pieces can be added or removed to create the perfect sofa for your room.
Do I have enough space?
It is advisable when buying new settees to measure your existing suite and compare this with the dimensions of any new sofas, however if you are switching from a standard suite to a corner sofa it can be difficult to visualise the size. For this reason it is a good idea to mark out the footprint of the new L shape sofa using newspaper on your lounge floor, even if it is a small corner sofa which you are buying, this will give you a good idea of the floor space required and also how much room you will have left in your room to move around and for other items of furniture.
Will I be able to get the sofa into my property?
Corner sofas are generally much bigger than a standard (fixed) settee, for this reason L shaped sofas are manufactured in several pieces to enable easier delivery and storage. At the point of sale, as with all home furniture it is worth asking the sales representative the minimum opening required to fit the largest section into the home.
Left or right hand facing?
L shaped sofas which incorporate a chaise longue section are in most cases available as either left or right hand facing, this is reference to whether the chaise longue is on the left or right hand side of the sofa, be careful when buying either a left or right hand facing corner sofa as some furniture stores will class a corner sofa as either left / right hand facing if you are sat on the sofa and other will class it as left / right when looking at the sofa, this can lead to confusion, make sure this is cleared up at the point of sale to ensure you end up buying the correct L shaped sofa.