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Buying a new sofa doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does take time and consideration.
You need to pick a style that suits your space, a colour you love, a material that lasts and – after all that – it has to actually fit through the front door.
Get to grips with the various sizes, fillings and finishes before you part with your cash.
See our best sofa shops page to find the top brands, as rated by real consumers
Style is one of the most important considerations when choosing a new sofa.
Don’t just think about what you like the look of – consider the scheme of your living room, and the size of the space.
Click through the gallery to see some of the most common sofa styles.
Whether you go for soft leather or a relaxed-look linen, your sofa fabric will set the tone for your living room. Plus, according to our research, it can also determine the durability of your sofa.
Here we summarise the key pros and cons of popular sofa fabrics.
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Microfibre – because of its tightly woven fibres, microfibre is a stain fighting, colour-holding champion.
Polyester – like microfibre, polyester is highly stain-resistant and durable, but it does need a little more upkeep than other options.
Olefin – this material was designed to be an even more fade-resistant alternative to polyester. A great option if you want a brightly patterned or dark-coloured sofa.
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Check out our guide to the sofa sales for the cheapest offers from rated brands.
Although it’s not the most interesting part of buying a sofa, it's important to think about the filling as it affects how comfy the sofa is to snuggle up on.
The main three sofa fillings are fibre, foam and feathers. You might also opt for a blend of two or all of these options.
Sofas containing a blend of different filling types are becoming more popular.
Feathers on their own can clump together, so feather is often mixed with foam to create a soft sofa to sink into.
On the other hand, feathers can be combined with fibre to give cushions a little extra resilience.
Natural, luxurious and comfy, a feather-filled sofa invites you to sit down and sink in. Feathers provide a softer, less structured look than foam.
However, that sink-in feeling comes at a price: cushions will need regular plumping and turning to keep their generous rounded look and soft support.
Crafted from hollow polyester strands pumped full of air, fibre fillings compress when you sit, making it feel like your sofa is giving you a big hug at the end of the day.
Fibre sofas have a soft, relaxed feel and a plump appearance.
However, they require a fair bit of upkeep to preserve their appearance. Plumping and turning cushions every day is important to maintain the feather-like feel.
Of all the fillings, foam provides the firmest support and a more structured appearance.
Foam sofas keep their tailored shape even with constant use and require very little maintenance, although occasional cushion turn will ensure the sofa wears evenly.
You can choose the density of your foam depending on how firm you want your sofa. A higher-density foam will be firmer (and better maintain its shape).
All new foam loses about 15% of its hardness over the first six months of use. This means that a foam sofa may initially feel a little firmer than it might have done when you tried out in store. Expect a foam sofa to lose a little volume in time.
Check out our guide to cleaning a sofa for more maintenance tips.
Styling your sofa starts with choosing the right one for your space.
If your living room is small, create the illusion of space with a low-back sofa with slim legs and a gap between the sofa and the floor. A common mistake is squeezing a large sofa into a space that's too small for it. Let your sofa breathe by giving it the room it needs.
If space isn't an issue, then high-back sofas look great in rooms with high ceilings. Modular sofas enhance open-plan rooms and offer flexibility, so consider a corner sofa with a removable chaise section or two.
Once you have your sofa, consider buying some accessories to dress it up. Click through the gallery for some sofa style inspiration.
With more of us shopping online for anything from groceries to holidays, it might seem natural to buy a sofa online too.
However, trying your sofa in the store is often the only real way to know whether it’s comfortable – and the only way you can judge its quality as well.
If you can, it's a good idea to try out sofas in several shops to compare and contrast price, quality as well as comfort. Spend time trying different sofas out, even designs you might not obviously like, as you might be surprised by what you find comfortable.
If you aren’t able to visit the shop and test out your sofa before buying it, make sure you buy from a shop with a returns policy that allows you to return the sofa if you're dissatisfied with it when it arrives.
Different shops have different return policies, so check this before you buy.
Our guide to the best sofa shops includes a section on the shops with the best guarantees and return policies.