There are so many sofa styles to choose from that buying a new sofa for your home can be quite overwhelming and daunting. Obviously, there are sofa styles that we like the look of, but we also need to choose one that works with our lifestyle and will meet the needs of our household.
It is also important to consider the financial investment of buying a new sofa. Sofas are one of the most intensely used items in a home and previous reasearch by British furniture retailer Furniture Village has shown that over the course of the average 11-year life of a sofa, it will see a lot of activity. Couples kissing 2,105 times, families watching 3,135 films, almost 96 days of phone conversations and 16 weeks of people reading books to name a few.
So you can see that choosing a sofa style that works for you is a lot more important than you may have imagined. Particularly when you take into account sofa trends that may be influencing your decision. That’s a lot to take into consideration.
New research by sofa experts Furniture Village has looked at the most popular sofa styles according to current search data to see what kind of things people are looking for from their sofa and which sofa styles are most in demand.
Results show that Brits are still seeking out sofas that are glamorous and opulent, but that comfort and practicality are now more in demand.
According to the data, the classic Chesterfield is the still the most sought after and most searched sofa style. With its sophisticated, high rolled arms, beautiful leather tufted upholstery and structured back, the Chesterfield sofa offers both class and glamour with its timeless appeal.
However, a small drop in search from 2020 to 2021 (-1.75%) may indicate that search popularity is starting to flattened out. Searches for compact couches such as the Knole or the Camelback style grew less than the sofas that allow us to lay down and chill out indicating that comfort may be moving up our list of priorities.
What could explain this growing interest in comfortable sofas? As a nation, we Brit spends a whopping 20 hours and 24 minutes relaxing on the sofa every week. That’s just over 44 days a year that we spend loafing on the sofa. So it’s easy to see why comfort is one of the most important criteria when it comes to sofa styles.
It could also be down to the fact that we’ve spent significantly more time at home over the past two years so our sofas have played a much larger role in our home life given the fact that we were housebound for extended periods during the lockdowns.
Super-Cosy Sofas are IN
Either way, super-cosy is the big winner according to the latest search data as sofa styles that have seen the biggest increases in search are the one specially designed for us to put our feet up and relax. Searches for comfy choices designed for lounging and napping have more than doubled.
Surprisingly, the streamlined Lawson sofa is by far the design that’s growing in popularity the fastest with the biggest increase in search in 2020, rising 247% from 2019 to 2021. The Lawson sofa, with its three-cushion seat design, soft back pillows and setback rolled arms is a modern and comfortable option for the home perfect for resting our head on them during power naps or as we’re winding down at night.
Searches for the English roll arm sofa rose by 163% from 2019 to 2021. This gloriously traditional sofa is a great addition to any living room. The distinctive roll arms and deep seats and sloped back really do steal the style show without compromising on comfort.
Sectional sofa searches are up 121% from 2019 to 2020. Both vertsaile and comfortable, sectional sofas are multipiece modular sofas with joined sections for sitting and can be used to create the perfect lounging space for the entire family. Recliners, corner wedges and arm rests combine to make the perfect setting for stretching out and relaxing.
The minimalist simplicity of Mid-century Modern sofa styles saw a search increase of 112% from 2019 to 2021 showing that clean lines, a rectangular silhouette and tapered legs are still attractive to consumers looking for that stylish sofa for their home.
Glamourous & Elegant Sofas Not as Popular
Couches on the opulent side are still popular, but according to the latest data, they’re not as searched for as the more comfortable options. Perhaps the Pandemic taught us that how a sofa makes us feel is more important thann how it looks?
Seeing an increase in searches of 98% between 2019 and 2021, Cabriole sofas bring the ultimate in retro style to our homes. The compact look and seamless design makes this sofa style hugely attractive and with curved sofas and Seventies shapes being such a huge trend in 2022, I am almost certain that searches for this style of sofa will see a large year-on-year increase. Watch this space!
With search data showing a 58% increase for the Camelback sofa style, there is no doubt that curved sofas are about to have a bit of a moment. Wether they have a single or a double arch, the streamlined shape of the cambelback along with the exposed legs and rolled arms makes for a pretty attractive choice.
Tuxedo sofas have straight, upholstered arms that are the same height as the back, accompanied by loose pillows. These sofa styles have seen an increase of 57% from 2019 to 2021.
The chaise lounge sofa is elegant and practical and for this reason alone it has seen a 44% increase in search from 2019 to 2021. Perfect for smaller homes, the chaise section allows us to stretch out on the sofa without taking up all the space.
Does this search data surprise you? Would you have guessed that Chesterfield sofas are the most sought after sofa styles? And would you opt for comfort over elegance? Let me know in the comments below.
Don’t forget to pin this post for when you need to choose a new sofa style for your home.
Holland is an editor, writer, and podcaster based in New York City. When she isn’t helping create books, magazines, and nostalgia-based podcasts, you can find her listening to K-pop, running in Prospect Park, or updating her cats’ Instagram account.
Sarah is a staff writer at Apartment Therapy. She completed her MA in journalism at the University of Missouri and has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Belmont University. Past writing and editing stops include HGTV Magazine, Nashville Arts Magazine, and several outlets local to her hometown, Columbia, Missouri.
For a more traditional look, consider this bed found on PBTeen. Featuring a full-size bed, desk, and 3-drawer dresser, this is a great option for a small bedroom that can’t waste any space. There are even two large open shelves, perfect for keeping your plants, books, or storage baskets, and a roll-out desk on easy-glide casters.
Maisons du Monde is one of the partner brands working with ufurnish.com, the furniture comparison site
Today, I want to tell you a little bit more about one of the things I struggle with when it comes to shopping for my own home. I am incredibly indecisive. I think this mostly comes down to my journalism background. I love research and I’m really good at it. So when I’m looking for products for my own home, I never ever spot one I like and buy it there and then. Never. This just doesn’t happen.
Let me walk you through my thought process.
“Wow, I love that bedding. The colours are perfect for our bedroom. Maybe I should buy it?”
“Wait, but what if there is other bedding out there that I love more? What if another colour combination could work better? What if I can find something cheaper? I better keep looking!”
And this process is ENDLESS. I know deep down that the first thing I fall in love with is the thing I should buy and I should trust my instincts but I can’t seem to stop myself from continually looking, just in case there is something better, more suitable, cheaper, bigger, smaller.
So what happens is, I very rarely ever buy anything. The fear of choosing the wrong things can be crippling. Does anyone else get this? Please tell me I’m not the only one.
If only there was a way to shop smarter, to search for an item and have all the options come up in one place. Nobody has time to search through tens of different websites in pursuit of the perfect coffee table, do they? I mean we’re all super busy people.
So imagine how happy I was when I discovered ufurnish.com (affiliate). Founded by Deirdre McGettrick and Ray Wright, ufurnish.com basically aims to be the Skyscanner of the furniture world. A furniture comparison site. A place where you can quickly and easily compare items and prices across a whole host of retailer websites without having to visit each one independently. I won’t go into too much detail here because Deirdre kindly agreed to tell us all about it.
The Dulwich corner sofa from Darlings of Chelsea, one of the partner brands working with ufurnish.com.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
My name is Deirdre Mc Gettrick, I am 32 and I grew up on the west coast of Ireland in a village called Ballymote in County Sligo. It’s a relatively small town with about 2,000 people living there. My family owns a small clothing shop on the high street where I spent many years watching my Dad run the business and engage with his customers.
I am an avid reader and follower of all things interior design and my Mum would take me to the furniture stores around Sligo when I was younger to go through what styles we’d like to apply to our family home. We’d then go home and create those styles in scrapbooks so we had a blueprint of what we wanted to do. I was so passionate about interior design from such a young age.
Leaving home at 18, I studied Law & Accounting at University in Limerick and completed an MSc in Finance at Trinity College Dublin. I moved to London originally in 2008 for an eight-month internship during my undergraduate degree and then returned again in 2011 to work in the world of finance which has led me to set down my roots in the UK.
What were you and Ray doing before ufurnish.com?
Prior to starting ufurnish.com, I’d been working in the world of Investment Banking for HSBC. It’s been a fair step-change moving from that environment into launching my own online tech business.
Ray’s background is in SaaS (Software as a Service) where he worked for a rapidly growing marketing software company. He joined that business as a start-up and they took it global over six years so there was a lot of time spent travelling and expanding the company. His experience and contacts aligned quite nicely to what we required at ufurnish.com so Ray took the first step to leave his role and set about creating the business in the early days.
Vox Lori Desk with Storage in Graphite from Cuckooland, one of the partner brands working with ufurnish.com, the furniture comparison site.
You founded Kuldea off the back of your own shopping frustrations, can you tell us more?
The idea for ufurnish.com came from my experience in furnishing my own apartment. I knew what I wanted through seeing furniture on Pinterest, Instagram, in magazines and whilst out in restaurants and cafes, but when it came to finding the items online, I found it so difficult to find them. I’d spend hours trying to search on Google and clicking through retailer website after retailer website after retailer website, it really was a painful, frustrating process.
After reviewing the problems I was having I thought to myself, ‘why isn’t there one website that aggregates all furniture across the market so I can search and find what I want in the easiest way possible? A place where I can find what I want and discover new and niche furniture retailers that I would never have found otherwise.’ It just didn’t exist, so I set about solving the problem by creating ufurnish.com with the vision of a website that helps everyone searching for furniture discover what they want, no matter how unique it is to them. It’s like what Skyscanner has done for flights or Airbnb for home rentals. Simple, valuable, informative and inspirational all in one for consumers and furniture retailers alike.
How exactly does ufurnish.com work? What’s the model?
We describe ufurnish.com as ‘The Home for Furniture Discovery’. Consumers visit the website and can dive straight into a search for specific furniture items (affiliate) and interior design content to help them gain a greater idea of what they might like and where they can get it from.
Further to that we’ve built amazing functionality into ufurnish.com where consumers can favourite products, build out collections of products across multiple retailers (i.e. a collection of sofas to compare or a collection of living room furniture for a home furnishing project), set sales alerts on products so they are immediately informed by email if a product goes on sale and share products and collections with others so they can collaborate on purchasing decisions.
Once a consumer has found the product/ products they want, we provide them with a simple click to enter through to the product on the furniture retailer’s website where they can their purchase and make payment.
Maisons du Monde, one of the partner brands working with ufurnish.com, the furniture comparison site.
How do you choose which retailers to feature on ufurnish.com? Are there any requirements or requisites?
We tend to look at furniture retailers who are known for their quality and by that, I mean quality products and quality service. Because furnishing your home is such an emotive experience, we’re eager to ensure that the retailers found on ufurnish.com have a strong reputation for meeting customers needs.
There’s a really broad mix of retailers (affiliate)on the website from companies like John Lewis, Habitat and Maisons du Monde to smaller more niche companies like The French Bedroom Company, Graham and Green and OWO Living.
Overall ufurnish.com’s offering is that it brings the market breadth of choice so, as a consumer, you know you’ll find exactly what you want for your home.
Who do you see as your ideal customer? Can you describe them?
That’s a tough question as we service the needs of anyone searching for furniture to place in their home, so whether it’s furnishing an entire house or just replacing one item, ufurnish.com is the easiest and most effective way to do it. Regular website users are people aged between 25 and 45, many of whom have recently purchased a home or are upgrading their current home or a particular furniture item.
First time buyers are popular users as they like the top tips content articles helping them demystify the world of buying furniture for the first time. For example, who knew what an ottoman or divan (affiliate) was before going shopping for beds for the first time?
Many people also use ufurnish.com to find smaller furnishings for their homes and use the feature articles available on the website to keep up to date with new product releases and styles they might want to buy in the future.
Zuiver Birdie Cage Light from Cuckooland, one of the partner brands working with ufurnish.com.
What are your main objectives for ufurnish.com moving forward?
Our main objectives for ufurnish.com are continuing to grow and enhance the website in every way possible so that consumers and retailers really benefit from our work. We’re always speaking to new retailers and bringing them on board to showcase their brand and amazing products on the site. There are so many interesting retailers out there and we want consumers to discover them.
For consumers, we’ll continue to enhance the website’s functionality and build new features that meet their needs. There are a lot of projects underway for the website which we know consumers will love so watch this space for the next exciting updates.
Overall, we feel happy if we have helped people find the perfect piece of furniture they are looking for in an easy and simple way.
Can you tell us about your own personal interiors style?
Firstly, my style has changed over time. I grew up in a colourful house, every kitchen cabinet was a different colour, blue, green, yellow, red…. I hated it and longed for neutrality. My desire for a neutral colour palette has been changed from my life experiences such as travelling where I was introduced to the beautiful colours of Alpaca wool in Peru. Today, my personal style is probably best described as minimalist and simple but with dashes of colour and texture thrown in. I am a particular fan of yellow/mustard colours and velvet textures at the moment.
What are your top tips for creating a home that reflects your personality and style?
I think there is a lot of pressure on people to follow trends and be en vogue with their design. My advice is to forget about whether your design is Instagram-worthy and instead create your space with you and those sharing the space in mind.
The reason this is so important is that you are going to spend the most time in your home so it needs to give you maximum happiness. Yes, we all like our visitors to like our space and compliment us but they won’t be living in the space. Therefore, think about how you will use the space and ideally live in the space for a while before you furnish it.
I am a big fan of sustainable sourcing and being aware of the environmental impact of our purchases. Therefore I believe where possible we should choose high-quality products that will last a long time. If these products are going to be in our homes for a long time, you need to ensure you won’t get bored with that design, sticking with a more neutral design should overcome this.
Then really imprint your style on your home through the softer furnishing that you can change over the years, think paintings, rugs, lampshades, cushions and throws. A new paint colour on the walls can have a dramatic impact on your home.
Overall, don’t be afraid to go rogue, take risks and follow your instincts, be selfish!
Maisons du Monde, one of the partner brands working with ufurnish.com, the furniture comparison site.
I’d like to thank Deirdre for taking the time to answer my questions and for sharing with us her vision for ufurnish.com and how the furniture comparison site can help us all have a better online shopping experience.
What do you guys think about ufurnish.com? Would this kind of furniture comparison site appeal to you? Could you see yourself using ufurnish.com to improve the way you shop for your home? Let me know in the comments below.
Today, I would like to talk about mirror sliding wardrobes. My husband and I have always lived in fairly small homes. We live in one of the most expensive parts of the UK where house prices are astronomical and granted we could move elsewhere, but we love where we live. The compromise however is owning a smaller home than we would like.
So over the years, we have had to find clever ways to make the most of the little space that we do have. One of the first changes that we made was opting for wardrobes with sliding doors for our bedroom. At the time, we didn’t choose mirror sliding doors and now I wish that I had. The added benefits of having mirrored doors would be a very worthy investment and I am now considering adding mirror panels to our wardrobe doors to get the same effect. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, right?
So why are mirror sliding wardrobes such a great option? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that they offer.
1. They Take Up Less Space
A traditional wardrobe with hinged doors needs considerably more space than a wardrobe with sliding doors. You need to factor in the space required to open the doors and this will inevitably eat into the floor space that you have available.
When you have a small bedroom and space is at a premium, this may not be desirable or even practical. Sliding doors can allow you to save space and have a better flow of traffic around the room without having to negotiate around open wardrobe doors.
2. They Can Make a Small Room Feel Larger
Because wardrobes with mirror sliding doors can reflect back what is in the rest of the room, they can help to create the illusion that the room is bigger than it actually is. The mirrored doors can basically trick the eye into thinking that the room extends further than it does due to the bouncing reflections.
3. They Can Make a Room Feel Brighter
In much the same way, mirror sliding wardrobes can help to make a room feel lighter and brighter. The mirror effect will help to bounce any available natural light around the room helping darker corners to feel brighter. For the best effect, try placing the wardrobe either opposite or adjacent to the window so that it can capture as much natural light as possible.
An alternative strategy is to place the wardrobe in such a way that it reflects the view outside of the window. In this way, it helps to create a feeling of inviting nature indoors which as we all know is good for our mental health and wellbeing. The added advantage is that you don’t need to take care of the greenery as it’s outside and takes care of itself. This of course only works if you have garden or countryside views out the window. It’s not quite the same if it’s a highrise block opposite.
4. It is a Practical Choice
Choosing wardrobes with mirror sliding doors is also a very practical choice. In addition to the benefits mentioned above, there is obviously the fact that there is no need to find wall space for a standalone full-length mirror. The fact that the mirror is on the wardrobe door also makes it much easier to choose your outfits as you can immediately assess what looks good and goes together without having to move away from the wardrobe.
Retrieving your clothes from inside the wardrobe is also easier as there are no swing doors getting in the way.
5. They Offer a Modern Aesthetic
When it comes to style, a mirror sliding wardrobe works particularly well in a contemporary or modern setting. The minimalist design and sleek aesthetic mean that this style of wardrobe can be incorporated into many styles of room. There are usually myriad finishes and colour options to choose from too meaning that selecting an option that works for your home couldn’t be easier.
So what do you think? Have you chosen mirror sliding wardrobes for your home? If so, was it due to the benefits discussed here or another reason? What do you like most about them? Let me know in the comments below.
