Sectional Advice

[HLAuburn]

I'm looking for new living room furniture and I'm considering getting a sectional. I do NOT want anything reclining and I don't want leather.

Anyway, I'm trying to decide on a configuration. For those of you who have sectionals, do you have just a "regular" L shaped or do you have a chaise or "cuddler" at the end? If you have a chaise or cuddler, does it get a lot of use? I think we tend to "curl up" on the couch rather than stretch out, so I'm not sure if we would like the chaise, but people I talk to seem to love them!

Right now, we have a big couch and a (very comfy) oversized chair. The chair gets a lot of use by all of us, especially the kids, but the set up doesn't really work in our new house.

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

 

[kellyjeanie]

Ours is just a regular L-shape, but the part that sticks out often gets used in the same way as a chaise while watching TV with legs stretched out on it. Very comfy.

 

[HLAuburn]

Ours is just a regular L-shape, but the part that sticks out often gets used in the same way as a chaise while watching TV with legs stretched out on it. Very comfy.

So is your back up against the corner? The corner seems like it would be very comfy! I definitely gravitate toward the arms, not the middle.

 

[kellyjeanie]

So is your back up against the corner? The corner seems like it would be very comfy! I definitely gravitate toward the arms, not the middle.

Sorta - your back is up against the back of the couch, just like you'd sit normally, but instead of your knees bent and feet on the floor, your legs are stretched out in front of you on the part of the L that sticks out. I put a couple of pillows behind me and it's my favorite spot to snuggle in and watch TV! Bonus is that if DH stretches out on the other part of the L our heads are right next to each other.

 

[SpecialK]

We just went through this same decision. My husband finally graphed out the room and furniture to scale. As much as I like sectionals, one just wouldn't work in our room. I ended up ordering a couch, two chairs and an ottoman.

My neighbor has the type with the big angled section on the end, and they love it. They have three little ones and that works well when they're all sprawling on it. My sister just got an L-shaped sectional with three seats on each side and a corner piece. Her kids are all older so that shape works for them. I'd think about how your family likes to relax and go from there.

 

[MouseMomx2]

We have a sectional that is the same length on both sides...no chaise. We also bought a large, square, upholstered ottoman which often gets pushed right into the V of the sectional so we can all stretch out. It is so comfy!

 

[bballmom56]

We just bought our second sectional to replace our first which lasted 14 years. That was really good as it is the main furniture in the room that is the central room of the house. We have a 3 seat piece, a wedge piece and a single seat. No chaise. That is the configuration that works in the room. It has the pillow top arms at each end of the sectional. I am not sure of the fabric. It might be a type of microfiber. It has a soft nap to it. We love it!

 

[JVL1018]

Our living room is not big enough for the chaise, I would love it though!

We have the L shaped sectional, with the wedge for the corner. That corner is the most comfortable spot ever..and it is MY spot. I sit with my back against the corner and my legs down toward the shorter end of the sectional.

 

[Tinijocaro]

We have a L with a chaise at the end. We fight over the chaise. It's awesome to be able to sit but stretch out your legs.

 

[Wendy31]

We just went through this same decision. My husband finally graphed out the room and furniture to scale. As much as I like sectionals, one just wouldn't work in our room. I ended up ordering a couch, two chairs and an ottoman.

My neighbor has the type with the big angled section on the end, and they love it. They have three little ones and that works well when they're all sprawling on it. My sister just got an L-shaped sectional with three seats on each side and a corner piece. Her kids are all older so that shape works for them. I'd think about how your family likes to relax and go from there.

This is us! I really, really wanted a sectional for our family room.

And we sketched out our room every possible & measured & re-measured & finally came to the conclusion that a sectional just wouldn't fit in the room.

So we have couch & a loveseat & a chair.

However, I love the sectionals that are L-shaped w/ a chaise lounge at one end.

 

[krcit]

I have a sectional without a chaise and I really wish we had gotten it. My friend has one and it's sooo comfy!

 

[LiveYourLife]

I'm curled up on my "cuddler" right now! I love it. It's the spot on the sectional that everyone fights over....me, Husband, dog#1 and dog#2! I win. All the time.

 

[tcufrog]

We have a U-shaped sectional with a chaise at one end. I've claimed the chaise and my husband prefers the regular couch end. The cool thing about the company who made ours is that we were able to buy removable armrests so that even people sitting in the middle of the sectional can have an armrest.

 

[huey duey & luey]

I have a non leather sectional with chaise, but it does also have 2 reclining seats. This worked out best for us because each of the kids has a place to lounge on. I wish I would have gotten anothe cup holder piece, because they fight over that

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

I got a sectional and I hated that thing, hated it for the last 10 years. FINALLY, I'm getting divorced and we are selling the house, first thing out the door to the curb was that ugly, awful, crappy sectional. Another silver lining to the divorce, SCORE!

Here's a real FYI for you, in case no one has metioned it. Check to see if your sectional is "finished" on the sides that are supposed to meet together. Mine wasn't. The sides that went together were finished in a different, ugly, fabric then the one the rest of the couch was made of. This ugly fabric showed if the couch wasnt put together, so I couldn't use it other than put together. Now, when I think sectional couch, I think of a couch I can use either put together or as separate pieces. Not always true.

Buyer beware.

 

[meliss8599]

While I absolutely LOVE my sectional, I HATE the chaise lounge we added to it b/c:

1. We never, ever use it even though we thought we would fight over the spot. We like to lay head to head in the L-corner of the couch. We both have a comfy spot and room to totally stretch out, but are close enough to talk.

2. We are limited as to how we can arrange the sectional. If I want to turn it the opposite direction, the chaise pretty much blocks the entry into the room (at least makes it looks smaller in that it "cuts off" the flow of the room).

 

[HLAuburn]

Thank you everyone for the help!

This is us! I really, really wanted a sectional for our family room.

And we sketched out our room every possible & measured & re-measured & finally came to the conclusion that a sectional just wouldn't fit in the room.

Sketching out the room is a great idea. Our LR/breakfast room is one open space, so I don't want the couch to go into the BR space too much and all the sectionals are sooo huge it seems like! The problem with the cuddler (and the chaise) is that they add a lot onto the length.

We have a sectional that is the same length on both sides...no chaise. We also bought a large, square, upholstered ottoman which often gets pushed right into the V of the sectional so we can all stretch out. It is so comfy!

I love the idea of the ottoman - it's sort of like having a moveable chaise. One sectional I was looking at had a cool square one that doubled a storage, which seems pretty nice. (Although I can just see the kids stuffing each other in it! )

 

[SpecialK]

Thank you everyone for the help!



Sketching out the room is a great idea. Our LR/breakfast room is one open space, so I don't want the couch to go into the BR space too much and all the sectionals are sooo huge it seems like! The problem with the cuddler (and the chaise) is that they add a lot onto the length.



I love the idea of the ottoman - it's sort of like having a moveable chaise. One sectional I was looking at had a cool square one that doubled a storage, which seems pretty nice. (Although I can just see the kids stuffing each other in it! )

We mapped the room out on graph paper. I think we did two squares per foot and used the same scale for the furniture. It fit fine, but when we considered rearranging the furniture or where to put the Christmas tree, we knew it just wouldn't work for us.

I was surprised by the results and really happy we took that step before purchasing.

 

[tcufrog]

The company I purchased mine from is willing to make for free a template of the sectional you plan to buy so that you can lay it out at home and make sure it fits. We ended up ordering a different configuration than the original because of the template.

 

[threeboysmom]

I just purchased a new sofa with chaise lounge and absolutely LOVE it!! It's something I've always wanted. The chaise is really the only part that I sit/lounge on because it's so comfy. I like the fact that the chaise is wide enough that I can stack my books/magazines/pillows right next to me as I lounge in all my glory, lol.