Decorating Ideas

How To Choose A Good Sofa

Guide to Buying a Good Sofa

 

With so many choices of sofa in the market, it is sometimes hard to make a good decision. Lack of choices and being flooded with choices are equally challenging. This is especially true in a market where majority of products are made “not to last”. There is a tendency for factories to make something with 20% of the quality in the past, and vendors then sell them at 50% of the price in the past. So beware that whilst you get a 50% discount, you may be getting 20% of what you used to get in terms of quality, durability and enjoyment.

 

Here is a useful guide with simple to follow steps for you to make the wise choice for your sofa.

 

1. Know the available space

Give your space a good measure. People generally make the mistake of buying a sofa too small for their space because they are afraid to cramp up their living room. Most designers will tell you, “small sofa makes your place look smaller than it really it”. So try to buy one that is big enough; the likelihood is that it will never be too big if it fits into the space.

 

2. Understand your style

Everybody is talking about being riveted by Downton Abbey. You realize that it is because of the backdrop of every scene, the landscape and the interior, which is filled with style of the glorious past that resonates with your heart – Chesterfield, Knole sofas, nail head trims etc. You have to find what appeals to your inner voice – perhaps it is a plush, nature-soft genuine leather, or black-and-white stripes, or an coming-to-trend gray Chesterfield, or an elegant silver New York style tufted sofa. Whatever it is, avoid run-of-the-mills sofas without an appealing design.

 

3. Keep an open mind on colour

Some well intention advice mongers tell us “always choose a neutral color” i.e. beige, because it goes with anything. Whilst in some cases, beige can be the perfect choice for a certain frame, a certain look in your living room etc, in many other cases, it simply means it will be boring or inconspicuous. Consider midnight blue, red, black-and-white, gray, black, blue, silver etc Striking color brings out the vibrancy in an otherwise lethagic setting – so you could feel lively even whilst you are snoozing on the couch!

 

4. What is a good choice of sofa fabrics?

Choosing your sofa fabrics is different from choosing your bed linens. Whilst silk is a perfect choice for bed linens, designers typically prefer fabrics with a high polyester content; yes, polyester. This is because it is more durable. To have a sofa look elegant, for some fabrics, a small amount of cotton, linen or viscose is used. But the polyester constitution allows your sofa to be “evergreen”; too much of other materials such as linen or cotton may make it age prematurely.

 

If you minded to choose leather – and there is no reason you cannot afford it – buy only leather couches which are imported from places such as Italy or at least somewhere in the EU – as many leather sofas use synthetic, engineered leather that makes it look like genuine leather, or passing of lower quality leather as top grain leather. Leather is expensive and there is no escaping from it – so if a leather sofa is cheap, then likelihood is that it is not made of genuine top grain leather.

 

5. Pay attention to the sofa frame

This is simple – but often mistaken by people who after all buy a sofa once in say five to six years or even ten years. If the frame is very light, it is likely not made of solid wood – try using your palm to push the sofa backward, and if the sofa can be tilted by such a simple action, then avoid it like a plague. Have you not heard furniture that are too light falling on toddlers or pets with serious injuries? However, some sofas are so heavy that you can hardly move it – this is equally bad because it is likely it is made of engineered wood (i.e. wood pulp bonded together chemically), rather than solid wood. The problem with engineered wood is that they are very heavy – but they can given way one day without any warning. Solid wood frame is what you should go for.

 

6. Seat cushions of the sofa are important

This is somewhat a personal choice. Designers generally prefer “not to soft, not too hard” – so a medium firm is usually a good choice – you can sit comfortably on it, and you can use it as a daybed at the same time. Feathers or downs are great – but because they are highly costly, most couches that come with feather seat cushions are not sufficiently padded, and very quickly you will find they are not comfortable to sit on or sleep in. So medium firm is ideal, best is if it has some pocketed springs, of course.

 

7. Depth of the sofa

A sofa is often not just something to sit on, but a place to take a nap. So it is almost unforgivable to have a couch that looks like one you find in a dentist’s clinic that you cannot even put your whole butt on. Always make sure the sofa is at least 82cm deep; but ideally it is more than 90cm.

 

8. Buying “a sofa set” or “mix and match”

In the market, many sofas are sold as a set i.e. you get a three-seater, a two-seater, and perhaps even an armchair. This may seem like a bargain – but often it is not what you need, and yet you have paid for them all. It is far better to get a good three-seater for $2,000 than to pay the same for three-piece set which tend to be of lower quality. Most apartments really only need one good three-seater and perhaps an armchair. If yours is bigger than that, then you are one of the fortunate souls – and you can well afford splurging to “mix and match” a three-seater, with some beautiful accent pieces.  Always consider a lovers seat!

 

Enjoy your shopping spree!

Interior Design Singapore

Interior design is the turning of a space into a home.

 

No, it is not an art; no, it is not a science. So often interior design is defined to be the “art” or “science” of space planning. Sure, it comprises artistic ideas, and its implementation benefits from methodologies or scientific innovations. However, interior design is not to turn your apartment into a gallery, nor to create a apartment with strict adherence to some scientific methodologies.  It is about turning your new condo into a home.

 

Interior design is everything about taking a space that has no character and turn it into a place that you can call your own, so that you can use it for your purposes, and enhance your enjoyment living in it.

 

These are the 3Ys:

 

Your own: infusing your character and personality

Your purposes: creating structures and spaces for your functionalities

Your enjoyment: adding something that simply pleases you

 

 

With the 3Ys in mind, here are the questions we need to ask ourselves when we are about to renovate our home:

 

1. What is your perfect home style?

It is important to have a very rough idea of the style you aspire to have for your new home. That said, you don’t have to have an exact replica; it is good though to have a picture or two that shows the interior designer what kind of styles you like. Pictures tell a thousand words – even the word “resort” can mean very different things; a Balinese resort is vastly different from a W resort hotel.

Here are some search words: “minimalist”, “modern vintage”, “modern country”, “industrial”, “Scandinavian” etc.

 

2. What is your lifestyle?

It is important to consider whether home is to you more of a place for rest or a place for activity. If it is a place of rest, then what would give you a good rest? Is it a tucked away daybed in the corner? If it is a place for activity, does it mean having a big coffee table for your puzzles?

It is important also to consider whether you are likely to have family members or friends over at your new home often, and whether you are likely to spend time with them over TV or over dinner.

 

3. What are your hobbies and favourite pasttimes?

If you like to watch TV and it is your favourite pasttime, then consider how your multimedia will be set up e.g. whether you would like a projector screen. Or if you like to read, consider whether you would like to have a full length bookshelf. Or if you like to cook, consider whether you need a mobile island attached to your kitchen.

 

4. What is your family structure?

Needless to say, you need to consider whether how many people are going to live in the apartment. Whilst this is obvious, it is good to consider the likely changes in the coming years. For example, if your parents will likely live with you in the future, or if you are going to hire a domestic helper.

 

5. How much storage do you need?

This is probably what most people ignore or underestimate. Most people think they do not have a lot of stuff and they assume whatever comes with the apartment when they buy it from the develper is sufficient. This is especially so when they are young and living on their own for the first time. In reality as time passes, anyone and everyone accumulates things and possessions. In time to come, without sufficient storage, you will tend to find your apartment becoming cluttered. So do consider it seriously your storage requirements and there is no hard in having some stylish extra space for storage.

 

6. How tidy or messy are you?

Do you like to have everything “off the surface”? No newspaper lying on the table, no juicer on the kitchen top, no magazines lying around, or toothbrushes sitting on the vanity top? This is a personal choice – if you like to have everything “off the surface”, then it is advisable to plan carefully before starting out your renovation – go through your day mentally and think of every item you use on a daily or regular basis, and start consider how you would them to be kept “off the surface”.

 

7. Which part of the apartment are you most likely to spend more time?

Is this the living room, or the study, or the entertainment room, or the master bedroom? This will help you to allocate your budget and direct your priorities accordingly.

 

8. Is there something that has always irked you in your parents’ home?

Sometimes it is not having the thing you want, but not having the thing that you do not want, that makes you most happy. Was it a lack of a dishwasher in the kitchen, or was it poor lighting, or was it a noise from the TV when you are trying to sleep?

 

9. Is there something you always dream to have in your own home?

To some, it is a staircase, or a fireplace mantle, a large mirror, a projector screen, or a dining side board, a large comfortable sofa, a beautiful credenza, an unique dining table with gorgeous dining chairs or anything at all, there is no better time to have them included in your interior design.

 

10. What is your budget?

Having a clear idea of your budget helps you plan how much to do, and how to execute a given plan. Whilst we don’t want to burn a hole in our pockets, it is important to set the right budget as we are going to live in it, and having a properly designed home gives us the quality of life not even a splashy car can.

 

Enjoy embarking on making your apartment home!

Optimizing small space with a loft bed

City apartments are getting smaller, whether you are in London, New York, Hong Kong or Singapore.  Loft beds may be a way to optimize your living space provided you are well within planning permissions, of course.  Only one adorable dog is allowed at any particular moment on the loft bed, with human supervision i.e. your teenage child.  In addition, mirrored furniture and decorative mirrors add much to your living space.

A Sofa - A Big or Small Part Of Your Life?

Think about the number of hours an average individual spends on those one or two comfortable and/or attractive chairs or sofas. Many of us especially the little ones at home would log into the thousands, I should think. A quality sofa could be the venue for lazy weekend afternoon naps, titillating conversations, special affectionate exchanges, fascinating or epiphanic television series watching, and, of course, edifying and entertaining words read on an ipad or good old book.

Creating Beauty With Small Space Secret- Mirrors and Mirrored Furniture

Mirrors can add life to small spaces when they are fitted nicely. Mirror fittings and installations are mostly found in places like restaurants and hotels. When mirrored furniture and decorative mirrors are put in place especially in small spaces, they create the illusion of an illuminated spacious enclosure i.e. they create a brighter and larger impression. This awesome idea is no longer a secret as many homes, organizations and societies are beginning to follow suit by cultivating the culture.