The Great Sofa Hunt of 2010

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have a ”thing” about sofa arms. This “thing” started a few years ago, shortly after purchasing our Case Study Day Bed at the Modernica annual warehouse sale. At the time we were looking for something to replace our enormous IKEA sleeper sofa, which had been repeatedly scratched up and peed on by our cat (thanks, Astro) and this seemed perfect. Small in scale, sleek and streamlined, it would allow us more room to fit a dining table and chairs into the one large living/dining room area, and could still serve as an impromptu guest bed if need be, with the back cushions removed. 

Soon after we got it, however, I realized something terrible. At 27H x 77L x 33D and no arms in sight, there would be no cuddling of any kind going on atop this sofa. No arms also meant no leaning of any kind, so even if you were couching solo, your choices were to sit erect, er, upright, which is not very relaxing, or lay down completely.

When we moved into our new house I was thrilled to be able to finally bring a soft, cozy, and fully-armed addition into our furniture family. The daybed could stay, and found a nice home in our formal living room, but our den was just begging for a comfy sectional prime for spooning and snoozing.

Since we wanted to find something of good quality that would last for many years, we knew we’d have to make an investment. Our must-haves, aside from comfort, construction and contemporary, clean-lined styling were 1) arms 2) removable cushion covers for easy cleaning, and 3) a neutral fabric that would transition with us through any décor changes.

We scoured local shops and online resources for weeks, photographing and bringing swatches home for consideration, but nothing quite measured up. I felt like the Goldilocks of sofa shopping (minus the actual golden locks):

 

Too small



Too big

 

Too mismatched



Too leather

Then one day we spotted her. She was lovely. Her heathered oatmeal upholstery would blend perfectly with our white walls, tan carpet and gray accent pieces – check. It could all be removed and dry cleaned – check, check. And just look at those arms. Tall and supportive, down-filled throw pillows to cradle my head, and a chaise lounge big enough for two – check, check, check! Wrap ‘er up, Blueprint! (Side note: as painful as it was to part ways with my cash, we saved a few dollars by picking up vs. delivery and I Scotchguarded it myself at home.)



Just right!

In the three short months since we’ve moved in she has already lulled me to sleep many a night, hosted numerous gatherings of friends and family, and babysat the kids (with a little help from Yo Gabba Gabba) while I hit the snooze button/made dinner/wrote this post/etc. Looks like this Goldilocks' search paid off...but no porridge-eating on the sofa!