Sofa Styles 101

06/28 Design

When it comes to the largest piece of furniture in your living room, there's a plethora of shapes and styles to choose from.

If we can name one anchoring element of living room design, it’s the sofa. This is where the design of the entire room starts, adding tables and smaller seating surfaces from there. Some living rooms are large enough for two sofas, sometimes flanking opposite sides of a coffee table and other times creating a sectional-like L-shape around a corner. Other living rooms are smaller in scale and may not be capable of holding a full sofa—that’s where the settee comes in. Settees originate from the 1700s and were initially unupholstered benches with enough space for two. Now-a-days they’re scaled-down versions of the sofa, very similar to what others call a loveseat. Here are five different sofa styles and inspiration for incorporating them into your own home.