A common couch set up in a standard-sized living room or lounge area is to have a sofa, a loveseat, and one or more armchairs. If you’re planning on buying a new sofa set or adding a loveseat to the furniture you already have, you might be wondering if the sofa has to match the loveseat.
This question requires more than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer; here, we will delve into the factors you’ll want to consider when buying sofas and help decide if matching your loveseat will work for you.
Reasons to Match a Sofa to a Loveseat
Cohesion
One of the main reasons people choose to match their sofa and loveseat is so that the room they are situated in looks cohesive. If you match your sofa and loveseat, you can be sure that the design will feel connected, and it also has the effect of grounding them in the space.
Lack of Confidence
If you have limited knowledge of interior design and don’t feel confident enough to mix and match your furniture, then buying a matching sofa and loveseat is the safest way to ensure your room will have a finished look to it.
Mismatching furniture is actually easier than you would think, and the results can look really cool, but if you feel this is too risky and fear that your living room could end up looking like a flea market, then simply selecting a sofa and loveseat from the same collection will allow you to have a room that looks intentional without having to think about it.
Store Deals
When you go sofa shopping, you’ll often find that furniture stores offer deals on purchases for multiple items in a set. For example, a sofa and loveseat might cost $1100 each, but you can buy the pair for £2000, representing a saving of $200. Understandably many people want to take advantage of such deals in order to save some money.
Convenience
If you buy the furniture and loveseat at the same time from a matching collection, then you’ll only have to go through the buying process once. This might mean just one trip to the sofa store, one application for furniture finance, or one delivery fee.
It will also mean, usually, that both your sofa and loveseat will be delivered to your home on the same day, allowing you to set up your room and have it finished all at once instead of waiting days or weeks for a further couch to be delivered.
Reasons to Mis-Match a Sofa to a Loveseat
Buy Second Hand
If you love nothing more than scouring online marketplaces or yard sales for hidden gems amongst other people’s old furniture, then it makes the most sense for you to mismatch your sofa and loveseat. This is because buying secondhand makes you less likely to find items that match.
Buying second-hand furniture from stores is a great way of saving money because you can pick up items for a fraction of what they originally cost, and in some cases, you may even find people giving away sofas for free.
Buying second-hand is also great for the environment because it prevents used furniture from ending up in landfills. In most cases, the money you spend on used furniture will go to local families rather than lining the pockets of big box stores.
Express Personality
If you enjoy expressing yourself through styles, such as with clothing and interior decor, then mismatching your sofa and loveseat presents a good opportunity for you to showcase this.
Modern Style
Having a matching sofa, loveseat, and armchair was very popular in the latter half of the 1900s and even into the early 2000s. However, a more modern approach is to have a sofa and loveseat which complement each other but are not from the same collection.
Matching upholstery can look formal or old-fashioned, especially if the fabric is heavily patterned. To avoid this, you can mix and match the couches by selecting different materials or colors.
Buy Gradually
One reason to buy mismatched sofas and loveseats is if you don’t want to buy them all at once. People have various reasons for doing this. You might want to buy the sofa first and then save up your money for a loveseat to purchase at a later date, or maybe you need to replace a loveseat that was damaged, but the sofa is still perfectly fine.
In these cases, you might find that the loveseat to match your sofa is no longer available, or maybe you’ve found a loveseat you prefer the look of and wonder if it will match your existing couch.
Tips for Coordinating a Sofa and Loveseat
Color
The easiest way to have a mismatched sofa and loveseat which coordinates is to select a color that is present on both. For example, if you have a floral sofa, pick out your favorite color amongst the pattern and find a loveseat in that color.
Another way to link the two pieces of furniture together is with colorful cushions. For example, if you select a neon yellow loveseat that seemingly seems out of place in the room, you can tie it in by finding neon yellow cushions to position on the sofa.
Style
The sofa and loveseat can be completely different, but they should have a similar style. For example, if the sofa has a traditional style, then the loveseat should also have traditional elements. If you try to pair two completely different styles, such as a minimalist sofa with a traditional loveseat, the designs can clash and look awkward.
Size
The size of the sofa and loveseat must relate to each other, even when they are mismatched. If you have a giant oversized comfy sofa and a compact, narrow loveseat, then the room will look out of balance. Try to keep both furniture items in the same proportions to avoid this.
