Why Use House-Sized Sofas for Apartment Living Rooms?
Why Use House-Sized Sofas for Apartment Living Rooms?
What would you think the number one mistake is that people make in decorating their apartments? Is it using the same carpet that was used by the former tenant? Painting the walls without the landlord's permission? While those are both major mistakes, the one that will cause the most inconvenience for the longest time is assuming that you can use the same furniture that you used in your house for the smaller accommodations you'll have in an apartment. This is especially true in the living room, where most tenants struggle to make that sofa that they've had for years fit on the tiny apartment wall.
A better solution is starting new with an apartment size sofa. Apartment size sofas are specifically designed for small spaces, leaving the rest of your limited living-room space for other furniture and for walking space.
Saying this is easier than doing it, however. There are three major challenges that the new apartment-dweller usually encounters when she thinks about moving in a new apartment size sofa:
So let's talk about solutions. One of the major ways to overcome obstacles number one and two is to do your shopping on the Internet. It's much easier to find apartment sofas in a custom size if you can sit at home and Google different sizes than it is if you're hopping from one furniture store to the next. In fact, most furniture stores will be quite limited in the small sofas that they have, anyway. In an hour, by shopping on the Internet, you're more likely to find something that is exactly the size that you need than in a day's worth of concrete-store searching. Likewise, shopping online is almost always the way to find the best prices--on anything. Compare the best price that you can find locally at a brick-and-mortar store and you'll be surprised at how much more affordable the best online prices are.
Let me give you an example of my own Web search. I selected a small-sofa size: 68 inches. I did a Google search on this size, and while I didn't get hundreds of results, the search did lead me to Simplicity Sofas at www.simplicitysofas.com and The Furniture Domain at www.thefurnituredomain.com (There might have been more results on the second page, but these will serve to illustrate the point). I also found that the prices on these sofas were competitive with the prices on standard-size sofas. Honestly, Furniture Domain's sofas in this size, though, were not the type that most people envision when they think "apartment sofa." It's a high-leg sofa with a single seat cushion that you'd be more likely to find in an office. Simplicity's offerings were quite apartment-friendly in comparison—not to mention extremely charming looking. Some of their sofas were more expensive, but not much considering what you get for the price. Simplicity's sofa offerings are made of kiln dried solid oak frames, well-padded and attractive cushions, and a lifetime warranty on the cushions and 10-year warranty on the frames.
That brings us to challenge number two: It's difficult to find a good warranty for apartment furniture. Furniture Domain's policy is typical of the industry: Damaged products must be returned within 30 days and it must be verified that the damage was not your fault. If you do send the product back, you must pay a restocking fee (in other words, part of your refund will be withheld). I also found furniture stores who's "warranty program" consisted mostly of trying to convince you to buy their extended furniture warranty. I found one company that does better in this area: SmartFurniture.com has a 365-day warranty with a lifetime warranty one one particular product line. Here again, though, it was difficult finding something smaller than about 72 inches. And even that generous warranty pales compared to the lifetime warranty offered by Simplicity Sofas,with a 10 year warranty on their cushions and lifetime warranty on their frames. The point is this: Although few, there are warranty options available.
As for problem number three, that of moving the furniture around after your "mover-friends" have gone, most online furniture dealers will ship the sofa to you. This still leaves it to you, however, to move the sofa where you want it. While the delivery men might move it onto a wall for you, they're not likely to stick around until you get it in exactly the right spot.
One solution: There are a small handful of furniture manufacturers that offer incredible sofas, chairs, etc., that you can assemble by yourself in just five or ten minutes, with only basic tools. Again, you'll be more likely to find something like this by looking online. Once more, I resorted to Google to search for "easy to assemble sofas." Again, Simplicity Sofas at www.simplicitysofas.com showed up at the top of the list, along with Home Reserve (www.homereserve.com) and CSN Sofas (www.csnsofas.com). Investigating the websites, I found that Home Reserve says that their products can be assembled in about two hours. CSN does a bit better, promising assembly times that take less than a minute. Simplicity Sofas again impresses in this area, with an average assembly time of 15 minutes. (not to mention a cute video of a young boy putting one together in just five minutes!).
From my searches, I would conclude that if ease-of-assembly was my first concern, then my first choice would be Simplicity, followed by CSN and then Home Reserve. If a flexible warranty is important, Simplicity or Smart Furniture are acceptable, with the edge going to SimplicitySofas.com. Furniture Domain would be fine—although for the price, Simplicity's offerings seem more geared for the apartment than Furniture Domain's are. If I'm concerned about all of the above, I would likely order from Simplicity Sofas. And Simplicity again is the most flexible regarding the sizes that they offer.
This might or might not reflect the issues of concern to you. The point remains, however: You need not be stuck with your over-sized living room furniture, trying to force it into a tiny apartment living room. You have options to downsize--options that you'll probably be glad that you took.
What would you think the number one mistake is that people make in decorating their apartments? Is it using the same carpet that was used by the former tenant? Painting the walls without the landlord's permission? While those are both major mistakes, the one that will cause the most inconvenience for the longest time is assuming that you can use the same furniture that you used in your house for the smaller accommodations you'll have in an apartment. This is especially true in the living room, where most tenants struggle to make that sofa that they've had for years fit on the tiny apartment wall.
A better solution is starting new with an apartment size sofa. Apartment size sofas are specifically designed for small spaces, leaving the rest of your limited living-room space for other furniture and for walking space.
Saying this is easier than doing it, however. There are three major challenges that the new apartment-dweller usually encounters when she thinks about moving in a new apartment size sofa:
It can be quite difficult to find a sofa that is less than 78" inches in length, while love seats usually stop at about 60", unless they come with extra large arms. The typical apartment living-room wall is a length somewhere between those two numbers--and so, it's a headache finding a sofa which is a perfect fit. This is especially true if you're not interested in a "modern" IKEA-style sofa.
When you do find furniture in unusual sizes, finding a company that backs it up with a decent money-back policy becomes a challenge.
It's hard enough getting someone to help you move the furniture that you already have to your new apartment. It becomes even more difficult when an apartment sofa is coming by itself. This means you have the choice of either calling someone in for a second day, or handling the sofa, when it's delivered, by yourself.
So let's talk about solutions. One of the major ways to overcome obstacles number one and two is to do your shopping on the Internet. It's much easier to find apartment sofas in a custom size if you can sit at home and Google different sizes than it is if you're hopping from one furniture store to the next. In fact, most furniture stores will be quite limited in the small sofas that they have, anyway. In an hour, by shopping on the Internet, you're more likely to find something that is exactly the size that you need than in a day's worth of concrete-store searching. Likewise, shopping online is almost always the way to find the best prices--on anything. Compare the best price that you can find locally at a brick-and-mortar store and you'll be surprised at how much more affordable the best online prices are.
Let me give you an example of my own Web search. I selected a small-sofa size: 68 inches. I did a Google search on this size, and while I didn't get hundreds of results, the search did lead me to Simplicity Sofas at www.simplicitysofas.com and The Furniture Domain at www.thefurnituredomain.com (There might have been more results on the second page, but these will serve to illustrate the point). I also found that the prices on these sofas were competitive with the prices on standard-size sofas. Honestly, Furniture Domain's sofas in this size, though, were not the type that most people envision when they think "apartment sofa." It's a high-leg sofa with a single seat cushion that you'd be more likely to find in an office. Simplicity's offerings were quite apartment-friendly in comparison—not to mention extremely charming looking. Some of their sofas were more expensive, but not much considering what you get for the price. Simplicity's sofa offerings are made of kiln dried solid oak frames, well-padded and attractive cushions, and a lifetime warranty on the cushions and 10-year warranty on the frames.
That brings us to challenge number two: It's difficult to find a good warranty for apartment furniture. Furniture Domain's policy is typical of the industry: Damaged products must be returned within 30 days and it must be verified that the damage was not your fault. If you do send the product back, you must pay a restocking fee (in other words, part of your refund will be withheld). I also found furniture stores who's "warranty program" consisted mostly of trying to convince you to buy their extended furniture warranty. I found one company that does better in this area: SmartFurniture.com has a 365-day warranty with a lifetime warranty one one particular product line. Here again, though, it was difficult finding something smaller than about 72 inches. And even that generous warranty pales compared to the lifetime warranty offered by Simplicity Sofas,with a 10 year warranty on their cushions and lifetime warranty on their frames. The point is this: Although few, there are warranty options available.
As for problem number three, that of moving the furniture around after your "mover-friends" have gone, most online furniture dealers will ship the sofa to you. This still leaves it to you, however, to move the sofa where you want it. While the delivery men might move it onto a wall for you, they're not likely to stick around until you get it in exactly the right spot.
One solution: There are a small handful of furniture manufacturers that offer incredible sofas, chairs, etc., that you can assemble by yourself in just five or ten minutes, with only basic tools. Again, you'll be more likely to find something like this by looking online. Once more, I resorted to Google to search for "easy to assemble sofas." Again, Simplicity Sofas at www.simplicitysofas.com showed up at the top of the list, along with Home Reserve (www.homereserve.com) and CSN Sofas (www.csnsofas.com). Investigating the websites, I found that Home Reserve says that their products can be assembled in about two hours. CSN does a bit better, promising assembly times that take less than a minute. Simplicity Sofas again impresses in this area, with an average assembly time of 15 minutes. (not to mention a cute video of a young boy putting one together in just five minutes!).
From my searches, I would conclude that if ease-of-assembly was my first concern, then my first choice would be Simplicity, followed by CSN and then Home Reserve. If a flexible warranty is important, Simplicity or Smart Furniture are acceptable, with the edge going to SimplicitySofas.com. Furniture Domain would be fine—although for the price, Simplicity's offerings seem more geared for the apartment than Furniture Domain's are. If I'm concerned about all of the above, I would likely order from Simplicity Sofas. And Simplicity again is the most flexible regarding the sizes that they offer.
This might or might not reflect the issues of concern to you. The point remains, however: You need not be stuck with your over-sized living room furniture, trying to force it into a tiny apartment living room. You have options to downsize--options that you'll probably be glad that you took.
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