About 5 years ago I was sitting in our living room, watching our girls over on a cute little thrifted yellow sofa with Frank. I was feeling frustrated and fed up with our set up, and tired of buying and selling pieces that just didn’t work for our family. I was ready to get started finding the right sofa for our living room. [Don’t miss the free tool you can use to find your ideal furniture placement at the bottom of this post.]

The dream

I had dreams of all four of us piling onto a deep, comfy sectional for weekly movie nights or Saturday morning Bluey marathons (TBH, this was pre-Bluey, but you get the gist). I wanted to be able to host a crowd, and pile friends and family in. But our narrow living room with little wall space was so tricky to figure out. A big sectional seemed to be the answer, but nothing I was seeing at retailers would fit.

Actual layouts we’ve had in our living room

I had tried *so* many configurations, using pieces we already owned and bringing in thrifted finds. Only to scrap the plan after a few months and try something else. I realized the only way I could fit a sectional, was to have one custom made. And I knew how much a good quality custom sectional would likely cost. A lot. But, rather than waiting and saving and investing once, I flailed and dabbled, and tried dozens of other “cheaper” ideas.

What worked for us

FINALLY, I decided to save and plan, and to invest in what would truly work for us in early 2020. I was ready to find the right sofa. I planned a room makeover and shared it for the One Room Challenge (you can read more here if you’d like). I finally ordered the *just right* sofa (I hate to use the word perfect….is anything truly perfect?), just in time for the pandemic to set in.

We found ourselves at home ALL of the time, and I was even more excited for our living room upgrade. I remember wondering if they would even bring the new sofa into our home, with all of the confusion and fear around social distancing and such. Thank goodness they did, and along with some other updates to the space, I finally had my big ole sofa that we could all snuggle up on.

The sofa was definitely one of the pricier pieces in the room, and rightly so…it’s one of the most hard working – one we touch and feel, and utilize every day, so it makes sense to spend more there. It’s what I like to call a “cornerstone” piece. Not every piece in the room needs to be an investment, or so carefully considered. But, those cornerstone pieces are totally worth the thought and worth saving for. Now, 4 years later, it has held up so beautifully. The performance fabric, the high quality cushions, and the size/footprint work so well for us. I haven’t been tempted to rearrange once! Here’s a look at the arrangement that works best for us:

| Pro Tip

You may find it helpful to break down furnishing your space into three categories:

1 – Invest in cornerstone pieces

2 – Find flair (secondary, functional, yet not as often used – think: end tables, console tables, accent chairs)

3 – Add doses of delight (decorative, joy-giving “fluff” – think: pillows, sculptural objects, art, decorative accents)

And, if you’re struggling with finding the right furniture placement for your home, take a look at the guide I put together. [It’s free and full of tools that walk you step-by-step through planning your space, and includes graph paper and icons to cut out and play around with!]

Furniture Placement Fundamentals

Finding the right sofa for us was a journey.  Learn from my mistakes, and skip ahead to the good part.