Choosing the Right Sofa for a Period Home

Selecting the right sofas for any home can be one the more difficult and demanding decisions you will ever have to make in regard to furniture choice, and if you are choosing it for a period home you are likely to add to the constraints that restrict your options.

The mechanics of choosing the right sofa for a period home fundamentally are very much the same as choosing one for a modern home. Essentially you need to plan the layout of your furniture using a scaled sketch of your space and card cut-outs of the types and sizes of sofas you are considering.

Naturally you will need to consider different sizes of sofa depending, amongst other considerations, on how many people you need to accommodate, so produce several different cut-outs to see how different choices would work.

Many period homes have open fireplaces or log burning stoves that make excellent focal points, and that can both compliment and be complimented by the correct placement of your sofa or sofas and thus create a cosy ambiance.

Whilst this kind of cosy ambiance can be very appealing, your lifestyle might mean that you also need to be in view of your flat screen TV, in which case this should be included in your plan; however if possible you should try to create the impression of as much open space as possible

Once you have a good idea of the size and how it will fit into your space you need to decide on its style, material and colour...traditional leather sofa or fabric sofa. Although there is nothing to prevent you from choosing a contemporary corner sofa (in as much as the style police are unlikely to arrest you if you do so), a period home really calls for a sofa that will reflect its overall period feel.

If you want to be fairly purist about this, why not choose a sofa with the kind of style that would have been popular when you home was built? For instance if your home dates back to the late seventeenth century, then perhaps you would like a William and Mary square bench style sofa. For a mid eighteenth century home it might be appropriate to choose a graceful Queen Anne style sofa with its characteristic curved arms and cabriole legs. A late eighteenth century setting might call for a low Chippendale style sofa with button details and elegant lines; and so on through the ages.

Fortunately this does not mean that you need to go looking for appropriate sofas in antique shops and auctions; often good modern furniture manufacturers emulate the older classic styles in the ranges of sofas they produce. You can buy a brand new sofa that offers the very best of modern manufacturing technology yet which fits perfectly in an appropriate period setting.

Till now we have said nothing of colour and material. Some sofa styles look better in leather and leather is the most durable choice of coverings. Others styles look warmer and cosier in fabrics, and fabrics are available in a huge range of colours and patterns.

Although the modern trend it to choose neutral colours, often original period sofas were brightly coloured; blues, greens, reds, yellows and other primary colours were popular, so why not be a little daring and opt for one of the more brightly coloured pieces?

Although choosing the right sofa for a period home can be a challenge, it is also very rewarding, and you have the ideal opportunity to create a perfect period setting that you, your family and your guests will truly appreciate.

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