In recent years, sectionals have grown in popularity as the most family-friendly seating for the modern home. At LUMEN Home Designs we love sectionals! Just check out our Work Gallery, and notice that we've used them in almost all of our projects. However, and as any sectional owner will probably tell you, buying the right sectional isn't always an easy task. So before you buy any sofa, answer these three pro questions. At the end, you'll be sure if sectionals are the way to go in your home!

With most New York apartments running between 550 and 950 square feet, it's safe to say that most places won't have the luxury of having a separate family and living room. Therefore, the latter must be furnished with pieces not only in the right size for the room, but also considering the traffic they're going to get.

If you're big on entertaining, DON'T get a sectional sofa. Guests love "end seats". Think back to when you were a kid. Did your family take any road trips? Everybody wanted to ride shotgun. Even on short trips to the supermarket, nobody wanted to get stuck in the middle. The same principle applies for seating arrangements at home. No matter how much you love your friends and family, nobody wants to be the one sandwiched in the middle seat. With your legs touching and your knees rubbing together. The curved angle of sectionals makes this even worse. 

What should you get then? An arrangement of loveseats and sofa chairs, as shown on this East River Co Op apartment we staged. Having different seats also allows for interesting configurations like pairing different color sofas, or even different design styles.

Let's get one thing straight: sectionals are NOT only for large rooms. Sectionals often work perfectly in living rooms especially because they're small. Take a look at a staging we did on 20 Pine Street and another at a Midtown apartment. Sectionals work as the only seating option in these rooms because they're so compact, that having a sofa and a separate chaise or chair would have overwhelmed them. They also work because more than two people can sit on the non chaise portion of the sectional.

So if your sectional is going to be the only seating option in a room, make sure it can comfortably accommodate at least four people, including the chaise. If it isn't possible, the best configuration will always be to have at least two independent sofa chairs.

What matters more than size though, is whether or not the living room space is defined. Is it its own room, totally separate from the dining room / bedroom or is your space more like a studio, completely open without any dividers? This will determine not only if you can fit in a sectional according to the rule we showed you above, but which kind of sectional you should get. There are two kinds of configurations for a sectional: Right Facing Chaise and Left Facing Chaise. Translation: if you're looking at the front of your sectional and not standing behind it, the chaise will be on your right if it’s a RAF, and on the left if it's a LAF.

Why is this important? Because this determines the flow of the room. If you choose a RAF sectional, all additional chairs will have to be placed to the left of the sofa, because the chaise will be on the right, and vice versa for LAF Chaise sectionals. If your sectional doesn't have a chaise, but only L shaped seating, always place additional chairs adjacent to the shortest section of the sofa.

Chaises should never stand in the way of the flow of the room. They can however, serve as a boundary between spaces. For example, in an open studio layout, a chaise can be the piece to properly divide the living room and the bedroom. In closed up settings, the corner of the sectional should be at the furthest point of the room, like next to a wall or any other space that receives little foot traffic. In this case, the chaise portion of the sectional acts as a cozy "arm", hugging the room together.

And if you'd like some pro help in picking out your sectional, book an appointment with us! Our design services are completely free with your purchase. We'll gladly take a look at your room and recommend the best seating arrangement for your space. It will be fast, easy and fun!