The living room sectional was styled in this Seattle, Washington home by John Monte from Elegant Simplicity interior design and organizing firm.

Truth be told, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to selecting the perfect sectional for your home. And we know that it’s an important and challenging decision.

And yet because we select sectionals often for our full-service design clients at Elegant Simplicity, we have a set of considerations + straightforward strategies to ensure that the sectional is the right size, color, and layout for your home.

SO… without further ado, let’s dive into how to select the perfect sectional for your home. Shall we?

“When you understand the activities that are going to take place in a particular area — Determining the right layout becomes intuitive”, quote from interior design and professional organizing firm Elegant Simplicity in Bellevue, Washington.

What Is A Sectional?

A bit on the nose, but it’s important we’re all on the same page — a sectional is a sofa that can be customized + arranged to fit your space. A sectional often comes in various modular pieces, sizes and styles that create different configurations for seating.

The Anatomy Of Sectional Pieces

Because sectionals are modular, let’s talk about the various pieces that make up a sectional :)

Corners

A sectional piece that is triangular (like a 90-degree angle) in shape (but it could also be circular). In either case, the corner — connects other pieces of the sectional together.

Armless Seating

This is a piece of the sectional that, like its name, has no arms. It’s the length of a loveseat, the length of a full sofa or a custom length. Much like the corner, because it’s armless — this sectional piece also adjoins other pieces of the sectional together.

Right or Left Arm Seating

At the end of a sectional, the right or left arm seat is a modular sectional piece with an arm. It may connect to an armless piece or a corner piece.

Chaise

A chaise typically has an arm, and acts as an extension for seating or someones’ legs.

Phew! While there are some complexities to the modular customizations of sectionals, that’s the basic anatomy of a sectional.

Sectional Configurations

Because of the custom nature of sectionals — there are an endless number of sectional styles + configurations. Below are some of the most popular choices we prefer + often use.

L-Shape or Corner Sectionals

These are exactly what they sound like — three, four or five pieces that make an “L-shape”. They are typically made up of:

a left/right arm seat
a corner
a loveseat or sofa with a right or left arm

Sectionals With A Chaise

Sectionals that have a chase come in a few different configurations. Most common is a sofa with an extended chaise on the end.

U-Shaped Sectionals

These are typically the largest of the sectionals as a U-Shape sectional creates well, a U *wink*

Does A Sectional Make Sense With Your Layout

When choosing the perfect sectional, the very first thing to consider is whether a sectional even makes sense for your layout. One way to approach this is to consider what activities are taking place in this living or family room in your home.

Is this a space mainly for conversation or for movie night?

Is this an area of your home where you want a casual feeling?

While a sofa + two chairs, or simply two sofas, allows for foot traffic to pass easier through a space, a sectional is an “L-shape” a “U-shape” or some combination of seating that often will create a barrier for foot traffic. It therefore forces you to go “around” either end of the sectional to make your way into the seating area.

In an open floor plan, dividing a space with a sectional can be the perfect way to differentiate activity zones but in a smaller room, a sectional that isn’t tucked into a corner, can create an unpleasant flow of traffic.

Either way, when you know and understand the activities that are going to take place in this room — it becomes a heck of a lot easier for you to determine whether two sofas and a few chairs make more sense than a sectional.

Examples of popular sectional configuration graphic from interior design and organizing firm Elegant Simplicity in Seattle, Washington.

Sectional Size

Let’s assume that a sectional is the way to go…

When selecting a sectional, a consideration to keep in mind is the overall size. Because a sectional is typically much bigger than a sofa, this means it will obviously take up quite a bit more space.

But how much is too much space? Well, that’s no-exact science friend! What you’re balancing is:

the desired amount of people you want to seat
the overall size of the sectional
the length + width of the room
and ensuring you have ample foot traffic

Considering both the activity zones that are taking place here, what sectional configuration best fits your space?

An L-shape that sits tucked in the corner
A U-shape that provides ample seating for everyone
Or some custom configuration

And when it comes to sectional size, because it’s not an “exact” science, here’s a few more considerations.

Are you willing to sacrifice a little bit of seating for a more appropriate sized sectional?

Are you willing to sacrifice a bit of floor space for a larger sectional?

Determining The Right Fabric For Your Sectional

While we’re aware that you’re not looking to become a furniture upholstery guru, *wink* we know that durability of the upholstery fabric is often a determining factor.

Here are several questions to consider when selecting the right upholstery for your sectional.

Is it a high traffic piece that will get a ton of use, or is it in an area that probably won't be sat in a ton? Understanding how a fabric will age with use is key.

Will there be kids in the home? What age? Perhaps our focus is on ease of cleaning.

What about pets? Do pets get up on the furniture? Durability may be the most important consideration.

How about sunlight? Should we be conscientious about how a fabric will fade based upon its location in the room?

Types Of Upholstery Fabrics For Sectionals

Crypton

soft | durable | easy to scrub clean | stain-resistant

Let me just say, nothing beats Crypton fabrics especially if you're hard on furniture. And if you’re like most of our clients, who are serious about home, you want your home (especially those high-traffic areas like the living room, playroom + the dining area) to be both kid + pet friendly.

Natural Leather

durable | easily wipes clean | ages well | natural scratches add character

When you think of leather as a furniture upholstery fabric most of the very obvious things come to mind like: It’s a great family-friendly fabric for living rooms because it wipes clean easily + it’s durable because even as your leather furniture begins to get scratched up it still looks beautiful. In fact, the scratches add depth and dimension over time. And for any scratches that feel obnoxious, for instance when King Kong is up against the Godzilla hard plastic tail + it scratches the armrest or when the dog gets excited + puts her paw up on the cushion — you can usually rub out the scuffs.

Velvet

soft | durable | warm | disguises imperfections

When it comes to upholstery, velvet is the Switzerland of fabrics. It does a little of this + a little of that. Hear me out :)

Velvet elevates the look + feel of your furniture by adding depth. It’s great at hiding blemishes or other imperfections because of its texture. And mind you, it’s also a very thick + durable fabric which in our experience, makes it a fantastic kid + pet-friendly fabric.

Linen

Linen is an excellent choice for creating a very relaxed, laid-back look with a luxurious feel.

Plus, it’s hypoallergenic which is fantastic for those of you with sensitive allergies. Linen is a natural fabric with great breathability which in many cases makes it eco-friendly because it doesn’t need to be sprayed with pesticides. Like leather, linen will get softer over time.

Sunbrella

cleans easy | stain-resistant | soft | durable / handles direct sunlight

Speaking of Sunbrella, this is an acrylic fabric that (a lot like Crypton) can withstand the rigors of kids + pets fairly well. However, Sunbrella differs from Crypton in that it was originally developed as an outdoor fabric but over the years has become soft enough that many now use it indoors.

Not too long ago we broke down our favorite upholstery fabrics for your home.

The Sandpoint House living room was designed in this Seattle, Washington home by Sherri Monte, interior designer at, Elegant Simplicity.

Selecting The Right Color or Print For Your Sectional

When it comes time to finally choose a sectional color, our design team is clear on several factors. From what the focal point of the room is to what color or pattern evokes the right emotion and mood. Not to mention, what else is going on around the space. If the ultimate goal is cohesive continuity then we don’t want to select the color of a sectional in a vacuum so to speak *wink*

Each of these considerations helps guide and determine what the right use of color or pattern might be for your home.

If you’re in search of a timeless look, a neutral color — be it a white, tan, gray, black or even brown will create a classic feel while bold colors like green or blues will bring a vibrancy to the space.

While certainly not all that’s several determining factors for choosing the perfect sectional for your home.

Don’t forget, if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of your next project, let’s chat.

P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.

How An Interior Designer Chooses The Perfect Sectional