Last year, I bought my first ever sofa as after years of living in furnished rentals, I’d moved into my first unfurnished flat. I ended up choosing a modular sofa which started something of a love affair with all things modular sofas for me – seriously, I’m their biggest fan. Because once you go modular, I don’t think you can go back. But in truth, there are a few things I wish I knew before buying my modular sofa.
As part of my job as Room Decor Editor here at Ideal Home, since buying my sofa I have done a lot of extra research around the topic to further inform my guide to best modular sofas and to improve my knowledge and expertise on sofas in general. So in comparison to what I know now, I was pretty clueless back then and I feel like I almost just got lucky that I chose one of the best sofas on the market (at least in my opinion), the King Living 1977 modular sofa.
Modular sofas are a great investment because they future-proof your living room in a way. They are flexible and versatile and I’ve recently put mine to the test when I moved to a smaller flat with a smaller living area so instead of keeping the three modules joined as I’d done before, I separated the middle section and turned it to face the other two like a chair, as shown in the image below.
It’s safe to say that I love this sofa and couldn’t be happier with it. But knowing these 5 things that I know now would have definitely been useful. So before you rush into buying your modular sofa, read this first.
1. How many there are available on the market
Before investing in my King Living sofa, I’ve looked at and tried a few different modular sofas. But I had no idea how many different designs and brands there were to choose from. I wasn’t even aware that certain well-known sofa brands made modular sofa designs. But that’s exactly why I created my guide to the best modular sofas so that you know how much choice there is and where it’s best to shop for a sofa if you’re after a sectional.
At this point, I’ve tried over 80 modular sofas – but only a fraction of that testing was done before buying my current sofa. So my advice is to shop around, do your research and don’t settle – there’s no need as there is so much choice now and more and more brands are coming out with new modular sofa designs as it is a growing sofa trend that I believe is here to stay.
This is me at King Living's Tottenham Court Road showroom in London on the day I bought my sofa.
2. You might have to pay more – but it's worth it in the long run
Not every modular sofa is expensive – for example, DUSK has a few styles priced around the £1000 price point mark. But more often than not, they are slightly pricier compared to traditional sofas. This is largely due to the fact that they are designed to last longer and the innovative design means that you’ll be able to rearrange it or even add extra modules to it if you need to in the future. So even though you might be paying more initially, it will be worth it in the long run.
I was initially a little taken aback by the price of my sofa. But in all fairness, that’s also down to it being my first ever sofa in general so I’ve never had to pay this kind of money before. The biggest tip that I can give you is to wait for the sales as I have done, taking advantage of King Living’s winter sale at the beginning of the year. The original price of my sofa is around £3000 but I paid closer to £1700.
This is the original set up of my sofa in my previous living room.
3. Go for one with removable covers
This is not a mistake I’ve made as my sofa in fact does have removable covers and I have since even got a set of new ones to switch out its look for the colder months. But I’m so glad that it does come with removable and washable covers, especially as one of the sections has a cream-coloured cover - yes, I went for a multicoloured look with each of my modules being a different but a complementary neutral colour - which I can see getting slightly faded or dirty on the seat area.
So if the covers were to be fixed, it would not be a great look. Plus it wouldn’t give me that aforementioned freedom to change things around and give my covers a proper wash whenever I want.
4. Low profile is not the most supportive
This is not necessarily to do with modular sofas in general but my sofa in particular, as well as any sofa with a low profile and a low backrest. As much as I like the sleek and modern look of the low-profile design of my sofa, it (obviously) doesn’t offer that much back and neck support and can be slightly uncomfortable for that reason so if I sit on it for an extended period of time - especially if I’m working - I tend to put some scatter cushions behind my upper back and neck. But it is super comfortable in every other aspect.
There is now a very similar version with a higher back called the King Living 1978 sofa (as seen below) which even won in the ‘best sofa’ category at this year’s Ideal Home Living Room Awards. Looks wise, I still prefer my 1977 sofa though.
5. Long lead delivery times
I bought my sofa last February and it arrived in May. So I had to wait three months for my sofa to arrive. Long lead delivery times are pretty common when it comes to sofas but some brands are better than others. As King Living is an Australian brand that manufactures in Asia, it takes especially long for their sofas to arrive here in the UK.
But this is, of course, not the case with all brands. Swyft, for example, can deliver one of my top-rated modular sofas called Model 03 in 24 hours .
Other modular sofas I rate highly
Swyft's Model 03 has that classic modern, minimalist modular sofa look which I actually really like. And it can be yours within 24 hours, and it arrives in a box.
It's hard to find a sofa that's stylish, comfortable, modular, with built-in storage and not too expensive. But Next's Crosby sofa ticks all the boxes.
If curved sofas are more your thing then John Lewis' Flow modular sofa might be the one for you. The quilted backrest adds some extra texture to the sofa look. And the fact that it doesn't have a deep seat means it's perfect for narrow living room ideas.
Are you tempted to invest in a modular sofa? Honestly, I couldn’t recommend getting one enough.
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