Couch for two or three?

[pastrygirl]

I'm looking for a couch and found a contender, but it only has two cushions though it's big enough to seat three people (it's 78 inches wide). Both halves recline, which is appealing for when it's just me and my husband. But it would be awkward when family comes to visit. My two kids would fit just fine with us because each half is oversized. I'm a wide person and I take up just a smidge over half of each cushion. If we wanted to, my husband and I might be able to squeeze on one half.

I also found a "regular" couch with three cushions, where only the two ends recline. I feel like in the long run, this one would be more practical, but we like to cuddle and I end up sitting at an odd angle so that I can share the recliner. With the first couch, we'd recline both sides and I would just sit closer.

But. We have guests several times a year. The first couch would still only be for two people, though there's room for three. We do have two other chairs in the room (rocker/recliner and a Stressless) that we can move around if we all want to watch a movie. I read somewhere that people generally regret buying a couch for 3 that only has 2 cushions, but can't find it.

The other consideration is that the two-seater is leather/vinyl, and the three-seaters is all-leather. Our last couch was in rough shape after a few years because the vinyl was tearing and it looked awful every time you sat down and the cushion sides were exposed (that's where the vinyl was tearing). My husband found it extremely uncomfortable to sit on, so the tearing vinyl was the last straw and we ditched it.

[crl]

Well, supposedly only two people will sit on a couch anyway. That's true IME. After two have sat on the couch, the next person will grab a dining room chair and spin it around or sit on the floor. So I wouldn't buy based on having three guests sit on the couch.

The quality issue is different and I honestly don't know about the durability of leather vs vinyl. My guess is that if the couch is part vinyl, the leather part isn't very good quality leather anyway.

Catherine

[pastrygirl]

That's a good point. Though if my husband is on one end and either FIL or MIL on the other, I'll go ahead and sit close to my husband. :) But if it were someone else on the other side, maybe not.

The two-cushioned couch is located in a nearby store, so it's easier for my husband to check out. The other one is 45 minutes away, but my somewhat-compelling reasons to check it out are dwindling. Our other couch lasted 10 years, so if the closer one also lasted 10 years even if the vinyl split, that would be OK with me. I'm not looking for lifelong furniture...yet.

Anyone else have a two-cushion full-length sofa?

[sarahsthreads]

This is interesting - the 2 people vs. 3 thing. I've been resisting looking at two-cushion sofas, but all the three-cushion ones we've seen are *way* too long for our tiny family room. Ours is 86" and barely fits in the space (and almost didn't even fit through the doors) and the shortest (cheap) replacement couch I can find is 90" (and 4-5" taller and deeper). Maybe I will just look for a reasonably-sized & priced two-cushion couch and stop worrying about number of cushions!

I don't want to spend any significant money on a "real" sofa until a) the dog is waiting at the rainbow bridge and b) the munchkin on the way is older enough to not worry about inappropriate use of sharpies and scissors!

Sarah :)

[pastrygirl]

The one I'm thinking about is 78", which is appealing since we have a bunch of Lovesacs taking up all our space. It's this one (http://www.jordans.com/Sofas/L44655030.aspx).

[YouAreTheFocus]

IME ppl will sit one per cushion, so even with 2 big cushions the size of 3, I wouldn't expect someone to sit in the crack. We have a sectional with 5 cushions and 5 ppl can sit fine--if we took off one arm we'd be left with a 3 cushion couch that 3 ppl would definitely be comfortable on (not awkward).

FWIW I wouldn't rec a 2 cushion couch, I think when you have ppl over you end up with wasted space.

[crl]

IME ppl will sit one per cushion, so even with 2 big cushions the size of 3, I wouldn't expect someone to sit in the crack. We have a sectional with 5 cushions and 5 ppl can sit fine--if we took off one arm we'd be left with a 3 cushion couch that 3 ppl would definitely be comfortable on (not awkward).

FWIW I wouldn't rec a 2 cushion couch, I think when you have ppl over you end up with wasted space.

Hmm, maybe it depends on how well the people know each other? We have a three cushion couch and still when people sit they sit two on the couch and then on the chair and then on a dining room chair or the floor. The only ways three sit on the couch are kids or if dh is sitting in one end, I will occasionally sit in the middle, right next to him.

Catherine

[brittone2]

I'll toss this out there. What are the back cushions like? Tight back? Two loose cushions?

Our last couch from years ago was a 2 cushion model. The backs were two pillow looseback pillows. My cat loves to sleep on the back. Over time, the back cushions got saggy (could be refluffed, but there was cumulative trauma to them in terms of sagginess). My personal take is that with two loose back cushions, you may be more likely to have sag.

When we looked for our current couch, I decided on a tightback partly for that reason. (eta: never thought we'd go with leather but I found a great deal on a used/CL Hancock and Moore leather sofa in someone's infrequently used beach house. My dog occasionally torments my cat, and thus there are a few scratches from the cat leaping. Cat came to us many years ago declawed in the front; his back claws are still intact). I do like that it is easy to wipe off and doesn't trap dog hair. My dog is a shep/border collie mix and sheds a LOT. Going with a higher end brand but used was a good option for us, as we have an aging cat, aging dog, and my youngest just turned 3 yo. I'm not ready to invest more heavily in something 10x the price until we are out of this phase of life ;)

Maybe it is just because my cat insists on sleeping there, but thinking about it, with the type of span encompassed by having just two back cushions, it seems like it could be more apt to sag.

[pastrygirl]

I posted a link above -- the back cushions are attached. I'm not sure what a tight back is? Our last couch, also leather, had attached back cushions, but you could lift the top portion like a flap for some reason. It never sagged, but it did discolor over time.

I've been looking into higher-end sofas and went to Gardner in hopes of a deal. The only one I came across that I liked was El-Ran (made in Canada), which apparently is middle of the road. That's the one that's all-leather. The one I linked above from Jordan's is Southern Motion, which I imagine is low-end but still made in the US.

The Jordan's one is wide enough per seat that I might be able to sit in the middle with most of my body on the cushion rather than the crack. I'll have to go with my husband to know for sure.

I might try Cabot House just to see higher-end sofas, but it seems leather recliners are hard to come by in the nicer brands. We already have Stickley in our living room, so don't need (or want) the same quality in our family room.


__________________
My blog...
http://unshopping.unravelingblog.com/

[brittone2]

I posted a link above -- the back cushions are attached. I'm not sure what a tight back is?

Sorry, I missed your link initially.

This is a tight back:
http://www.boyles.com/Hancock-and-Moore-Shumaker-Sofa/57903-965/ItemInformation.aspx
or
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.crateandbarrel.com/is/image/Crate/MetropoleLvstVintageS12%3Fwid%3D400%26hei%3D400&imgrefurl=http://www.crateandbarrel.com/tight-back-sofa/~th&h=400&w=400&sz=11&tbnid=SoQ_b0r-t3GJZM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=91&zoom=1&usg=__Da5ksb-GAl1H9ZF1AQJYCrJqO30=&docid=pxvxxe48Ko6TbM&sa=X&ei=60dnUbipDvWo4APi3IHgDA&ved=0CGAQ9QEwAw&dur=2067

[pastrygirl]

^^ Thanks! What I can't tell from the pictures is that is it NOT a tight-back if there is a horizontal stitch anywhere on the back? Is that just "attached cushions"?

[pastrygirl]

We changed our minds about wanting a reclining couch and are going with stationary. Found a Legacy Leather model that we both really like, and read tons of glowing reviews for that company, which compare it to H&M. Just deciding on the leather now!

It has 3 cushions, btw. :)

[jjordan]

We have 3 people on our couch a LOT. Actually when we bought it, one of my deal-breakers was a couch with only two cushions.

I don't know if this is a common issue or not with couches that have reclining sections, but dh's parents have a couch like that, and I hate it. What I hate (in particular) is that due to the reclining hardware, if you're sitting in a spot between where the couch designers expect you to sit (i.e. where the seating cushions join together instead of in the middle of one seating cushion), then you can feel the reclining hardware and it's extremely uncomfortable. Like I said, IDK if this is a common issue with those couches, but you might want to check it out just in case before you buy one!

ETA: Okay, should have read more before I posted, now I see you have decided to go with non-reclining. :)