IKEA Sofa Guide - Free Advice For Furnishing Your Living Area

It is not uncommon to move into a new apartment or home only to be perplexed by how you're going to furnish it. I have fallen into that dilemma more than once in my over a dozen moving experiences over a lifetime. Normally, when it is time to move a couch and chair into the space, I try to measure it with my arms then make someone drive my car to the furniture store so that I can hold my arms in place while I find a store representative with a tape measure (okay, I'm exaggerating a little, but you get my point). If you want to avoid this option AND take a liking to IKEA furniture then you can actually get some advice that might save you a lot of time and trouble. The advice comes in the form of the IKEA sofa guide.

The IKEA sofa guide is an online tool provided by the retailer to help struggling furniture buyers find out how to shop for their living space. While many tools provided by retailers seem to be more promotional, finding a way to squeeze in popup ads for their great discount items, this tool actually seems to function as a helper for the customer (even though there are little bits and pieces of promotion found within the guide).

The first step in the guide is to "find a sofa that makes you smile." At first I thought this was a bit lacking in significance, but after thinking about it, I realized they're right! Your knee-jerk reaction anything you buy is a reflection of what truly resonates with you internally. If you walk up to a sofa and smile immediately, it is probably something you will smile at for years to come - not a bad suggestion. In this section, they also advise you to think about patterns, colors, fabrics and textures that resonate well with you.

The next step in the IKEA sofa guide is to "consider your everyday needs." This is also a good suggestion. Think about it; when making this decision you really have to think about determining factors in your everyday life, including your terrible 2-year-old toddler who loves scissors and that pesky pet that enjoys shedding on furniture. Also, you have to consider the frequent appearances from your out of town visitor who needs a sofa-bed to sleep on. All of these things matter and should be considered before narrowing down your choice.

The third factor they say to consider is your entertaining needs. You may be an entertainer and need a sleek, contemporary look that is more stylish than comfortable. Or you may have family and friends over frequently and want them to be comfortable. Either way, they say it is a good idea to gauge the size of your sofa by the number of people who will be stopping by on a regular basis. This way, you won't have to pull in the lawn chairs to seat your company.

Measuring your space is the fourth step in the guide. Of course, you don't want to walk around the store holding your arms out, so break out a tape measure and get busy. They say it is a good idea to look online to determine dimensions so that you can properly account for everything that will need to fit in the space. Also, you will have to make sure to measure in spaces between the furniture, unless you want to sit elbow to elbow with the person in the armchair while you're on the sofa.

The final step in the IKEA sofa guide is to actually get it home. This means you need to measure your door width, secure moving assistance and find a vehicle to get it to your house. Once you've done this, you can enjoy your new furniture via advice from the IKEA sofa guide. Of course, this article gives a bird's eye view of their guide, but it should help you get an idea of what they're trying to do for their customers. So if you think it will benefit you, try it out - at the very least you will be able to learn something new or reinforce what you already knew - and neither option is bad.
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