How to Choose a Sofa
Given the amount of time you and your guests will spend sitting on a sofa throughout your lives, investing in the right sofa is not a decision you should make lightly.
Whether you’re on the market for a settee upgrade to enhance your living interiors, or you’re currently at the research stage before settling on a sofa for your first home, there are a number of considerations to pay careful attention to before you invest. Making the right decisions when it comes to size, practicality, comfort and design will inevitably guarantee years of enjoyment - so it’s paramount to keep these preferences in mind before you shop.
Here at Delcor, we have years of experience under our belts when it comes to helping our clients settle on a piece of true luxury for their home. Each of our furniture specialists are trained to offer impartial advice, to help you understand the various sofa sizes, fillings and finishes that would complement your individual interior goals. If you’re not able to book your own design consultation with our experts, here are a number of recommended tips and tricks from our Delcor specialists on how best to choose a quality sofa.
1. Order sofa swatches
Here at Delcor, we’re often asked ‘what is the best material for a sofa?’ and whilst we have a number of favourable options, it ultimately depends on clients' individual preferences. For example, if you’re a growing family looking for a reliable, comfortable sofa that will withstand messy fingerprints and frequent spills, then an easy-to-clean, wipe away material is recommended. Or, if you envision your sofa as a standalone accessory to complement your interiors, that won’t have to withstand frequent use, then we have a number of opulent fabrics that require more maintenance.
At Delcor we offer clients the chance to request up to 5 free sofa fabric samples from 80 of our bespoke upholstery fabrics. From velvet to chenille, to plain and weft - our easy fabric filtering system helps clients define their exact sample preferences and is completely free of cost, to help you make the right fabric decision before you choose a sofa.
We know all too well that online swatches are very limiting in the sense that you’re unable to envision what colourways or textures look like under different lighting conditions, which is why we encourage our clients to take advantage of our free fabric samples. Live with them, test them in artificial and natural light, see how they hold up against spills or even let pets have a scratch at the samples, these small but efficient tests will give you a rough idea of which fabrics are right for your family.
Whether you opt for a hard-wearing leather, or a matt-finish velvet, we offer our clients the ability to apply any fabric preferences to each of our bespoke sofa designs. As we build everything in our own Northumberland mill, our specialists are able to craft a unique sofa to clients exact preferences, right down to specific fabrics, sizes and colourways.
2. Longevity
Longevity often comes hand in hand with budget preferences and, while a cheaper sofa may appear more affordable on the surface, the deteriorating quality of the sofa over time reveals that the opposite is often true. Whilst it may be tempting to purchase a more affordable sofa, chances are that cheap sofas will end up becoming more expensive in the long run, as frequent upholstery requirements or full replacements can become costly. We recommend that each of our clients who are looking to purchase a new sofa consider buying from a reputable supplier that can offer a solid sofa frame. Spending as much as your budget allows on a solid, hardwood frame will see you through many years of lounging, as hardwood frames can withstand a lot more usage over metal alternatives.
When it comes to settling on a sofa, it also pays to be mindful of the manufacturer’s sofa guarantee. This gives clients the confidence to invest in a sofa that will confidently last a number of years - with reassurance that, if anything goes wrong, the sofa guarantee will offer a replacement. Here at Delcor, the timber we use for our bespoke sofa designs is hand-selected and cut at our own sawmill in Northumberland, so we can confidently guarantee the quality and longevity of our sofa frames. As well as paying close attention to detail, we also proudly wear the Manufacturing Guild Mark of Excellence, an established award given to a select number of Britain’s top furniture manufacturers.
We’ve held this title since 1993, so it’s safe to say we know a thing or two about high-quality furniture. Not convinced yet? Each of our sofas also come with a 50-year frame guarantee*
3. Practicality
Lastly, practicality often goes overlooked - but it’s one of the most important deciding factors that will allow you to make the most of your new sofa in the years to come. Many clients remember to take specific dimensions, but often forget to measure limited access spaces your sofa will have to pass through on delivery. If access is limited (common access issues range from low ceilings or narrow doorways) then we would recommend opting for a low-back style of sofa, removable leg options or a settee that can be cleverly delivered in sections.
It also pays to be mindful of the overall depth of your sofa, as depth rarely ever changes from smaller to larger sofas and, whilst you may believe your chosen sofa size has the right dimensions for a room, the depth could limit walking space and future interior plans. The good news is that it’s never been easier to customise a sofa (size, depth and all) to make it really work for you and your space at Delcor.
Since all of our custom sofas are made in-house by our team of talented craftsmen, our clients have the ability to customise every aspect of their sofa design, from dimensions, to sofa stuffing and more. Using one of our existing sofa designs as a blank canvas, our high-quality sofas are then able to be built to size and customised entirely - right down to feet furniture options.
How to choose the perfect sofa at Delcor
From Loveseats to Chesterfields, Sofa Beds and Oxford’s - whatever style sofa you’re looking for, bring your vision to life at Delcor. With years of experience and a stellar industry reputation, our close-knit team of talented craftsmen work alongside clients to help make your sofa dreams a reality.
Whether you prefer to see our bespoke sofa designs in person by visiting one of our five signature furniture showrooms across the UK, or you chat to us firsthand, either via a free bespoke design consultation or over the phone, no job is too big or small for our technicians, and we’re here to offer impartial guidance and advice every step of the way.
Still looking for sofa inspiration? Take a look at our full luxury sofa collection online at Delcor as an excellent place to get started.
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Will it Fit?
It is important to make sure that your new Delcor furniture will fit into your home. This quick guide will help you to work out if your furniture will fit into your room via doors, hallways and stairs.
If it does not fit, then don’t worry - all of our furniture is custom made and for a nominal charge is able to come apart and be assembled on-site by our qualified delivery team.
Firstly, note down the length, depth and height of your furniture. This information can be found on the product pages of our website.
Front Door
Let's start at the front door. Open the door as wide as possible and measure the distance between the outer edge of the door to the inner edge of your doorframe at its narrowest point.
Compare the width of your doorframe with the height of your item allowing a little wiggle room on either side. This will determine if we can take the item through on its side. If the door width is greater than the height of your item, then it will fit through.
If the width of your front door is too narrow, then our delivery team can try to bring your item through upright. In this case, measure the height of your doorway making sure that it is greater than your item width. Again, check that there is some wiggle room.
If it does not fit give us a call as we can take off the legs or look at alternatives such as taking your furniture apart and assembling it on-site.
Hallways
We need to make sure your furniture can get into the room that you’d like it to sit in. Measure the width of any areas that the item must pass through, such as hallways and internal doors at their narrowest points.
Remember to take note of possible obstructions such as radiators, shelving, skirting boards and light fittings. As long as the width at the narrowest point is greater than the height of your item, then your furniture will fit.
Stairs
If your furniture needs to go up any stairs, measure the width of the staircase at its narrowest point. Remember to take any handrails or light fixtures into account. If this distance is wider than the height of your item then it should fit.
If you have a bannister and the furniture needs to be lifted over it, check that the distance between the bannister and the ceiling is greater than the depth of the item. Once at the top of the stairs, make sure there is enough room on the landing for our delivery team to manoeuvre your item into your chosen room.
If you have any questions please give us a call or pop into one of our showrooms, we would be happy to help.
The final part of the Delcor experience is delivery. We understand the importance of and respect that is required when delivering to your home – that’s why we do it ourselves. All our deliveries and installations are carried out by our own trained delivery teams using our own vehicles.
We will call you 7 to 14 days prior to your delivery to discuss the exact dates. At that time, we can talk about an am or pm delivery. You can change your delivery slot at any time but this may affect when the next delivery slot will be available.
On the day we will give you a call one hour before your delivery is due. We will remove and packaging and ensure the room is left just as we found it. Please ensure that the room is ready and the space for your new piece of furniture is ready. Unfortunately, we cannot remove any old furniture due to health and safety.
POR - Price on request, please contact Head Office on 0191 237 1303.
| Postcode | Cost | Postcode | Cost | Postcode | Cost |
| AB | £200 | GY | POR | PH | £150 |
| AL | £49 | HA | £49 | PL | £140 |
| B | £49 | HD | £49 | PO | £90 |
| BA | £100 | HG | £49 | PR | £49 |
| BB | £49 | HP | £49 | RG | £49 |
| BD | £49 | HR | £89 | RH | £59 |
| BH | £100 | HS | POR | RM | £49 |
| BL | £49 | HU | £49 | S | £49 |
| BN | £79 | HX | £49 | SA | £120 |
| BR | £49 | IG | £49 | SE | £49 |
| BS | £100 | IM | POR | SG | £49 |
| BT | POR | IP | £79 | SK | £49 |
| CA | £79 | IV | £500 | SL | £49 |
| CB | £49 | JE | POR | SM | £49 |
| CF | £89 | KA | £89 | SN | £100 |
| CH | £79 | KT | £49 | SO | £90 |
| CM | £49 | KW | £500 | SP | £100 |
| CO | £49 | KY | £100 | SR | £49 |
| CR | £49 | L | £49 | SS | £49 |
| CT | £79 | LA | £49 | ST | £49 |
| CV | £49 | LD | £120 | SW | £49 |
| CW | £49 | LE | £49 | SY | £100 |
| DA | £49 | LL | £89 | TA | £110 |
| DD | £130 | LN | £49 | TD | £75 |
| DE | £49 | LS | £49 | TF | £100 |
| DG | £79 | LU | £49 | TN | £79 |
| DH | £49 | M | £49 | TQ | £140 |
| DL | £49 | ME | £59 | TR | £500 |
| DN | £59 | MK | £49 | TS | £49 |
| DT | £110 | ML | £89 | TW | £49 |
| DY | £59 | N | £49 | UB | £49 |
| E | £49 | NE | £49 | W | £49 |
| EC | £49 | NG | £49 | WA | £49 |
| EH | £79 | NN | £49 | WC | £49 |
| EN | £49 | NP | £89 | WD | £49 |
| EX | £125 | NR | £79 | WF | £49 |
| FK | £120 | NW | £49 | WN | £49 |
| FY | £59 | OL | £49 | WR | £85 |
| G | £89 | OX | £49 | WS | £49 |
| GL | £100 | PA | £125 | WV | £100 |
| GU | £49 | PE | £49 | YO | £49 |
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