Ottomans have been increasingly popular in recent years and can now be found in various settings. Regarding the living room, the right ottoman may completely transform the room’s look. Furthermore, your ottoman doesn’t have to be limited to serving as an extra seat or a place to prop up guests’ feet; this multifunctional piece of furniture can also serve as a coffee table. If you’re considering acquiring a new ottoman, here’s how to pick the right one for your sofa.
1. Determine what it will be used for.
Decide if you want an ottoman as a coffee table, sit at the end of a sectional, or fit in front of your sofa before shopping for one. If you want it to serve as a coffee table, choose an ottoman with a somewhat flat and robust surface made of a durable material like leather. In this scenario, you’d be better off going with a model with taller legs to make it easier to reach.
If your ottoman is used as seating, however, it should be the same height as your sofa and made of the same material. Those who want an ottoman as a decorative piece or a place to rest their feet will need one slightly lower than the sofa’s height or the same height as the sofa, regardless of the material used.
2. Create a budget and stick to it.
Setting a budget will significantly reduce your options, which is good in this situation because there are so many designs of ottomans on the market. For example, you may establish a budget of less than $100 or between $500 and $750. This doesn’t have to imply setting a low target price, but it might help you narrow your search for the perfect piece of furniture.
Consider the cost of your sofa while deciding on a shopping budget. A high-end sofa should be combined with an upscale ottoman. In contrast, a reasonably priced sofa can be paired with a cheap or costly ottoman.
3. Consider your room’s and sofa’s décor styles.
When searching for ottomans, many people get caught up in this because it’s not enough to choose a beautiful model. The ottoman should complement the sofa nicely. It doesn’t have to be the same colour or features, but there should be a sense of unity. For example, a stylish rust-red ottoman would be appropriate to maintain the same décor style if you have a contemporary brown couch.
4. Decide if you want the ottoman to blend in with the rest of the room’s decor or stand out.
On the other hand, if you want to add a unique spin to your current decor, you’ll need to branch out. The beautiful thing about using an ottoman to change the look of a space is that it’s both inexpensive and simple to replace when you want to try something different. In the example above, the perfect ottoman for the brown sofa might be a traditional ottoman with a floral print to give the space a more transitional vibe rather than a contemporary one.
5. Consider whether your room could benefit from any additional design elements.
If your living room is predominantly neutral and you’d like to add some colour, a new ottoman is a great way to do it. Consider a living room with a black leather sofa, other black furniture, and a black TV stand. You believe you have used too much of one hue in the space and would like to add something more colourful. Choosing an ottoman in a bright shade of yellow, cobalt blue, or a multicoloured design with black in it could be the solution. Similarly, suppose your room lacks visual or textural appeal. In that case, an ottoman with a fun design or texture that contrasts with your sofa might help to boost the overall look.
On the other hand, if you want to preserve your black colour scheme but your living room seems a little lifeless, use a black ottoman with a faux fur cover. Alternatively, one with tufting or other fascinating elements that contrast with the rest of your furniture would be appropriate.
6. Don’t forget to think about scale.
The scale of your furniture will impact how good the room looks. If your sofa is small, a large ottoman would dwarf it and make it look weird. If you have a massive sectional that takes up a large piece of the space, a large ottoman would be too much; in that instance, a smaller ottoman with a rounder shape would be the perfect contrast.
7. Experiment with different shapes.
Most ottomans are square or rectangular, but don’t be scared to try something different and go for a round one. There are also hemisphere-shaped ottomans helpful in propping up feet and providing additional seats at the end of a sofa. Another advantage of choosing an ottoman with a different shape than your sofa is that it will give excellent contrast. As long as the scale is correct, there’s nothing wrong with picking a non-traditional form while shopping for ottomans to match your sofa.
8. If you have children or pets, be practical.
If you have children or dogs, you’ll want to find a durable and attractive ottoman next to your sofa. For example, if you know you won’t buy that white couch, you’ve liked for years because it’ll get stained with marker, juice, dirt, and other stains from your kids, don’t choose a white ottoman. After all, the same thing could happen to it. Fortunately, there are ottomans with detachable and washable coverings on the market these days, so it may be ideal if you have small children and four-legged pals in the house.
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