A sofa doesn’t always need to be the centerpiece of the living room. If you don’t have a ton of space or you’re looking to spruce up your living space, replacing a traditional sofa with more petite furniture can work wonders. Check out the ideas and create a cozy space!
1. A versatile daybed
A timeless and minimalist daybed is a furniture piece that is a half-bed, half-sofa combo. Designed by the Toronto-based MSDS Studio, the Level daybed serves as a spot for lounging during the day as well as a place for napping in the afternoon but also works as a guest bed when needed. Due to its sleek, open structure, the daybed can also be placed in the middle of the room to divide the space.
• Level daybed by Woud >
• All daybeds >
2. Save space with armchair and pouf
The smaller living room gets much-needed extra space when choosing an armchair instead of a bulky sofa. The armchair invites you to relax either as such, in a group of two chairs or combined with a pouf or an ottoman. The Little Petra lounge chair and pouf make an impressive but compact-sized couple that delights with soft sheepskin upholstery and a Danish funkis style.
• Little Petra lounge chair and pouf by &Tradition >
• All armchairs & lounge chairs >
3. A playful bean bag
A bean bag is a cozy favorite of the interior that guarantees a relaxed stay. Fatboy’s Original Slim Pop bean bag is part of a cheerful Pop of Color collection, whose energizing patterns have been created in collaboration with designer Carole Baijings. The bean bag shapes from a soft mattress of movie nights to a more upright armchair of a reading corner and it is effortless to move from place to place.
• Original Slim Pop bean bag by Fatboy >
• All bean bag chairs >
4. Flexible modules
What if you could design just the kind of lounge spot you want? With the modular parts of the Hem’s Palo series, you can customize the seat to suit your living room by adding and changing parts. As your apartment change, pieces can be added to create a larger sofa. Even more space is saved when you complement the lounge chair with a fun side table that takes care of remote control or a steaming cup of coffee, for example.
• Palo single seater sofa by Hem >
• All armchairs & lounge chairs >
5. Rocking eye-catchers
The most comfortable places in the living room are by no means only plush armchairs and sofa groups! Designed by Charles and Ray Eames, the Eames rocking chairs bring a fresh and joyful breeze to the room and tempt you to read, watch TV or enjoy good conversations. The slender and lightweight rocking chair is well suited for various styles and spaces.
• Eames RAR rocking chair by Vitra >
• All rocking chairs >
6. Two-seater sofa bed
A compact living room requires furniture with the right dimensions and excellent functionality. If you are longing for a real sofa, you might want to favor an option that adapts to a small space to avoid a full appearance. The Artek 549 is an elegant two-seater sofa featuring a pull-out bed mechanism for two people. The sofa bed is a clever, space-saving solution that gives the room multiple purposes.
• Sofa bed 549 by Artek >
• All sofas >
7. The happy poufs
Poufs are excellent partners for armchairs but also act as comfy seats as such. HAY's Pouf carries the role of more than one piece of furniture: it is suitable as a footstool, an additional seat for surprise guests, or a landing space for the morning newspaper. The casual and cheerful poufs charm in several delicious colors and are easy to stack out of the way when you need more floor space.
• Pouf by HAY >
• All poufs and ottomans >
8. Turn the bed into a sofa
When there is no room for both a couch and a bed, no worries! Any bed transforms into a sofa during the day by arranging beautiful decorative pillows as a backrest. Ferm Living’s Kona is a charming bed with an elegant, simple design reminiscent of Japanese aesthetics. The oak veneer bed frame is also easy to move, which pleases on cleaning days. Ferm Living's cushions, casually placed on top, adorn the bed ready to receive guests.
• Kona bed by Ferm Living >
• All beds >
See also:
• All furniture at Finnish Design Shop >
• 7 space-saving products for a small living room >
Text: Sarianna Määttänen Images: Manufacturers