Rather than firing out some random guidance on buying a sofa, our focus is purely on the cushions today.
How, though, can you make sure you get the right seat depth for your needs?
Seat depth is not the only salient factor. When you are looking for the best set-up for your particular needs, you should also think about the filling
1. What Is Seat Depth?
The first thing to clear up is what seat depth actually refers to.
For the purposes of a deep seat couch, what we are talking about is the inside seat depth. When you look at listings and specs for sofas, the overall width from back to front is obviously larger and not what we are lasering in on today.
You measure the depth of cushions from the front of the seat tight up to the back cushion. The vast majority of sofas fall somewhere between 21 and 24 inches on this count. We have handily listed out the depth front and center on each of the models we tested so you can see at a glance which makes the most sense for you.
There’s no such thing as the right depth, only a case of what’s the right depth of cushion for you.
What influences this decision, though?
Well, it is all about the way you like to sit.
If you are a fan of sitting upright, you should look for a deep-seat sofa at the lower end of this depth range. Choose one with cushions too deep and you will end up struggling to touch your feet on the ground, especially if you are not particularly tall.
For anyone who prefers a more casual, laid-back position, shoot for a depth at the upper end of the range. 23 inches and upward is ideal. Since you won’t need to worry about the same positioning, you can go as deep as you fancy rendering any of the couches we tested a suitable choice.
So what else is important when you are looking for deep-seated furniture?
2. Don’t Think About Seat Depth in Isolation
It is crucial to consider your furniture as part of the overall set-up of your room. After all, it is senseless to angle for a huge and sprawling sofa with the deepest cushions you can find if you live in a tiny apartment.
Deep sofas in general don’t work well in smaller spaces. The design looks out of place and the overall dimensions dominate and stifle a compact room.
Another factor to take into account if you are looking for a sofa bed with super-deep cushions is balance. The deeper you go, the more you should look to compensate for this with a lower-slung couch or one featuring visible legs for contrast. Low arms are another way to offset deep cushions.
So, think about your sofa as one component of the room rather than simply looking at pictures for the one you think looks best. Time spent at this stage could save you a lot of headaches further down the track.
And don’t forget, depth is not the only relevant element here…
3. Remember That Height Counts, Too
If you or anyone in your family has a disability or problems with mobility in general, you should think about how they will find climbing up out of lower and deeper seats.
When seats are set lower than 18 inches, especially if the cushions are deeper, getting up easily can be tough if you are less than mobile.
Combat this by considering not just the depth but also the height and you will keep everyone happy.
4. How About The Filling?
When you are doubling down on the support and comfort of a sofa, the way the cushions are filled comes fully to the fore.
We will briefly touch on 4 of the most common fillings used today:
- 100% Down
- Down-Wrapped
- Innerspring
- Fiber-Wrapped
These cushions are similar in principle to a bed cushion and come with no core in the middle.
The key selling point of this type of cushion is the incredibly soft feeling.
In return for ramping up the comfort, you will need to spend plenty of time primping and preening this style of 100% down cushion. They lose shape easily and demand a lot of attention.
Another notable drawback of 100% down cushions concerns the lack of core. Over time, you might get that familiar and incredibly uncomfortable feeling as the springs make themselves felt in the small of your back.
Down-Wrapped
Much like 100% down cushions, down-wrapped variants are also extremely soft but they have a foam core for a little extra support.
You won’t need to spend quite so much time ensuring they are in perfect shape but you might still need to rotate them so they stay in shape for the long haul.
Innerspring
These cushions are the prizewinners for support. The inner-spring core is just like you would find in a mattress and it is wrapped in either down or foam so you don’t dip out on the comfort front.
If you want a no-nonsense set of cushions that hold their shape over the course of time, it has got to be innerspring.
Fiber-Wrapped
These cushions feature a foam core wrapped in polyester.
In many ways this is the sweet spot between comfort and support with very little maintenance required and the capacity to hold their shape a treat.
Conclusion
If you pay close attention to the factors outlined above and use our curated list of deep-seat sofas as a guide, you should have no problem at all getting a great addition to your living room.
By taking the size of your room and the filling of the cushions into account alongside pure depth, you should be able to find the optimum combination of comfort and support.
If you do invest in one of these couches, be sure to get in touch and let us know what you think. We do our best to help out and love to hear back from our readers when they have made a successful purchase.
As always, we are hard into our next round of testing so come back early next week to see what we have got in store for you!
