How much should I spend on my first sofa?

With so many people working from home now, having a great sofa is more important than ever. When buying your first sofa, it might be difficult to know just how much you might need to spend to find that perfect couch. Read more to find out just how much you should spend on your first sofa.

What is the Perfect Sofa?

The perfect sofa looks different to everyone. For some, it's a large sectional that can fit their entire family. For others, it’s a chic and trendy high-end couch. While the right couch differs for everyone, in the end, it all comes down to the same thing: the perfect sofa needs to be comfortable, be your style, fit in the room it’s in, last quite a few years, and be in your budget.

Usually finding the perfect sofa requires some sort of research, whether that means shopping online or going into your preferred furniture store and looking around to see what you like and dislike. There are different materials, patterns, colors, and even the plushness to think about.

Before buying a sofa, it is important to set your own budget on what you are willing to spend on a couch. Let’s go over some questions to ask yourself before settling on a couch:

Three Questions to Ask Before Buying a Couch

1) How Much Am I Willing to Spend?

This is probably the most important question of the bunch. This will require some research into looking at couches and seeing what you like and looking at the prices. When looking at couch prices keep this in mind -

• $0 - $1,000 is generally considered to be inexpensive
• $1,000 - $2,000 is generally considered to be a mid-priced couch
• $2,000 and up is generally considered to be expensive

Again, this is just something to keep in mind when looking at sofas. Your budget is up to you, just do the research first to see what you realistically want to spend.

2) Do You Have Pets or Kids?

While we adore our babies, they can definitely be blamed for a lot of the wear and tear on our furniture. When you are looking into couches, make sure you factor in your babies and fur-babies into your decision. You can either:

• Go with a heavy-duty couch - Going with a higher-quality couch means you don’t have to stress when your couch gets worn down faster. You can get a stain-resistant couch (or slipcover), leather, or another material that won’t rip or show its age.
• Don’t worry about it - Alternatively, you can just not worry about it and accept that your babies do what they do. Ultimately you will end up replacing the couch anyway, so you can opt for a budget-friendly one.

Because you know what your children and pets are capable of, it is best to factor them into the decision of what couch to get and how much to spend.

3) How Often Do You Move?

Couches are a pain in the butt to move. They’re heavy, bulky, and overall big, so moving them is quite difficult. If you have a couch that perfectly fits into your home now, well, it may not fit so well into your next home. If you spend a lot of money on a high-end sofa but move a lot, that money might have ended up wasted. Look at these scenarios when thinking about moving:

• I tend to move quite a bit - If you only plan to live where you currently are for a year or two, you might just want to go with an inexpensive couch. This way you don’t have to move it to a new house and can skip all the drama moving it.
• I’m staying here for a few years – If you plan on staying where you are currently living for maybe five years or so you might want to go with a slightly higher quality sofa. Again, you can get five or so years out of it but leave it behind and skip the drama of moving something so big and bulky when you're done.
• I’m staying here – If you are settled in your current home and don’t plan on moving, then getting a high-end couch makes sense. That way you can have something that will last a long time, and have somewhere comfortable to chill after a long day at work.

The Verdict?

Ultimately, what you decide how much you want to spend on a couch is up to you. But take into consideration the factors above when considering how much to spend on your first couch. You don’t want to overkill it and spend $5,000 and end up moving the next day, so be smart about what you are doing and spending.