How to choose a sofa: size, shape, function and seats for one

A sofa is where a family comes together at the end of the day, so it is worth choosing with care. Son&Bear, a Singapore furniture brand, makes sofas that adapt to the way people live, in the size, function and fabric you choose. This guide takes the decisions in the order that makes them easiest: size, shape, function, headrest and fabric, then a seat for one.

Where should you start?

Start with how your family uses the living room: who sits together in the evening, whether guests stay over, and how much space you have in your HDB flat or condominium. A family that gathers every evening for a film may want a sofa that reclines, a home that often has someone to stay may want one that becomes a bed, and a room with a free corner may suit an L-shape.

Then measure, before you fall for a design. Note the wall the sofa will stand against, the walkway in front of it, and every lift, door and corridor on the way in. Our guide to measuring for a sofa and a dining table explains what to measure and how much room an extended or reclining sofa needs.

How long should your sofa be?

Son&Bear sofas come as straight sofas from 140 to 340 cm long, single seats 120 or 130 cm wide, L-shapes and modular sets. Each product page lists the sizes that model comes in; if a figure you need is not there, ask us. Remember that a sofa that extends or reclines also needs clear floor in front of it. On our sofas page, the Find my sofa quiz and the Fits my home size filter help you narrow the range.

Should you choose an L-shaped or a modular sofa?

An L-shaped sofa makes better use of a corner and seats the family together. On the Klara L-Shaped Sofa, the corner is a full seat and either side is long enough to lie down on. The Anderson L-Shape and Marcel L-Shape each come in four sizes. Before you settle on an L-shape, check that the corner is clear of doors and windows, and that there is still a comfortable path past the longer side.

A modular sofa lets you choose the length and layout that suit your room. The Milo comes as single, double, triple and corner modules plus an ottoman, and the compact Leia is made in lengths from 2.2 to 4.2 m. A modular sofa suits a wall of an awkward length.

What do Fixed, extendable, recliner and hybrid mean?

Many Son&Bear designs come in more than one function, so you choose how the same sofa behaves. There are five to know:

• Fixed is the plain version: the sofa does not extend or recline.
• Manual Extendable: pull the seat forward by hand and it becomes a lounger, or a bed for a guest who stays, with no motor involved.
• Electric Extendable: at the touch of a button the seat slides forward into a daybed or a guest bed, and closes again just as easily.
• Electric Recliner: one press tips the backrest back and raises the footrest. Every Son&Bear recliner is electric.
• Hybrid: the FuturaFlex and the Flowerdale change shape by rearranging their pieces, a sofa during the day and a lounger or a bed at night.

Choose by how you like to rest and how often someone stays over. If the family likes to put its feet up, look at a recliner; if guests come now and then, an extendable gives them a proper place to sleep without giving a room over to it. Our guide to electric or manual extendable sofas compares the two ways of opening, and our guide to how a smart sofa works covers the Smart Sofa option, offered on selected electric sofas, with voice control and a USB charging port. To browse by function, see our extendable sofas and sofa beds, electric sofas and recliner sofas.

Do you want an adjustable headrest?

A headrest you can set to your own angle makes reading, a film or a rest at the end of the day more comfortable. On the Klara, Anderson, Andrea, Bellingham, Casillas, Devon, Mason, Dahlia and Marcel, adjustable headrests are standard on every version, whether Fixed, extendable or reclining, and on their L-shapes and singles too. You tilt each one by hand, and it stays at the angle you choose. A sofa's product page shows whether it has them.

Which fabric should you choose?

Choose for the people who will use the sofa, and then for the look. Our sofas come in a choice of fabrics, from bouclé and Premium Suede to the three Eco-Series leathers, and the choice varies from model to model, so check the product page or ask us; on the Dahlia, for example, the Eco-Series comes with the Electric Recliner version. Where a dog, a cat or small children share the sofa, start with the Eco-Series: Eco-Lux, Eco-Tex and Eco-Prime. They resist scratches and water, everyday spills come off with a damp cloth, and they are the materials we call pet-friendly. Our sofa fabric guide compares how each fabric feels, wears and cleans, and our guide to pet-friendly sofa materials explains the Eco-Series in more depth.

Should you add a lounge chair or a single seat?

A lounge chair gives one person a seat of their own: somewhere to read, take a call or have a coffee while the family shares the sofa. Our lounge chairs page brings together five single seats:

• The Klara Single and the Anderson Single are our sofas sized for one, 120 or 130 cm wide, both with an adjustable headrest on every version. The Klara Single also comes as an electric recliner, and the Anderson Single with a seat that extends into a lounger.
• The Milo Single is one module of the Milo Modular Sofa, offered as a chair on its own.
• The Chelsea is a lounge chair built for the long sit, with deep, enveloping cushioning.
• The Verano is an armchair built on a solid wood frame: its arms fall away in one continuous line into the legs, and the cushions rest inside the frame.

The Klara Single and the Chelsea come in seven fabrics, and the Anderson Single, the Milo Single and the Verano in eight, all of them drawn from our sofa range, the Eco-Series leathers included. A single seat is covered as a sofa is: three years for the frame structure and for the mechanism of a version that moves, and one year for soft furnishings; our warranty page sets out the full terms. In an HDB flat or condominium, check your doorways and lift before you decide, as you would for a sofa.

See it in person

A sofa is easier to choose once you have sat on it, tried how it opens or reclines and felt the fabric. Our Ubi showroom at 8 Ubi Road 2, Zervex #01-07/08 is open from 11am to 8pm daily, with parking right outside the door and Tai Seng, Ubi and MacPherson as the nearest MRT stations. Come in whenever we are open, with no appointment, and bring your pet along if you like; you will find every fabric on the swatch wall. Bring the measurements you took, or a few photos of the room, and talk the size, shape and function through with our team. If there is a particular sofa or lounge chair you want to sit on, send us a message before you set off to check it is on the floor.