I prefer chairs because they are more versatile and fit in more places.

In a long-ago house, I had two loveseats and we used them all the time. They were my main LR seating. But for present day usage, a loveseat wouldn't be nearly as useful as a nice, comfortable chair, because they don't get used much by two, and a chair is so much easier to place, move into other arrangements, or even into another room if needed. Right now, the antique rocker that spent years in my LR is in my DR, the antique bergere chair that I bought for a bedroom is in my LR, and the recliner that got retired when I bought a cushy leather recliner for DH, sits in my DD's study, where she uses it as her get-away reading chair. A loveseat would cramp my style right now.

Red

Love them. We have two facing each other by the fireplace, as well as two bergere chairs that share an ottoman. People sit on them all the time, two at a time.

IMO loveseats are good for tighter spaces where a sofa is too large, but a chair doesn't provide enough room. We have one in our study and its the perfect spot for my two preschoolers to sit and read/play, and I can also get on there with them and the three of us can read there cozily without being too smushed.

We had the loveseat originally in our living room, but it wasn't as useful there because we had a sofa. So I opted to move it and add comfy chairs instead.

If I had one it would be two for using space as Wodka mentioned. I think it really depends upon how much area you have and how the room is being used. For myself if a choice between a love seat or chair(s), I'd go with a couple of chairs. Which is a personal take based on my room.

Luv 'em. Prefer to couches, which take up too much room in our family room, and prefer to chairs which tend to isolate the individual.

Plus, our dog thinks she is a person.....only shorter and with 4 legs. So, she likes to sit with someone and not on the floor. We have a comfy chair and a half that she like to sit on by herself or with someone. Not too sure how that would work with a single chair.

Dan

Love seats come in a range of sizes. Ours is about 60" and is very roomy for two. There are also apartment sized sofas, starting at about 72" or 75". These also vary in size up to what I'd consider a typical sofa width. But they're good to use where space doesn't allow for a wider sofa.

I think that I am done with love seats too!! I am also done buying "sets" and would prefer a couch and two chairs.

I don't have room for a sofa, so I'm looking at getting either a love seat and over sized chair or two love seats. I haven't found the style I'm looking for, so that may help me on my decision when I finally find "it".

I picked up a loveseat to go with my sofa in th library. The scale of the sofa is such that without getting two HUGE chairs, the room would feel unbalanced. With the loveseat (which is only a foot and a half smaller than the sofa) the room feels correctly proportioned. Two chairs would be just akward :)

I would answer the "love em hate em" question by saying it depeneds on the space. Frankly though you rarely get more than two guests sitting on the sofa, so it's better to have a smaller sofa (love seat) where you'll still get only two, and leave some room for extra seating that a sofa might not give you.

We have two in our living room right now, fit much better into the space than a sofa would. We always have at least 2 on them, frequently 3 when my 11 year old disabled son comes and climbs up with mom and dad (he functions at about a 15 mo. level and still thinks he's a lap baby, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love to cuddle up with him, LOL). The only thing I don't love about them is if I want to lie down and read, my feet have to be propped up whether I want them to or not.

i have a loveseat and chair/ottoman in my small den. the size works out fine. what i dislike is how nearly every furniture store wants to sell you the sofa/loveseat combo. that looks a little tired to me. in my living room i have a sofa, 2 chairs, and a chaise. works better for us!

If space is limited (choice of either loveseat or one chair, not enough room for two chairs without crowding) and you need to maximize the number of people you can seat in that room, I'd definitely go with the loveseat. I've never had a problem with getting two people to sit on a loveseat, but unless someone sits on the arms (bad!) or the people involved are very small you can't get more than one person in a typical chair. It's also more comfortable for one person to spread out with her feet up on a loveseat. ;-) We bought a loveseat (really a settee) for our LR because there was only room with the couch for either a small loveseat and a single chair. Since the room is small enough that only two other chairs could fit into it, we went for maximum seating capacity. :-) One full-length couch IS mandatory in our household for napping, although since DH is only 5'9" we didn't need one of the monster-long ones, thank heavens. (We don't have a formal LR.) I do really dislike having only loveseats and no couch though, unless it's a formal space, because as Ronniroo says you can't really lie down (even 5'2" me finds it a bit crowded).

I have never had a problem with getting three people on a couch though (in my main social group, sometimes people even will argue over who gets the middle spot if particularly cuddleworthy people are on the ends! LOL). I wonder why so many people have that problem. I mean, if you're sprawling with your feet up on the couch, or if you have enough seating where a third person doesn't need to sit on the couch, that's something else entirely. I don't often see three people on a couch with another empty seating item right next to it, unless the grouping is spaced so widely that people have to speak overly loudly to be heard, they're plotting something ;-) or they just want to be cuddly.

Loveseat and couch do NOT have to be a matched set!!!!! I'm in the "sets are boring" camp myself (across the lake from the matchy-matchies ;-)) and there is no reason whatsoever that you can't have two different pieces as long as there is some cohesion between the two. Just think of it like a big chair you were coordinating with the couch if that makes it easier for you.