I still would have gotten a sectional but I would have gotten something a little bit larger....I got a smaller scaled sectional because I didn't want it to overpower the room but I think I could have gotten away with something a little larger.

I love the corner piece. I sit in it with my feet up (like you would sit in a chaise) when I watch TV. Very comfy.

The one thing you are correct about is furniture arrangement. My sectional is pretty much stuck where it is.

My sister-in-law has a sectional where each seat can move so she is pretty much free to change her arrangement however she likes BUT the seats are always coming loose from eachother if you sit down to close to where two seats meet (but I think that could be fixed if she used those non-slip rubber pieces on the bottom of the legs).

In my family room upstairs I have 2 pieces - an oversized couch and an oversized chair - in that space a sectional won't work because of the layout of the space.

We had a large sectional that consisted of 6 pieces with a corner unit and a chaise on one - it was big. We could only place it one way in our family room due to the half wall, door opening, window and fireplace. I do miss the sectional only in terms of stretching our comfortably with my DH since there was so much room and watching a good movie.

Would I buy one again? Possibly a smaller one as long as I knew I had more than one option for placement in a larger room than what I have now. I would not, however, buy a chaise for one end since it jets out and really limits your arrangement options. A negative was that being the size it was, it was a pain and took a lot of time to pull out and clean/vacuum behind and between pieces (crap does fall down there).

We now have a regular 3-seater sofa, a modern recliner, and 2 cool armless chairs in the room where the recliner used to be.

I'd never buy another sectional...
They're huge, hulking pieces that completely take over a room -- no way around it. Matching sofas and loveseats can be split apart, even to different rooms if needed.

I love our sectional but I think it's because of the brand/style we bought.

It's actually a sofa, a loveseat and a "wedge". So we can have it sofa/wedge/loveseat, loveseat/wedge/sofa or we can separate them and put the wedge in storage and use each independently. Both the loveseat and the sofa have arms on each end so we didn't have to choose anything left or right.

And like Nik211 said above, we love the "wedge" in the middle and "fight each other" to sit on it like a chaise!

Everyone seems to fight for that corner spot. DD bought an inexpensive one and it feels it. DS's was from Potterybarn with the extended part and it was OK. No one sat on that part. I would spend my money on an absolutely top brand name like Sheraton.

Small L shaped sectional yes, large U shaped one with a chaise no way, never again. What a waste. It's too big, it's very limiting on the way you can arrange it, the chaise is not at all comfortable to sit in or easy to get out of.

Just thought I would chime in too!
We had the large sectional growing up that had individual pieces- as mentioned they separated a lot, however you did have more options on how to arrange the pieces. My mother never cared for it.

My husband wanted a sectional, so we compromised with a smaller L-shaped one. We have made 2 moves with it and it has worked in the rooms we had. We now have a second LR, instead of a sectional I opted for a sofa with an oversize ottoman. We like to pull the ottoman up to the sofa to form an L-shaped sectional. We have the flexibility with this to move it however we like.

I forgot to mention to consider using an ottoman instead of buying a sectional with the chaise. My parent's had an ottoman and it was much more functional.

Our old sectional was just 'taken' last night by our son to use in his new home. He REALLY liked that thing.

We have a new sectional ordered that is due to be delivered next week.

For our family room, a sectional is the best option!

I love my sectional that I bought 15 years ago. After living with a sofa and loveseat for many years, I was very dissatisfied with how they worked for seating...3 people in a row on a sofa who can't see each other to talk...the loveseat always seemed to just end up with one person on it. I bought a 3 piece Thomasville with a wedge and love it. It looks brand new; the cushions do not move around - they never need adjusting. Mine doesn't have the skirt, but is this model. I love that it seems like a curved piece, that it seats 6 or 7 for a party and everyone can see and talk to everyone else. Two people can stretch out, either heads or feet on the wedge.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wedge sectional

We love our leather sectional. It looks exactly like the one olychick posted a link to, except it's dark brown leather with nailhead trim on the front of the arms and has no skirt. The center piece is very comfortable and in fact is the only place you can sleep comfortably. I will replace it with another similar sectional when it wears out, which is looking like never at this point. Leather is very durable, even with a cat.

I've always disliked sectionals because of their mass and design limitations. Admittedly, part of my dislike is just a knee-jerk reaction to some of the ugly 70/80's sectionals I've seen in my life. I've always done a sofa and chair/chairs.

When furnishing this new house, however, we had to take into consideration that we now have two kids, and we wanted the family room to be a true family room. DH is 6'3", and he really, really wanted a sectional so that could sprawl on the couch and watch TV, read, etc. I have to admit, I LOVE having a sectional. We can all pile onto the couch for family movie nights, etc. If I didn't have kids, I'd probably wouldn't do it again, but having kids, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We are a bunch of "sprawlers," LOL.

We have a gigantic "sofa-loveseat" combo that are just two connected pieces. As you can see, I've given up on aesthetics for the family room, LOL, but functionally I love it.

No sectional for me. I find sofas, chairs, settees, stools more flexible and better for conversation.
Placement of a sectional essentially impedes flow in a room.

I think it totally depends on the room, and while we literally have only had our for a week, YES, I love it! We have a pretty decent sized family room (19.5'x18), and our sectional is HUGE and fits great. We are pretty informal people and wanted something comfortable. Ours has 2 love seats with recliners on each, a wedge, and a armless chair. We just love it, and I love how it fills our room!

We have a sectional in the family room. It has two two cushion sides and a wedge, like olychick's. The pieces lock together, and the locking mechanism can be hidden. When we've had a crowd, the sectional can seat 7 or 8 people comfortably, and because the pieces come apart, it's easy to rearrange. I've been very happy with it.

To answer your question, yes, I actually did! I have two sectionals. One with a wedge, two sofas and one with a corner, two sofas. The wedge is my personal favorite spot! The corner isn't too bad either, but I do like the wedge better! When it came time to buy the second sectional, I thought about a chaise, but was talked out of it by the sales person because it is wasted space.

LOVE having a sectional for tv viewing. We like to cuddle up with popcorn and watch movies together. I love Momtoreese's sectional. Can you share where you got it? Mine is dark brown and has reclining ends. If I could do it again, I would not get the reclining ends. For conversation, I prefer a sofa and chairs.

We have a huge leather sectional with a chaise in our family room, and we love it :)

The room is very casual used primarily for tv watching or video game playing. In addition, the sectional has a hideabed in the middle section for overnight guests, and dd can easily fit herself and three friends on it at a sleepover.

I don't think this sectional would be suitable for "entertaining", but for the sprawling teenagers that are often on ours, it is perfect. And we all fight over the chaise for movie watching!

Our sectional:

Carrie

Approx. 30+ years ago we purchased two corner pieces and four armless chairs from Ethan Allen. We moved around a lot so we could get whatever configuration we needed wherever we were. Sometimes it would work as a sectional, sometimes a sofa and armless loveseat. Right now we have it has a sectional w/one armless chair. Those pieces have been reupholstered about three times, and are still comfortable. I imagine the legs could be clamped in some fashion if the pieces moved around too much but we never had to do that. We've certainly gotten our $$$'s worth from that purchase! They are not oversized, just "normal" so have served us well in every house we ever lived in.

(I'm in CO, too, Christy:))

We just recently got a sectional to replace a couch and a loveseat. I do think it depends a lot on your room and your own need to re-arrange.

My living area only allowed me to put the couch and loveseat in an "L" shape AND only on two walls due to traffic flow and outlets, so for us I gained seating by getting a sectional.

I am a analytical nit-picker when it comes to new furniture investments, and there is a lot to consider with sectionals. Height, width, chaise, wedges, recliners, and ottomans all come into play. It is a big piece of furniture that makes a statement. It has to be comfortable, attractive, and functional. Other considerations were fabric, (size-wise there is a lot of fabric that adds to your future decorating choices down the road) leg length (do you want to have your sectional up off the floor or sitting on the floor?) and how much room do you want to allow for occasional tables etc. ?

I love my sectional. I did not get a chaise and I don't regret it, I think visually, over time it would have annoyed me. I upgraded for a wedge in the corner and am glad about the comfort and the seating it provides. I did get recliners on each end for my guys, and will admit they are quite comfy and don't scream recliner.

Style-wise... comfy won out over my traditional tastes, but I am enjoying the casual moderness it brings to my living area. The fact that the whole family can stretch out and hang together is so worth it.

~IF~I EVER went back to separate pieces again, I would consider two couches or two love seats. I think they would be much easier to work with, and would allow more balance and choices to decorate around. Of course this is only based on my room and my tastes.

I used to be SO anti-sectional. I had this stigma that there was something so "space efficient" (in a bad way) and uber-modern about it. But let me tell you, it solved our issues with having a competing fireplace and television in that room, so now we can enjoy both. And actually, the corner is the best seat in the house, especially when you can curl up in it and stretch your legs out on one of the "l" sides. We seat 6-7 people easily on it, then we pull in two chairs opposite it for even more seating. Our sectional is the coziest and most efficient thing ever.

Before:

After (we are putting in a wall unit:

i love our sectional...love having the flexibility of being in corner and sprawling out to either the left or right! think the chaise option can work only in certain settings....ie:basement where traffic flow/entertaining isn't as much a concern.

I've never had one. My memories of the ones my friends' families had would prevent me from ever wanting one. Awkward seating to my mind. But I rarely even sit on our sofa. I like chairs. I'm not a sprawler though. I like to sit up straight. When I was looking at mission style seating I said, jokingly, to the salesperson "Well, it's not a Stickley." He said, "Stickley's are too upright." Not for me. lol

Like redroze, we have competing focal points in our (very modest) living room. After years of being another"anti-sectional" person, the light bulb finally went off and it was like an epiphany. We've had our sectional for a year and we love, love, love it. And the corner seat is the best! It really utilizes the room and gives us the most optimal seating. I built a large coffee table ottoman, which gives us extra seating when necessary.

I am always outside of the box...I have 6 contemporary recliners in my family room as I didn't want a sectional. Guests love sitting in them.

carriem, that is one heck of a hockey shrine you've got going on down there-is that a Messier Oilers jersey? I'm from SK so obviously know that Edmonton is the City of Champions ;-) plus I see Gordie Howe and I am from the same area as him. Oh yeah, your sectional is okay, too :-)

Yes. We flip-flopped our DR and LR (Bi-Level/Hi-Ranch style house), so a sectional really works best in our space. The style really suits our decor preferences, too. We got one in leather figuring it would hold up better than fabric.

I have to take new pics to post. There's now a throw on the couch that my mom knitted to go with the pillow fronts she had knitted for us (the blue ones).

We plan to get a sectional for our family room at some point as well.

flowerpwer45 - the games room that adjoins the family room is only a continuation of theme. We live just outside of Edmonton, so the Oilers (past and present) figure prominently. The Messier jersey is his favourite - it is autographed by many forner Oilers, including Mess and the Great One. My husband will also proudly tell you that he "bleeds green", so we have a lot of Rider stuff featured as well.

I should have posted some pictures in the "what would your house look like if your dh made the decorating decisions" thread, LOL. He has carte blanche down there, and it shows.

Carrie

I am in the process of looking at sectionals for my livingroom. Mrsmarv I love your sectional, that it sits up off the floor is exactly what I think I want. May I ask the name of the company/store it is from and if you don't mind what the measurements are.

Thank you
MadamG2U

Thanks, Joanie! We got it semi-custom at a local shop. You go and choose your style, configuration, and fabric, and they have it made and delivered in 6 weeks. It was actually less expensive than buying one off the floor from a regular furniture store. They had all sorts of options - you could do sofa-sofa, sofa-loveseat, sofa with wedge, chaises, etc. and literally a thousand different fabrics.

carriem25, OT, but I love all your hockey decor. How did you mount the sticks and puck? I did not grow up around hockey, but our son has gotten really into it, and I'm trying to do a tasteful hockey theme in his room. Thanks!

madamg2u ~ Thanks...we really looked long and hard to find one that fit our specific criteria. It's a Clayton Marcus (style #3814/Theodore) and we purchased it through Lauter's Fine Furniture in Lehigh Valley PA. I had already picked out the company, style and fabric and decided to go through Lauter's because we're in their "local delivery" radius, which for them is 100 miles. We're in Dutchess County NY and because we're in their delivery area the shipping was free. We still can't believe it because two of our "local local" furniture stores wanted between $50 and $175 to deliver...and they were both within a 20 minute drive. Go figure LOL. Lauter's also beat our local prices by about $600, which for us is no chump change. I dealt with Randy at Lauter's, who provided us with exceptional customer service before and after the sale. There were a few things (minor) that needed repair that I discovered after delivery and they happily sent someone up to take care of our needs. The repair man came within the first month. Unbelievable.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lauter's

I've always had 2 sofas and wouldn't have it any other way. We each have plenty of room to sprawl out and watch tv.

I never cared for sectionials, even in the seventy's. Although, they look pretty good in media rooms.

The thing I don't like about sectionals is the lack of armrests which make great headrests for propping a cushion on if you want to get comfy to watch tv - either sitting with your feet up or laying back. With a lot of sectionals only one person can stretch out comfortably with something to rest against. If you're "sitters" then it's not a problem but even when friends bring their kids they all like to stretch out on the sofa. instead of sectionals I think 3 seaters are good, you can push them together like a sectional and at least two people can use an armrest to prop a cushion on, add another two seater and you usually have the same amount of sofa space

I wouldn't buy one for the victorian because we try to stay more victorian in here ;) But for our townhouse in alaska, yes if mine ever died a terrible death we'd replace it. It's a natuzzi so it will likely live longer than us (which is good because we had to remove a window to get it in the family room). Very comfy, love the corner and it works incredibly well for a family.

That said, I'd never put one in a formal space. I don't like their informal aspects. And that is totally a sectional snob talking because I have to admit I've seen several that are rather formal and quite lovely (some here even) so the "no sectional in formal spaces" thing is just my snob talking. Or maybe it's because I like to separate our guests LOL They might start poking and pinching if all on the same sofa :oP

The one thing I think (to me) that makes a sectional not work well is the inability to get up and walk away from it without putting your bumm in someone's face due to a close coffee table. Much like getting out of the window seat on an airplane. It's not fun for anyone involved :oP

So put the sofa table a bit aways so people aren't forced to do this??? Or better yet use a couple of tables (matched) so that people are able to get up and walk straight :o)

I have never liked them, either, but this one solved the room for us...

The rest of the room is lined with library cabinetry and shelves, with the TV between two windows opposite the sectional. The thing behind the short side is the top half of an antique secretary-bookcase that was too tall for the standard ceilings in that house, and too massive for the dining room, so we had a box built to support it, stained it dark, and hid it behind the sectional.
I would have used a corner piece (wedge), had the doorway not been a limiting factor. If you try to put two people in the corner, their knees bang each other. But the long side was long enough for my tall husband to lounge with his feet up, and the short side was long enough for me, so that's where we collapsed with the Sunday papers.

A long way of saying that when they solve a particular problem, they are ideal, but so many of them are hulking monsters that have footprints much to large for the number of fannies they accommodate. So choose with care!

Your sectional doesn't look SO MUCH like a typical one, nice.

Are you a good chest player browynsomom?

I love our sectional because when we watch tv (husband and I) we each are sprawling out watching tv and our heads are both on pillows in the corner. It's cozy because we are still together and not on separate couches. I also like the way it divides the room. I had down added to the seat cushions which made them VERY comfy.

Never buy L shaped sectional sofas because they are too close and people dont want be that close. Instead buy two separate piece sofas.