I am curious as to why you don't want leather. It last longer. It's more sanitary. No dustmites and a good quality leather does not look like or feel like plastic. I agree that a good upholstery option is slipcovered as the slipcovers are washable. (FYI poster above Taylor King is a good option if you do decide on a fully upholstered option)

My Flexsteel sectional has metal clips so the two pieces hook together. It's on a wood floor but it's against two walls so it's not going anywhere (it also weighs a ton). No recliners; we plan on a cat sometime soon and I once injured a cat by trapping it under the recliner when I closed it up, so I swore I would never own a recliner again. We did choose to use a larger coffee table because we needed the surface space, and the coffee table that had fit the regular couch just fine was too small for the sectional, both visually and functionally. Regarding measurements, our sectional sits in a corner against two walls. I simply measured the two walls and allowed a bit of space for small end tables, then hunted down a sectional that fit those measurements and wasn't too bulky for the room. Small-scale sectionals that aren't just two loveseats stuck together or a couch with a chaise stuck on (I find it very difficult to get out of the chaise) are not easy to find, but they're not ALL ginormous! Ours is something like 90" on one side of the "L" and 110" on the other. If you plan to "float" your sectional, get a roll of blue painter's tape and map out where your sectional's going to go, right on the floor with the tape, until the proportion looks right and then measure that; if you have the standard sofa-loveseat combo now you can shove them together into that space and get a rough idea of scale. The biggest "pros" in our house are that it wastes no space in our small living room - when we had a couch and loveseat, there was a substantial area in the corner that was wasted (furniture arms take up a lot of space) and we couldn't both stretch out to watch TV, read or nap while now we can and still have room for the dog. :-) The main con is that it IS a little bit heavy-looking for the small room, although cut-back arms, a relatively low back, and a slightly-bland midtone sage color do reduce the visual weight somewhat.

That is the only living space in the house. It's a townhouse we're renting for a year or two. We sacrificed on space to be close to the beach, which has been an awesome choice, until Irma, of course. We don't have any other "real" furniture for the living area, and we wanted to avoid purchasing anything until we bought a home, but when the old sofa had to go, we had to replace that. So we don't have any other seating, but it's really not a big deal. We don't have kids or family in the area, and we don't have a bunch of people over at one time, so the sectional is enough for our current needs. Is there anything in particular you would suggest for ottomans? I would like something that fits physically with the sofa to get something close to a chaise feel without having to close off the space permanently as you would with a chaise. Finding the right size is important too, as I dislike the really big ottomans for sectionals; they take up way too much space and prevent the use of a coffee table.

After much debate between Century, Taylor King and Vanguard, we ended up with the Vanguard Envision. The deciding factors were mainly size and arm style, although comfort and fabric options also played a role. All three were nice to sit on but we preferred the sloped track arm that only Vanguard offered. The Century would have been our next choice but it was much larger, about 10" in each direction, and we felt it might overwhelm our space. We ordered it from Lexington Furniture, who beat local prices by over $1000. Total cost in a Grade 26 fabric (no decorative upgrades) was $5500. It arrived yesterday and we LOVE IT. Just need to repaint the room and get a new rug! :)