Sofa 101

After pouring thousands into getting the home of your dreams, who can be blamed for wanting to acquire furniture to match the reverie. When my sister bought her second home in Toronto's west-end, she longed for a comfy sofa on which she and her son could sit and watch TV.

A careful shopper at the best of times, she searched far and wide before settling on a luxurious green sectional. It was a dream, the hue ideal and the comfort quotient astronomical, but there was a problem - the sectional didn't fit perfectly into its section.

A return to the store and the removal of ten inches yielded the desired results but according to Brian Callahan, president of Barrymore Furniture, this can happen more than you might think. In fact Callahan says you should never assume your home is "furniture friendly." While Barrymore custom builds almost all of its three sofa models (the sofa, the mini-sofa and

"We see a lot of people who can be handcuffed [by space] when the home they've bought is finally built," he says. "It's important to be careful about buying a big sofa. [Keep in mind that] showrooms are especially big and have high ceilings," meaning the sofa may appear smaller than it actually is when viewed in the showroom.

Ultimately a sofa is one of the more important purchases an individual will make, and experts emphasize assessing the exact size, the function and style/or fabric you will use. Obviously, it's a process one should never rush, but it's also one that is changing with the evolving new home and condo market. Sofa sizes have traditionally averaged 85 inches in length, but according to Richard Paik, of the design chain EQ3, the company's biggest seller is "The Simpson," an 80 inch, three seater sofa. "It's important to understand the scale of your room and whether you want the sofa to dominate, or to not draw too much attention," says Paik.

The Winnipeg-bred chain now boasts stores across North America thanks to lines that are sleek and streamlined, as if built for the urban resident. "Many urban dwellers tend to live in condominiums which can be a smaller space, and in a smaller space people are looking for versatility," says Paik.

When Jeff McCarthy, 32, and his fiancée purchased a new town home in trendy Little Italy, getting the right sofa was a priority but it was also a difficult task. Using builder floor plans, a measuring tape and having sporadic access to the property as it was being built helped considerably. That didn't keep them from combing through upwards of six furniture retailers before settling on a leather three-seater and loveseat within their size and price range. "We had the floor plan, we knew the dimensions and went in before with a tape measure," says McCarthy. "But it was a challenge."

When asked if they had to make any sacrifices on their desired sofa, McCarthy says yes. "We'd get to a point where we?d walk in and know it's too big and that it wouldn't work," says McCarthy. "You have to get the most accurate measurements," he added when asked what advice he would have for shoppers in a similar situation. "The thing about Toronto is that places can be so narrow and tall but being able to walk into the property every now and then really helps."

Sofa that fits tips from the experts.

- Break out the measuring tape, get down on your knees and find your rooms exact proportions. Take the tape to the showroom when you shop. You'd be surprised at how few people do this.

- Put together a plan-a-gram. Using graph paper, actually map your room to scale and sketch where items will fit. If you actually have access to the room then Callaghan of Barrymore urges shoppers to take the plan-a-gram one step further by cutting large pieces of paper to the scale of the room. The choice of fabric can change everything.

- This is a big piece of furniture you will live with for a long time. Choose wisely as you may need to spend more than you bargained for.