What a Modular Sofa Can Do for Your Living Room

A modular sofa is sort of the shapeshifter of design when it comes to versatile, flexible living-room seating. Basically, you piece its parts—sofa, loveseat, chair, chaise, corner piece, ottoman—together in any configuration you like and change up the arrangement as desired.

Unlike a sectional, which typically comes in the manufacturer’s design of two or maybe three linked parts—usually with a left- or right-facing option—a modular collection lets you reconfigure your design for a large shindig, to relax with family or fur babies or for any other type of social setting.

What a modular sofa can do for your living room (not to mention adjoining spaces) and hosting skills is, well, a whole lot.

1. Provide Versatility

Every now and then we want to change things up in the living room: reposition the TV, angle the coffee table differently, scootch a statement chair over a foot or two, and turn the sofa so that you’re face to face with your favorite actors when they drop by for a visit (via the remote control.) Although relatively small pieces fit nicely in various arrangements, the large ones—namely the seating—often have to stay put.

Imagine the design freedom of a modular sofa, allowing you to rearrange your living-room layout into a “U” shape, an “L” or any other letter of the alphabet that suits your space, whenever you get the urge. Being able to pull together or push apart modular pieces to work within your living room (or family room or media-room) walls lets you unleash your inner designer, at will.

2. Open the Design Door to Color Expression

Who says the parts of a modular have to be the same color? If you want to pair two or more agreeable hues from the same collection to work with your existing scheme or as a starting point to build a new one, go for it!

With so many pieces, you might include a middle, corner or ottoman unit of a different tone. Completely opposites work well. Going with a deeper grey tone, splash in a lighter natural wheat tone to add variation. Then combine pillows that pull both tones and a main pop of color.

3. Ease Transition

A sleek, well-made modular collection is timeless, considering its symmetry, strong focal presence and how its parts meld with any space. Maybe your living room is in a transitional phase, such as from 1990s contemporary to a version of mid-century mod. What if you plan to move, one day? Modular seating makes virtually any transition a non-issue.

4. Create Flow

How often do we use formal dining rooms? Maybe a handful of days a year. The other 360 or so calendar days, it sits taunting us, hogging all those valuable square feet. Why not arrange your dining set in the kitchen or at one end of the living room, if space allows? That way, you can split up a modular set, positioning a few pieces in the living room and one or two in the now-empty dining area, reworking the space into one you’ll actually use, such as a games room, library or den.

Using seating from the same modular set in adjoining rooms creates a sense of unity or flow, helping you build upon a color scheme or attractive theme.

5. Boost Your Hosting Game

A modular sofa can work all sorts of magic in your living room, but it can also do something for you personally: improve your entertaining score, whether you’re hosting a small or large get together. Play around with the pieces:

—Pair a couple of short modular sections near a side table. (Can you ever have too many tables? Maybe, but when it comes to hosting, extra is better than not enough.

—Position a modular ottoman for two near a window with a view.

—Square off two seats across from a long one, anchored with an ottoman in between.

—Place a corner piece across from a long, linear sofa by a fireplace.

Really, the options are limitless. All you need is imagination.

With a great modular sofa as the foundation for your next celebration, holiday gathering or daily downtime with loved ones, it might be time to consider how an adjoining outdoor living space can take your party or family beyond closed doors.

Lorna Hordos is a home-improvement business owner and freelance writer. She has composed thousands of friendly, helpful home and business articles for numerous clients, including Lowes, Daltile, ModernMom, WordPress.com and Bizfluent.

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