Choosing the perfect sofa for your living room

As Passover approaches and spring is upon us, we have gathered the finest inspirations and professional tips from leading interior designers, offering precise guidance on selecting a sofa, the centerpiece of the living room, presented by the experts at Prat Living unveiling a particularly captivating new collection.

The living room is the central space, the pulsating heart of the home, where everything happens and the daily life of the family unfolds. When approaching the planning and design of a living room, we want it to accommodate us in every situation, whether it's starting our day with a morning coffee before work, spending time with the children during the day, or unwinding in the evening after a long day.

This is a great opportunity to rejuvenate and upgrade the central entertainment space in the home.

Interior designer Idit Tubi's tips on designing a meticulous and inclusive living room:

Interior designer Idit Tubi:

"The living room is the central space, the pulsating heart of the home, where everything happens and the daily life of the family unfolds. When approaching the planning and design of a living room, we want it to accommodate us in every situation, whether it's starting our day with a morning coffee before work, spending time with the children during the day, or unwinding in the evening after a long day.

"My first recommendation is to choose a comfortable sofa, a lightweight armchair that won't overload the space, and coffee tables of a size that won't dominate the space. I always like to incorporate small coffee tables in the living rooms I design, enjoying the dynamism and lightness. Small coffee tables are movable and can be changed as needed. During entertainment or even during playtime with the children on the carpet, we can move the table and easily return it to its place afterwards.

"I recommend using natural materials such as wood and fabrics, incorporating textiles such as cushions, blankets, and curtains that evoke warmth and homeliness. A rug always warms up the atmosphere and defines the space. Bringing in plants and pots to the living room, the green color promotes calmness, and plants bring us joy.

"In planning the lighting in the living room, I recommend combining ambient lighting in addition to central lighting, like wall lamps for ambient lighting. At the end of the day, they provide tranquility and calmness. Clients requested a warm and tranquil space that's not overcrowded, so we chose to paint the main wall of the living room in a mint green shade, both to add color but mainly to complement the overall atmosphere that clients requested."

• Photo: Hadas Ezra
• Tables and Rug: Bring It Home
• Chair: Penthouse
• Basic Styling on Photoshoot Day: Roni Tishler

The Experts' Tips from Prat Living:

"The moment has come, a new sofa is on the horizon, but the options are vast. How do you choose correctly, what's important to consider, and what's the right size for you?

Precision in selecting the right sofa requires several preliminary checks and many questions to answer. So, we've prepared a brief guide to help you cherish this moment, at the end of a long day, on your sofa, even more...

Two-seater sofa, modular, corner sofa, armless sofa, daybed, or a sofa combined with a luxurious chaise longue? The range is broad and diverse, where do you start?

Carmit Redlich, from the furniture and lifestyle brand Prat Living, shares with us all the crucial details for choosing the perfect sofa for your needs.

Step 1: Sofa Size. So many questions need to be asked in this context, and each answer will lead to a different optimal sofa. What is the size of the space intended for the sofa? Not only the length of the central wall is significant, but also the depth of the room, its structure. How many family members are involved? Do you all tend to spend time together on the sofa? Do you host guests? Do you eat or work in the living room? A short apartment plan and questioning will help you choose the right size for you.

Step 2: Sofa Design: Once the size is determined, you can move on to design. Modular or classic? Incorporating elements of metal or wood? Looking for a tidy and organized appearance or deep, relaxed, and serene? You surely understand that each answer here indicates a different lifestyle that is important to choose accordingly the sofa that will provide the exact experience you're looking for.

Step 3: Fabric, Color, and Fabric Composition. At the Prat Living furniture store, a wide variety of fabrics are offered, with different compositions and a range of colors. All the fabrics in the store are manufactured by leading textile companies worldwide and offer quality experience over time. Here, too, questioning about your lifestyle is significant and will determine whether you should choose 100% synthetic fabric, whether there are pets that will prevent you from choosing fabrics with prominent textures? What is the significance of incorporating wool or leather and why a velvet sofa is not suitable for everyone. Also, which fabric and how it will look on different sofas over time...

Step 4: Durability. Fabric durability is influenced by 3 parameters: the abrasion resistance index for household use must be above 10,000. Pilling - those fabric fibers that become bobbly as a result of friction, measured on a scale of 1-5, and resistance to light and sun that ranges from 1-8. Note that the fabrics offered to you will meet an abrasion resistance index of not less than 20,000 for home or 80,000 for commercial use. At least 4 for pilling and no less than 4 for light resistance. All these parameters are more relevant today than ever when we clean our sofas with vigor, a very effective but also aggressive cleaning method.

Step 5: Filling. The way the sofa is filled affects both its appearance and the seating experience. Different models of sofas are designed and filled differently, creating a completely different experience. Cold foam will order a more stable, harder, more collected appearance over the years. Plum filling will create a soft, flexible experience, such that will require fluffing the cushions from time to time and create a more casual and relaxed look. As we believe this is a critical parameter for comfort and appearance over time, we won't allow the customer to choose it themselves because not every design fits perfectly with each filling, and therefore, for each model, its specific dimensions, from seat depth to cushion hardness and filling type."

The designs and inspirations of interior designer Ela Morgan

According to interior designer Ela Morgan, "The living room is the central entertainment space in the home, a space where I express the personality and style of the family members. According to the family's dynamics and the nature of entertainment, I plan the placement of furniture, television, fireplace, liquor bar, etc., so that the space is comfortable, inviting, and practical. In the example I brought here, I designed a retro-style living room, the wallpaper pattern appears as a motif repeated on the curtains, parallel seating, like the tables, corresponds with the rug pattern."

Interior designer Hilit Karsh's Tips

"Choose a comfortable sofa; it's the centerpiece of the living room, so it's essential to select one that's comfortable and inviting. If space allows, two sofas are a bonus. Add chairs to provide comfortable seating. Storage cabinets that blend with the living room's design will help you keep the room tidy consistently," says designer Hilit Karsh.

Interior designer Liat Levinzon's Tips

"The living room is the heart of the home, serving for relaxation and family gatherings. It's responsible for the 'wow' effect we want to create when hosting guests. Therefore, the living room space needs to be comfortable, warm, and inviting. For this reason, it's important to design the living room and choose furniture that suits your needs and lifestyle.

"There are dozens of tips for living room design, but I'll specifically touch on items that must be in the living room space:

1. Rug - No space is complete without a rug, especially the living room, where a rug significantly contributes to the room's appearance and overall ambiance. The right choice of rug allows for harmony and connection between the central furniture pieces: the table, the chairs, and the seating area.

2. Designed Curtains - Another item that provides a 'frame' for the space and also serves to control the incoming light through the windows, creating a pleasant atmosphere.

3. Another optional but undoubtedly impactful element is the fireplace - beyond its practical heating function, it serves as a design element through which you can upgrade your living environment and provide it with an additional dimension of design.From the Prat Living collection: seating systems, chairs, and tables.

More from the collection of Prat Living: seating systems, chairs, and tables

All this is just scratching the surface. Go ahead, choose your living room.