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Many of us consider choosing a sofa as one of the biggest financial decisions a new homeowner makes, therefore making sure that you choose wisely is vital.

It is commonly considered that a good sofa should represent value for money for the person buying it; it is a major piece of furniture and therefore needs to reflect its price ticket.

With this in mind, choosing a brand new sofa is not something that can be hurried and, indeed, may involve several opinions and many months going back and forth before the final choice is made.

First of all, you need to settle on the size of sofa you require. This decision will be determined by the size of the room in which it will be situated and how many people you will need to accommodate at one time. Too big for the room and it will always look as if it is in the way; too small, and it will just blend into its background and, if it’s something you have chosen to make a design statement in the room, its effect will have been lost.

Your tape measure and notebook will come in handy not just when deciding on the size of sofa but also to ensure that you will be able to get it into the room, so measure your doorways and eliminate any sofas that just will not fit.

A good furniture retailer won’t mind if, besides sitting on it, you kick off your shoes and lie full-length on the sofa, if that is how it will be used in the home. You are only making sure it is comfortable and will fit the demands that will be made on it.

Make sure, too, that it will either fit into your décor or, if you intend to decorate, that it will be easy to coordinate with once it comes to choosing the colours and accessories that will be surrounding it.

Once you think you have made your choice of colour and style, check the way the sofa has been constructed – you won’t want to find that it starts to fall apart at the first instance of normal family wear and tear. Make sure, too, that it will be easy to keep clean; most sofas now have a protective coating applied to the upholstery fabric which helps it to shrug off spills and stains.

These are just a few guidelines to follow when choosing that all-important sofa to make sure that you get a sofa that lasts for as long as possible, and gives you great value for money.