When Theater Met Sofa

By Author: Coleen Bates
Total Articles: 5
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Comparing the benefits of theater seating against the definitions of the sofa, loveseat, sectional and other variants might leave the common couch potato pondering which is the best lap of luxury.There are many types of couches out there—in fact the term “couch” used to refer more specifically to a type of sofa—a half back with one raised end (more akin to a day-bed, chaise lounge, or bed since the French origin of the word means “sleep”), but for all intents and purposes of this article, we will allow the Americanized version of the word “couch” to denote any elongated and glorified chair suitable for two or more people.Now a couch may be categorized as a loveseat (if there are only two seats available) or a sofa (if the furniture is made for more people) and these two designs have been in the market for many a century, but a fairly new item is the sofa sectional, more simply referred to as a sectional, by which multiple sections of upholstered furniture come together, usually forming a 90 degree angle at some point. The sectional may have backing along all of its seats or it ...
... may have one segment devoid of it—usually referred to as the chaise portion of the sectional. Because a chaise can alter where you would want to place the sectional in your room, many manufacturers have produced furniture that have the backless segment placed on the opposite side of the sofa, hence you might see a sectional that for sale that lists it as having either a left or right-sided chaise (the right or left is determined as if you stood in front of the sofa, looking at it—similar concept to “stage right” or “stage left”).In addition to the sofa, loveseat, and sectional, we have the fainting couch (backless or partial-backed), the chaise lounge (long with one armrest), the canapé (an ornamental 3-seater), and the ottoman (generally considered a footstool, but it has been recently developed to fold out into a twin bed and other such surprises).Speaking of beds and as the origin of couch entailed, there are comfortable seats that double as beds. In this category, the three most common are the sofa-bed, daybed, and futon. Unlike the sofa-bed and futon that must be unfolded from sitting position to slumber central, the daybed is usually a twin bed with a metal or wooden backing and frame mimicking a typical couch by form, but wide and long enough to sleep on when the sun goes down (some daybeds also including a trundle bed that slides out from beneath the bed, providing additional room for another sleeper). Don't dismiss the futon, however, as they have become more and more sophisticated by design (some fold down in sections while others can be separated into two single beds).The new kid on the block is called theater seating—it is a marriage between sofa and chair, usually providing an armrest boundary that defines what's yours and what's your neighbor's. Although they may sometimes take the appearance of a curved sectional, theater seats are more often sold in sets of two, three, and four and sometimes more. Imagine having a stream of La-Z-Boy chairs hooked together with their own individual settings and cup holders and you'll have the general idea of the theater seating concept. Many have come to love the recliner feature that typically comes with theater seating and who wouldn't want a space measured and fortified for their own, maximum comfort?Whether it's the futon you fancy when functionality rules the day, the extravagant curvatures of a fainting couch when you want to reflect some romanticism in your room, or the charitable contributions of sipping Chardonnay while watching your favorite Humphrey Bogart film on a luxurious theater seat, options are available out there to make your space matter and the time you spend in it better.