The Skinny on Sectionals: Learning to Get Comfy with a Family Furniture Staple
Planning out your living space but feeling stumped when it comes to sofa ideas? HÜIS offers a wide selection of beautifully crafted sectionals: specialised pieces that represent some of the most popular, most versatile seating on the market today. Each of our sectional sofas is expertly curated by our Cayman-based interior designers, making for some of the best furniture the Cayman Islands has to offer. Oh, and we manage delivery!
HÜIS is the brainchild of Lydia Uzzell, owner and lead interior designer of one of the most revered firms in the Cayman Islands: Lydia Uzzell Interior Design. HÜIS lets you shop and order online for home delivery, and even provides options for professional in-home installation. And if you’re in search of a quality couch but prefer to look at fabrics and/or test out cushioning in person, HÜIS also has a brick-and-mortar store in Grand Cayman, where you can browse our favourite sectional sofas and chat with our team of highly experienced interior designers. We live to answer all your questions and meet all your furniture needs…from your living room, to your family room, and beyond.
Call or stop by anytime––you’re always welcome!
Ah, the sofa.
Refuse for the weary. Seventh heaven of the sleepy. Centre of the family movie night.
There’s no getting around it: The sofa is the heart of the living room. It’s the spot where friends gather to recreate, relax, and reflect. The hub of cultural activities such as movie screenings, wine tastings, and monthly games of Scrabble. The point at which your house turns into a home.
But selecting a sofa can be risky. Couch seating is way too essential to be chosen lightly (no one wants their most precious family memories marred by a subpar sofa, after all), and the abundance of options makes settling on a living room seating plan anything but easy.
Thankfully, our team of Cayman interior designers is here to lend a hand.
It just so happens that helping novice designers shop for new living room furniture is one of our favourite pastimes. Whether you’re looking for a contemporary couch or a cosy traditional sofa, we love sharing our expertise and introducing you to the very best in interior trends to complement your home.
So, while we’re on the subject of seating: Allow us to present (*drumrolls appreciated, if you please*)…
The sectional.
For sheer possibility and variety of style, it’s hard to go wrong with a sectional sofa. These chameleon-like couches feature a mix-and-match construction that lets you reconfigure your seating according to your exact needs. The preferred choice of larger families, sectionals can usually accommodate upwards of four or five guests (though small-scale sectionals also exist!), and their causal silhouette and durable design makes them perfect for lounging and reclining.
We tend to recommend sectionals for almost every living space, if only because they represent a wide range of options and can add comfort and panache to virtually any home. Read on for a more in-depth introduction to the sectional, along with some pointers on finding the right one for you and your family.
Selecting Sectional Fabrics
Fabric is so crucial to the selection of a sectional sofa that it not only deserves its own special shoutout, it also deserves several subcategories of shoutout, too. You may want to take a deep breath before continuing…but here goes:
Fabric is a huge deal. It’s incredibly important to choose a fabric that works for every person in your household––not just in terms of aesthetics, but also in terms of daily use. Here are just a few of the factors you’ll need to take into account before you decide:
Colour
We suggest paying close attention to scale when settling on a fabric colour. Consider the size and overall “feel” of your sectional in relation to its surroundings. Once you have a good sense of its relative place in the room (i.e., how much space it will occupy, where it will live, and whether or not you’d like it to stand out or blend in with your décor), use this concept as your guide and choose your colour accordingly. A large sectional with a deep-coloured fabric in a smaller, darker room, for example, can seriously overwhelm your space (unless, of course, you’re aiming for a cosy media room setup à la the early 20th Century). For a darkened living room, a lighter fabric is usually the better choice.
Durability
For family homes, you’ll need a fabric than can stand up to years of late-night snacking, kid-friendly game playing, and extended TV viewing. Luckily, performance fabrics built for endurance are improving by the day in terms of both look and feel. Such a fabric is an ideal choice for homes that are bursting with activity and/or homes that play host to lots of children and pets.
Weave
Speaking of pets…
You should always be mindful of weave, especially if you’re a cat person. Woven fabrics that have large, open-stitch patterns may look lovely, but they’re super easy to snag if you’re a cat (or a dog with paws that haven’t been filed for a few months).
Stain Resistance
When your sofa is the central location for family meetings and friendly get togethers, you have to be prepared for a stain or two. You should therefore consider whether or not the fabric you select will be able to resist these stains, and whether or not it will be able to do so over time.
So, while we’d never say no to a natural fiber like a cotton or a linen, we’d also like to remind furniture shoppers that natural isn’t always the most resistant. (Though, if you simply can’t be without cotton or linen––and we wouldn’t blame you if that’s the case––you can always opt to have your stains professionally treated on island. If you need a recommendation, we’re partial to Fabrizone and their exceptional service.)
Bearing all this in mind, we’d caution you to avoid viscose at pretty much any cost. It’s hard to maintain, stains rather easily, and generally doesn’t perform as well in high-trafficked areas. (Translation: You’ll be yelling at your kids/pets/partner all day long.) The only time we recommend viscose is if it won’t be exposed to a lot of wear and tear (like if it’s in a master bedroom, say).
Considering Couch Cushioning
Fabrics are definitely an essential component of your sofa, but remember that what’s inside counts just as much as what’s on the surface.
Fill (or cushioning) should definitely rank high on your list of things to consider when buying a sectional. Not every cushion is created equal, and different materials will yield different seating experiences. Before you settle on a sofa, think about how much give you’d like it have. Would you prefer a foam and feather fill (our personal favourite) for a delightfully squishy lounging feel? Or would you rather a firmer, foam-only cushioning with more support? The choice is yours, but remember: The fill is usually permanent. If you’re nursing a bad back today but expecting a full recovery in a month or so, don’t let your current tastes have the final say on a purchase that’s really for the furture.
Meeting Our Current Couch Crushes
We love all our furniture––truly!––but sometimes a piece is so stunning you can’t help but call it a fave.
Here’s a look at three sectionals that hold a very special place in our hearts:
Why it’s our favourite: This gorgeous specimen is its own masterclass in how to arrange living room furniture. You can customise it to suit your space thanks to swappable sections that can be configured almost any way you like. And it comes in your choice of 75 fabrics!
Why it’s our favourite: Two words: Slip. Covers. (Okay, that technically one word, but still.) This white knight among sofas saves the day by allowing you to customise its body, pillows, and welts. Plus the slipcover design makes for extra-easy maintenance.
Why it’s our favourite: This oversized piece is a supmtuous solution for larger families or families that are simply big on comfort. Its dual design means it can be transformed into two separate seating oasises at anytime, and its grey finish is completely and utterly swoon-worthy.
Final Thoughts…
As always, you should check (and double check) your measurements before you sign on the dotted line for your sectional. You want to be 1000% certain your new piece will actually fit through all the doorways/stairwells/hallways/elevators between the showroom floor and your ultimate destination.
Another rule of thumb when buying furniture in general (and, specifically, when buying a sectional) is to make sure a piece will sit well in your room and won’t take up too much space (or, indeed, too little). A tip for room planning? Mark your proposed layout on your floor using electrical tape and see if you’re happy with it. Then––and only then––will you be ready to buy.
Whether you live in the Cayman Islands year round or own an island property that you consider your home away from home, the expert team at HÜIS Cayman is happy to walk you through your next sectional purchase––from selecting a fabric to finding the best possible configuration for your space. We’ll provide guidance every step of the way, helping you achieve just the right balance of stylish and serviceable while always adhering to your own individual tastes. And we won’t be satisfied until your sectional meets all the needs and expectations of every member of your family.
We look forward to meeting you and helping to point you towards your next sectional sofa! Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions in the meantime. You can also browse our website 24/7 or swing by our store during regular business hours. Hope to see you soon!
