When I think of a sectional sofa, I generally think of a large, overstuffed sofa that is "L" shaped. It consists of a minimum of two parts, often more. The different pieces can include recliners, a love seat or sofa (often with a hide-a-bed), corner pieces or a chaise lounge. The sectional sofa may be micro fiber, regular upholstery or leather. I think this classification is common for most of us. But a sectional does not have to fit into this pigeon hole, there are unique ones out there which look more like a piece of art than seating for the whole family.
The first time I saw a unique sectional sofa was when we owned an antique and used furniture store. My husband purchased a sectional that reminded us of a snake. The overall styling was a bit retro, and it consisted of two pieces, both curved. When the pieces were placed together it made an "S" shape. The color of the sofa was a patterned white and silver, so both the shape and the color were reminiscent of a snake. At first I wasn't too sure about that couch, thinking "who in the world would want this?". But the more I looked at it, the more I like it. Sure enough, it didn't take long before someone came along who absolutely loved the sectional. Her house had burnt down the previous year, so she was building and refurnishing a new home, and enjoying every minute of it! Though she did have the snake couch reupholstered, she was very excited about her find and placing it in her new home.
One unique sectional sofa that I cam across recently was designed by Ron Arad 17 years ago, but only went into production two years ago, the world just wasn't ready for it when it was first designed. This sectional really does look like a piece of modern art, the individual pieces are referred to as modules, and this modular seat is called the Misfit sofa. The Misfit is composed of six modules: two corner pieces, two middle seats and two ottomans. Each piece is a unique shape, using solid and empty spaces and unique curves that suggest movement. When the New York Times wrote an article about this sofa a couple of years ago, I thought the title summed up this sofa nicely: A Sofa Dr. Seuss Might Have Dreamed Up.
Some other general things that can be found in a sectional sofa are more curves than mentioned above, large "U" shaped sofas that also have integrated tables, integrated lights (in the table surfaces), and back to back seating.
I even saw a four piece sectional that formed a large circle when all the pieces were pushed together. The middle piece was a small, round ottoman. Put together it looked like a round bed. Remove the center ottoman and you had continuous circular seating, pull all the pieces out so that they did not touch, and you had individual seats in which you could move between the pieces.
If you are in the market for a sectional sofa, often the best one for a traditional family is the classic sectional with recliners and a sofa bed. But if you are into modern and trendy designs, there are definitely some options out there that are unique, that really make a statement about who you are.
