Finding the best couch for you, and your home, can transform how comfortable you feel and the look of your space. The focal point of a living room and arguably the most used area of a house, a couch has to look good and provide the perfect seating for you to relax, unwind, and lounge.
A couch is one of the biggest and most important pieces of furniture you'll buy for a home. That's why, the type, and style you choose, matters. With so many shapes, sizes, colors, and fabrics to select from, the sofa-buying process can be quite overwhelming. And a sofa can quickly become an expensive source of regret if you get it wrong.
To ensure your next couch purchase is perfect, we've done the legwork for you. With our team of interior and shopping experts, these are the best couches you can get on the market right now. From sectionals and modular to love seats, vegan leather sofas and sleeper sofas, you'll be able to find the seating that suits you. We know that getting a couch is somewhat subjective, so we've sourced seats for spaces big, and small, in classic and contemporary designs, with a range of comfort levels.
Not sure where to start? There is plenty of buying advice at the end, including how to choose the right couch for you, depending on size, style, and budget, and how to measure up your space ready for your brand new piece of furniture.
The best couches in 2023
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Best couch overall
The perfect couch for a period property, or for adding character to a contemporary home, the classic Paxton Sofa from Arhaus is designed with a refined silhouette featuring elegant curved lines, English rolled arms with pleat detail, and gently tapered feet. Frames are built from solid hardwood certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
Available in six ready-to-ship tonal weaves, there are also over 500 custom upholstery options (including sustainable fabrics) to choose from, making it simple to find the exact shade and texture to match your interior decor. The couch also comes in a range of widths, and depths to ensure the perfect fit and feel.
As for comfort, the sofa base has a firm yet flexible 'no-sag' support system topped with seat cushions filled with a core of eco-friendly foam and flexible coils, and then wrapped in an outer layer of down, feather, and poly fiber. We love that this offers both plenty of sink factor and enough bounce to combat too much cushion plumping. Backrests aren't forgotten either, with flexible webbing support filled with resilient memory foam cushioning.
Best sustainable sofa
Denmark’s first Nordic Swan Ecolabel sofa, the Arbour Eco has an environmentally friendly design at its heart. And, there is no compromise on comfort, as feather and foam cushions and web suspension provide plenty of slouch factor. We love Arbour's sustainable and simple design and how it can look perfectly timeless and elegant in a range of settings.
A collaboration between Daniel Rybakken and Andreas Engesvik for the Scandinavian brand Hay, the design began by purposely throwing out the 'rules' of conventional sofa building, and stripping the concept back to its bare essentials. The result is an honest and simple design that allows the individual seating components to shine through in the build. It features a wooden frame and upholstered cushions as independent solutions; all components are repairable or replaceable to prolong the longevity of the sofa as a whole.
This approach means the sofa can achieve STANDARD 100 OEKO-TEX® certification – unusual in a sofa build – which ensures textile products emit no harmful chemicals, and that all materials can be sourced sustainably, with the beautiful oak, walnut or beech timber frame options harvested from FSC-certified forests.
Best sectional couch
A sectional sofa is a great option for a larger living room, with modular seat units allowing you to tailor the couch configuration to best suit your seating needs. This sectional from Floyd has everything you need from a modern, modular design. We love the chunky, streamlined design and the cozy, deep seats, allowing you to properly sit back and relax. The Sectional is available in a range of different fabrics and colors, allowing you to tailor the piece to your exact style and needs. This isn't a sectional you sink into when you sit, but the multi-density foam has been crafted from durability and optimum comfort and support.
You can add as many sections as required to create the right size sofa for your living space. If you have an open-plan layout, for example, this seating will help to zone a larger area and create a pocket of more intimate seating – especially if you throw a corner section or two to create an L or U-shaped 'room within a room'. There aren't as many upholstery options as others on this list, but we think the range on offer is sufficient.
Best couch for small spaces
Paying homage to Denmark’s long-standing design heritage, Danish design house &Tradition aims to bridge old and new by creating furniture and interior objects with timeless appeal. The Cloud LN2 blends the pared-back functionality of Scandinavian design with the exuberant luxury of designer Luca Niichetto's Italian heritage.
A simple linear black metal base is contrasted with plush pillows which form the seat, backrest, and armrests. A slim curved panel wraps around the sides and rear of the sofa to emphasize a cocoon-like comfort. As attractive at the back, as it is from the front, this sofa is great for centralizing a space. Available in two sofa widths – plus a lounge chair – (we'd perhaps like more options here) we love the elegant low profile. The high linear legs and raised seat base also make the furniture best for smaller living spaces. If you have a large area to fill, you'll find our best large couch further down.
Best affordable couch
Most couches can be expensive, with higher-quality upholstery often bumping the price. This stylish, yet timeless sofa from Anthropologie is one of the best value-for-money chairs we've seen. It looks luxurious, but costs just over $1000 (which is over half the price of some of the other best couches on the market).
A velvet sofa is a great way to bring some grandeur to a room, with the fabric's sumptuous pile and soft sheen adding luxurious luster to an interior. This sofa proves you don't need a grand budget to achieve a high-end look. There is a more limited color palette and fabric options on this lower-priced model, but you're sure to love one. If velvet isn't your thing, it's also available in two other linens – for effortless luxury.
Considering the price point, this two-seater couch doesn't scrimp on the design details either, with the eye-catching scalloped backrest and rolled English arms. Perfect for furnishing a vacation home or for those who have moved into their first apartment, the luxe-look piece makes for some great entry-level seating.
Best curved couch
The appeal of the curved sofa shows no signs of slowing, and with a silhouette that both cocoons and lends a sense of voluptuous decadence to a room, it's easy to see why curvaceous seating has become less of a trend and more of a design staple.
Designed to emulate 'a continuous pencil stroke wrapping a solid texture', the Gubi's Stay sofa, has become somewhat of a sculptural icon. We think the design is best upholstered in a luxurious velvet that catches the light and enhances the curves. It is perfect for an open-plan room where it can be appreciated from all angles, although the semi-circular form can also work well placed in a corner where it will subvert the usual tendency to push a sofa back against a wall.
It is more expensive than most, but this is only due to its well-thought-out design. And it's lack of upholster variety only plays dividends to its timeless look that will stop this curved couch from ever going out of style.
Best leather couch
A refreshing alternative to the traditional 'gentleman's club' style of the leather couch, the Madrone leather sofa combines timeless upholstery with a contemporary low-profile frame. Despite its generous size, the track arms that run in line with the backrest create a simple and minimalist silhouette and the sofa's solid wood legs are inset, making the sofa appear to float above the ground; all great design tricks to eliminate bulk and create a spacious sofa that works well in almost any size of the room.
Add to that deep seating accented by subtle piping and aniline-dyed leather with a rich, matte surface and super soft feel, and you have a sofa that will age well in all senses of the word. There are only two shades of leather on offer – a golden tan and dark grey-brown – but both are exceptionally versatile shades, with the natural details in the leather’s surface, uneven pebbling, and subtle color variations adding a unique beauty to each piece.
Best big couch
For the ultimate in laidback sofa surfing, Maker & Son's humungous and comfort-focused Song sofa may be hard to beat. Available in three spacious size options, from the generous 88" width to the yacht-sized 158", this is a couch built for oversized lounging – although there is also a loveseat option suitable for a smaller space.
We think a sofa built for relaxing looks best in a relaxed fabric, and there are over twenty linens on offer. Add to that a selection of cotton, velvets, and corduroys, plus three blue and white denim options and you're spoilt for choice. All of the covers are loose fit, making it simple to update the look or replace well-loved couch upholstery in a far more sustainable way than replacing the entire couch.
But this sofa is about comfort. As well as being bed-sized, the seat and back cushions also contain two ‘duvets’ – designed to be as comfortable as premium bedding – filled with a mixture of ethically sourced feathers and down. Between these ‘duvets’ sits a natural latex core which helps the cushions to keep their shape and makes for less plumping over time; the perfect place to kick back and wind down.
Best velvet sofa
There is something so luxurious about a velvet sofa. One of the top-selling upholstery choices for seating over the last few years, velvet can not only enhance a feeling of coziness and comfort, but it can look utterly beautiful and inviting, making a real statement in a room.
The Fabienne Sofa by Lulu and Georgia smartly unites a traditional, vintage look with plush modern comfort. With a sleek silhouette, marked by the streamlined frame, cozy, soft cushions, and eye-catching, ornate-shaped metal legs (with wheels for ease of movement), all elements work as one to create a stylish and sophisticated design. We love how this sofa pays homage to a classic furniture style but still prioritizes the importance of relaxing comfort.
If you already know you're after a velvet couch, this is the one to go for in terms of quality, comfort, and price. It's ideal for small rooms too, as there isn't a lot of matching furniture to fill a large living space. Live in an apartment, or rent your home and not able to paint the walls or decorate as much as you'd like? This velvet beauty will act as the statement centerpiece your place needs.