Think about what the couch is for – will it be used by all the family, sit in the hallway or be a centrepiece in the ”good room”?

Keep the decor of your home in mind when deciding. Will it match the rest of the furniture? Beware of trendy styles that are likely to go out of fashion in a couple of years. Achieve timelessness by choosing a traditional style.

Once you’ve decided on the style you need to choose a fabric type. Leather is good for families prone to spillages. Light-coloured fabrics look good but stain easily. It’s worthwhile getting removable covers so you can clean them.

Multi-coloured fabrics hide stains well, while block colours show stains. Ask to see a fabric swatch. You can then see what other fabrics look like and also feel them.

Sit on the couch. Get other family members to test it with you as well. Is it wide enough? Does it make you slouch? Or does it make you never want to leave it?

A sofa should last you 10 years or more, so good-quality construction is important. Timber frames are best and they should be screwed together. As a general rule, the heavier the couch, the higher quality of frame. So try to lift it. If it’s light then the quality won’t be very high.

Sit on the couch to see how the cushions feel. Do the cushions stay in place or do they sink or slide forward at an uncomfortable angle?

A single seating panel allows as many people to sit on the couch as you like but you’ll have to clean the whole thing when spillages occur. Splitting the seating into two or three cushions usually means the seating is limited to that number. However, if there is a spillage you can just clean that cushion rather than the entire couch.

Sofas vary in price from as little as $500 all the way up to $20,000 or more. Work out your budget and then stretch it as far as is comfortable – you don’t want to be replacing your sofa in three years’ time.