Sitcom art designers know the importance of sofas perhaps more than anyone else on Earth. The sofa is the heart of the family home – the lounge. It’s where you gather together to relax, let the defenses down, laugh, cry, and argue.
That sofa is also a whopping great piece of furniture right in the middle of the most social room in your house. So, you can see that whether on TV or in your home, a sofa needs to be done right.
So, here’s a good idea: why not check out the most celebrated sofas on TV when looking for inspiration for your new centerpiece? TV art designers are, after all, professionals. They’ve got to know a thing or two about furniture.
This is the thought that seems to have struck the folks over at HomeAdvisor. They’ve created an excellent digital wall chart illustrating the finest sitcom sofas of the past forty years.
From the wicker and psychedelic ‘80s patterning of The Golden Girls to the refined brown leather L-sofa of New Girl, it’s impressive just how much of a signature or thumbprint each sofa is for its host show. And there is a heck of a lot of good ideas in here, whether you dig the individual shows or not.
You’ve got the cozy, slightly kitsch family couches of Malcolm In the Middle and Full House, for example. Those familiar, repetitive patterns are a great idea if you’ve got a busy household with a chaotic but social feel to it – and you can’t guarantee it will always be tidy.
Or if you’re more of an urban sophisticate, check out the chic designs of Will & Grace or even Penny’s couch from The Big Bang Theory. Bold colors and an outline that grabs your attention will instantly add class to a professional’s apartment. And on the topic of sophistication, you can’t go wrong with Frasier, either – and his sofa was second-hand, too.
But ‘pre-loved’ doesn’t need to mean cheap. When the producers of Frasier sourced a replica of a sofa, Coco Chanel kept in her Paris atelier to make the radio shrink’s crib look a bit more pretentious; they ended up spending $15,000 recover it with Italian suede.
But then Marty’s worn-out old recliner looks pretty comfy too.
Whatever your choice on the sofa, take your time and be careful to get a balance between practical and fancy. This is the heart of your home, and it’s going to get a lot of love!
