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The Family Room Sectional was our best choice yet

    In our last house, the living room was open to the kitchen. It was our main hang-out space for hosting parties, hanging out with the kids and watching tv. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you’ll likely remember the shingled fireplace and tufted chesterfield sofa that lived in that room.

    The new house has a more typical floor plan with a formal living room near the front of the house (see it here) and a good-sized family room off the kitchen.

    Having two spaces for gathering was very appealing as we could use the living room for quiet, adult-ish time and the family room for more casual family hanging out. We put the tufted sofa in the living room (see it here) which left us seat-less in the family room.

    And that meant a search was on for a good, comfortable, stylish couch was on.

    The main criteria were:

    SIZE – big enough for all six of us to sit on

    STYLE – clean, straight lines

    QUALITY – durable frame, hard-wearing upholstery, down-filled cushions

    AVAILABILITY – delivery within 4 weeks (we were on a time crunch to get furniture in the room before our family came to stay for Christmas).

    Because of the size and slightly strange shape of the room and because we wanted a big, deep, cushy couch, we decided an L-shaped sectional was our best option. After lots of online searching and a few days of furniture store shopping, we ultimately landed on the Lounge II 3 piece sectional from Crate and Barrel.

    You guys. I know it is just a couch, but seriously, it is by far the most comfortable couch I’ve ever sat on. Which can be a real problem because all I want to do now is sit on it :)

    The size fits perfectly in the odd nook of the family room. We have big plans to elevate the simple style of this room (I’ll share our ideas soon!) but until then, the couch was just what we needed to make it feel cozy and usable. At Christmas, with all our family here, we fit 8 adults without a problem on this big thing. That was exactly what we were hoping for and it made us extra happy with our choice.

    Once we pulled the purchase-trigger on the couch, we realized we didn’t have a coffee table. The hope for this room was to be a family-friendly, casual place for hanging out and entertaining so we wanted a coffee table that would not only be the right scale next to the huge sectional, but could also work for extra seating.

    After searching and searching, I came across this tufted ottoman bench on sale at Target. The price was great and with two placed side-by-side, it creates a large surface that can also be pulled apart for more seating. The linen color is very close to the color of the couch – not a perfect match, but not too clashy. I’m thinking I’ll reupholster the top of the ottomans at some point just for contrast and maybe in a more durable, darker upholstery fabric since these get lots of wear. I’m thinking a navy herringbone could be pretty.

    To save the existing fabric and add more pattern to the room, I draped my favorite wool blanket across the ottomans and topped with an old basket to hold books, remotes, a vase of the prettiest ranunculus and Jenga blocks for impromptu playing. There have been a few times when we needed a hard surface for drinks and snacks, so I just bring in another tray to set those on. For the most part, though, we don’t eat and drink out of the kitchen, so that hasn’t been much of a problem.

    We ordered the couch online, but went into a Crate & Barrel store beforehand to see it in person and make sure it was the right choice. I’m so glad we did. We would have ordered the darker gray version, but in person much preferred the light color (ours is the Taft fabric in Cement). And – BONUS! – it is an in-stock fabric so it shipped much faster!

    The couch is very deep, which we absolutely love, and throw pillows are almost necessary to keep you sitting upright. Luckily for me, I have a total love affair with pillows and was happy to add a few more to my collection for this room.

    Overall, we are so pleased with the choice. It was an investment, for sure, and hopefully a family couch we can keep for years and years.

    There will be so many more updates of this room that we’re hoping to get to this Spring. I think it might become my favorite room in the house if all goes as planned. Details to come, of course.

    For now, here are all of the sources found in our casual family room setup:

    1. sectional | 2. floor lamp | 3. pom pom throw | 4. leather pillow | 5. x pillow | 6. side table | 7. ottoman | 8. check blanket | 9. wood lamp (similar) | 10. basket | 11. faux fur pillow | 12. modern dot pillow | 13. geometric pillow | 14. blue pillow (similar)

     

    49 thoughts on “The Family Room Sectional was our best choice yet”

    1. Hello – I realize this post is a few years old but I’m hoping you can share how you are liking your couch and how it’s holding up now that you’ve had it for a few years. Thanks!

    2. Hi there! We are about to purchase the Lounge sofa as well, but opting for the petite version. I’m curious if a year+ in if you are still loving it? Would love any recent feedback you have. By the way, I love the pillow and coffee table selection.

    3. I realize this post is from quite a while ago, but I’m really hoping you still read comments! I just stumbled upon your post while googling the Lounge II couch (the closest Crate & Barrel is like 4 hours from me so I have to look at everything online). I LOVE the color of your couch!! It’s exactly what I’m looking for! You wrote that you got the Taft Cement color; on the C&B website that color swatch looks kinda brown/beige but in your pics the couch looks 100% grey. Is that true, is your couch completely a light grey color, or are there brown undertones to it in person? I’d really appreciate your insight! Thank you!!

      1. I would say it is a warm oatmeal/gray color. More beige-y gray than gray gray. You should be able to order a fabric swatch and that would probably help you make the decision!

    4. Did you ever consider the “petite” version of this sectional they also offer at C&B? It’s about 5” shorter on the seat and was wondering if you tried it and what your thoughts were or if you just wanted much deeper seating. I’ve been sitting on this couch in the store every time we’re around the area, and am currently saving to pull the purchase trigger!

    5. curious how you are still liking this sectional. Especially regarding fabric piling and feathers. I ordered the same exact sectional in the same color and a little worried!

    6. Thank you for posting this beautiful inspiration! I have been on the hunt for an ottoman for over a year! We ordered the Target ottoman and it just arrived today — it is so beautiful and a great buy! I saw a similar one on West Elm that was $700. Thanks for sharing!

    7. Love this sofa! We’ve had our eye on it our our main living space for a few months now. I’ve had other friends that have it too, and they’ve loved it! What is the color of the upholstery you chose? I love the way it looks in the photos…and it’s hard to tell on CB’s website which one you might have :)

      Thanks!

    8. Love the new look Emily! I also have a huge sectional in my family room. I’ve been debating about buying the arching Lamp from Target also. I was wondering if you compared the one you bought to the other one that’s very similar but a little cheaper and the base is solid silver. I was going for the cheaper one, but not sure it will arch over the area enough. Would really appreciate hearing your thoughts. Thank you so much, I so look forward to reading your posts each week.

    9. Hi Emily! I’ve seen your online class advertised, which looks amazing! Hope to do it one day! Though, do you offer instruction in a live group setting? Sorry for the super random question! Candice

      The couch looks AMAZING!

    10. Great sofa! The trim around your windows sticks out like an orange thumb. Either bring more of that color in the room or paint it white.

    11. Hi! Do you still have that terrific couch in your living room? I am debating with myself if that is the couch for our living room – we have been looking for ages and ages and I can’t settle on anything that is clean and crisp looking yet not too formal. I may need you to do a road trip to come and consult!

      XOXO
      Steph

    12. Have you checked out the Kardiel store in Des Moines (WA, not IA lol)? We are remodeling our house at the moment & we have found several sofas we LOVE there, but we tried to go visit the store on New Year’s Eve, and they were closed :( As we live several hours away, it is not easy for us to get back up there quickly & we haven’t been able to get back to see any of our choices in person.

      I was wondering if you have heard anything about them or have any reviews?

    13. Looks beautiful! After paying more attention to the pillows I realized I have the same geometric ones from Target and CB2! No wonder I like them in your living room as well! :)

    14. This looks like a great family space! One thought, when you do recover the benches/ottoman you could always reupholster one and put a piece or wood or marble on the other so you would have the hard surface for drinks you mentioned … Cheers – CT

    15. I believe in a previous post about your other sofa you mentioned that you require that the back cushions be connected. We purchased a sofa with loose back and bottom cushions and now I know why! Im constantly fixing them! Are the cushions of this sofa connected? Top and bottom?

      1. These cushions are not connected. Because the couch is so deep, it doesn’t seem to be as much a problem and I have been very clear with my children that they can not sit on the top of the back cushions :)

    16. We have this sectional as well and LOVE it! We have a chaise on one side of our… our entire family can “lounge” together very comfortably! Regarding the feathers, I do see little ones coming out of the throw pillows that come with it but they are not too bad. Also, we purchased the velvet throw pillows from C&B when we purchased the couch and they are the best pillows we have ever had! I would highly recommend this sectional and the pillows.

    17. We also have a Crate and Barrel sectional…the Axis. I love your pick…we chose ours for so many of the same reasons. We have had ours for EIGHT years and still LOVE it! Stands up to kids and dogs very well.

    18. We have been on the search for a while to find the perfect sofa setup (want to seat 4 and a matching ottoman to make one side like a chaise if desired). I seriously appreciate your insight and recommendations for your family’s choice. A few questions…. HOW do you manage such light colored furniture with younger children? We have teens and while I LOVE the look of the natural linen my insides cringe when I think about having the fam on it.

      Also, your original sofa, the tufted one, it looks like you can fit four people on it relatively well (two booties per cushion), is it large enough to do that? Also, the back of the sofa seems rather short. Is it too short to really lean back into for adults? We LOVE to have family movie night so being able to relax is a must. The closest retailer to me for either of the sofas you have gotten is about an hour + away so any info on it before taking the drive would be so wonderful! Thank you!

      1. Great questions.

        About the light color … it hasn’t been an issue. We don’t eat on the couch and take our shoes off at the door, so that avoids most of the potential for staining. And I’m pretty protective of both this new couch and the tufted linen one. We have a playroom couch where the kids can build forts and be harder on the furniture.

        As for the tufted sofa, it fits 3 adults comfortably. Four is possible, but a little squishy. The back doesn’t feel too low and it also has a fairly deep seat, which we like. It is not nearly as loungy as the new sectional, but very pretty and still comfortable.

    19. Question about the floor lamp: when a lot of people sat on the couch, did the person on the end near the floor lamp feel like they were under interrogation? I’m searching for a “sit on the end of the couch and knit” lamp and am having trouble getting the right light. End table lamps that are tall enough seem to expose the naked light bulb to the eye too much, task lamps are ugly, tall floor lamps create shadows that make handiwork difficult. Any insights for me on this?

    20. I JUST bought that lamp!!!! And, sadly, it didn’t work for the area, but I did end up with the 3 tiered gold one and I am thrilled with it! We converted our traditional living room into a super casual area. I replaced the couch with a gray-linen tufted trundle day bed I got on Overstock.com. A kitchen stool with a gold-lacquer tray on top is a side table (with a lamp) and the armoire houses a small TV and a second video game console on which I relented. And now… it is used every day … for hours on end!! LOVE!!!

    21. Love this look! I’m currently on the hunt for a new couch, I was looking at the reviews of this one and many people said they feathers from the cushions come out. Have you experienced this? Is it too deep for older people to sit on?

      1. We have had this couch in the 83″ length for almost 5 years. Correction, we had one in an upholstered fabric that apparently had quality control issues and pilled after only 1 year, but Crate & Barrel is SO AWESOME they replaced the couch for FREE when we finally called after having it for 2 years. We paid extra to have it replaced with a slipcovered version which I highly recommend; it’s so easy to throw the covers in the wash.

        The slipcover may make a difference in the feather issue as well since there’s double layers of fabric. We significantly have more feathers come out of our down pillows (from Homegoods) than the couch.

        As much as I love the deep cushions, they are difficult for our grandparents and my mom “complains” about it but I know she secretly loves it. We keep a bunch of thick pillows along the back to make it easier to sit up straight. We also chose to have separate chairs/setee for more “upright” seating options, but the deepness of the Lounge is more in line with our for family’s every day needs. Most people who comes over to our house fight over this couch.

        Sorry for the novel!! I usually never comment on anything but we love this couch so much I couldn’t resist!

      2. I haven’t had any issues with feathers. I would say that it sits very deep. Make sure you have pillows to put behind older people to keep them sitting upright.

      3. We have this sectional as well and LOVE it! We have a chaise on one side of our… our entire family can “lounge” together very comfortably! Regarding the feathers, I do see little ones coming out of the throw pillows that come with it but they are not too bad. Also, we purchased the velvet throw pillows from C&B when we purchased the couch and they are the best pillows we have ever had! I would highly recommend this sectional and the pillows.

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