Single Sofas, Sofa Chairs and 2 Seater Sofas

Seat height is the dimension that most decides whether a chair is comfortable. With shoes off, the sitter's feet should rest flat on the floor and their thighs should be level or slope gently down towards the knee. Too low, and the knees rise above the hips, which is tiring and makes getting up hard. Too high, and the feet dangle and the front edge presses into the backs of the thighs.

Seat depth comes next. Measured from the front edge to the backrest, it should let the sitter's back meet the back of the chair while leaving a few fingers' gap behind the knee. Tall people want more depth; shorter people end up perching on the front edge of a deep chair or stuffing cushions behind them.

Arm height matters more on a single seater than people expect. Arms that are too low give nothing to rest on; arms too high push the shoulders up. For a reading chair, the elbow should rest naturally with the forearm level when holding a book.

Many Goan homes have three generations under one roof, and the most-used single seat is often a parent's or grandparent's chair. For an older sitter, a slightly higher seat and a firmer cushion make standing up far easier, because the hips start above the knees and the body does not sink.

Arms should be solid, at a comfortable push-up height and extend to the front edge of the seat, so they give leverage at exactly the moment of rising. A shallower seat depth helps too, keeping the feet under the body. We avoid very soft, low lounge chairs for this use, however inviting they look, and we choose a seat foam with a firm core and a softer wrap so the chair is comfortable without being hard.

Fabric choice matters as well. A smooth, tight weave is easier to slide across when sitting down and getting up than a deep velvet pile, and a removable cover can be washed if there are spills.

Small chairs are easy to get wrong in both directions. In a compact flat, a bulky armchair with wide rolled arms can take as much floor as a slim two-seater. In a tall Portuguese-era room with high ceilings and deep window reveals, a dainty accent chair can look stranded.

In tight rooms we keep arms slim, raise the chair on legs so floor shows beneath it, and keep the back no higher than needed. In large rooms we work in pairs: two matching sofa chairs either side of a window, or flanking a console, read as a deliberate group and hold their own against the room's height. A rug that the front legs sit on also anchors a single chair.

Corners deserve a plan. A chair set diagonally across a corner, with a lamp behind, makes a reading nook in a bedroom; the same chair pushed flat against one wall just looks parked. We sketch both on the plan at the survey before deciding.

A favourite chair is used daily in the same spot, so its seat front and arm fronts take heavy rubbing. We recommend at least heavy domestic grade, around 25,000 Martindale rubs, for a well-used sofa chair, and general domestic grade is enough for an accent chair that is rarely sat in.

Near the coast, tight-woven synthetics and performance blends resist damp and mould better than pure cotton and linen, and they keep their colour in a sunny window seat. Fibre-wrapped foam stays fresher through the monsoon than feather-filled cushions, which can hold moisture and smell musty in a closed room.

Because single chairs are small, they are also the easiest pieces to try a bolder fabric on. A deep colour or a pattern on one chair adds interest without the commitment of a whole sofa. You can preview options on our sofa fabric simulator, then see real samples in your room's light at the visit.

A ready-made chair suits a room with no particular constraints and a sitter of average height. Made to measure earns its place when the sitter is notably tall, short or older, when the chair has to match an existing sofa exactly, or when the corner it goes in is unusually narrow or deep.

If you already own a chair with a sound hardwood frame, reupholstering it with new foam and fabric is often the more sensible route, and we can adjust the seat height and firmness as part of that work. For a homestay or rental, a fitted removable cover on a simple chair is usually the most practical answer.