Style
The sofa should always complement the style of your home décor. Incase you have a very traditional looking house, then go for a sofa having traditional lines. One with rolled arms, contoured back, skirting or tufted cushions. Modern sofas have cleaner lines with a less adorned look. This is the foremost aspect to keep in mind while purchasing a sofa.



Scale
Keep in mind the area of the room for which you are to buy a sofa. This will help you decide what length, breath and depth of sofa will look good / suit that room. Remember that at least three feet of circulation space should be there on each side of the sofa for the traffic to pass. Incase you are planning to spend a lot of time on the sofa, then get the length that fits the purpose with ease.

Tight Back or Pillow Back?
The furniture comes in basically two types as far as just the back of the sofa is concerned. One is with a tight back, in which the upholstery is tapered to the contours of the sofa’s back. Another type has a pillow back that consists of detachable cushions / pillows along the rear. The latter is normally regarded as being more comfy and inviting, but then you have to be extra careful with the fluffing.

Fabric

Incase you have children or pets like dogs and cats at home, then just bear in mind that the patterned fabric will hide stains much better than single hued ones. As such when you buy a good sofa, carefully inspect the fabric. Leather is very durable and easy to wash and take care of. But before you buy the sofa, take a small sample of the fabric home to see how it will look in that surrounding and light.