Choosing Cushion Support for a Sectional Sofa

Why sectionals are harder

A three-seater is a rectangle. A sectional is at least two rectangles meeting at a corner, and furniture makers barely try to standardise either one.

Two sectionals with the same footprint can have main runs a foot apart and chaise sections two feet apart. So a set built for one can be wrong for the other even though they'd look identical sitting side by side in a showroom.

The corner

Where the two runs meet you'll normally find either a square corner seat or a wedge. Either way it's the part with the least support under it, because the webbing has to span in two directions at once.

It's also where most people sit. Which is why sectionals tend to sag at the corner before anywhere else.

Measuring one

Cushions out. All of them. Then three numbers:

1. Main run width. The long side, inside face of the arm across to where the corner section starts.
2. Chaise length. The shorter arm of the L, measured the same way.
3. Seat depth. Front edge to backrest. Usually the same on both runs. If it isn't, use the smaller one.

If your corner is a separate seat rather than part of either run, measure it too and mention it when you get in touch.

Two ways to cover it

A matched set

We make two-piece sets sized for the common sectional layouts. One board for the main run, one for the chaise, both in the same box. When your measurements line up with a set, that's the simplest and cheapest way to go.

Two separate boards

When they don't line up, you want two boards chosen independently. One sized to your main run, one to your chaise. Costs a bit more than a set and it fits your actual furniture instead of an industry average.

The size finder handles this on its own. Pick Sectional, give it the three numbers, and if no set matches it'll build the pair and show you both boards with a combined price before anything goes in your cart.

Do you have to cover the whole thing?

Not necessarily. If the corner and the chaise have gone but the far end of the main run is still firm, supporting just the part that sagged is a perfectly reasonable choice.

Most people end up doing the lot, because a firm chaise next to a soft main run feels odd to sit on. But if budget's tight, start with the bit that's bothering you.

When to just ask

Sectionals are the one we most often want to look at ourselves. Send the three measurements and a photo of the bare seat base with the cushions out. The photo settles most questions in one look, and it costs you nothing.