A comfortable sofa for parents and grandparents: easy to sit on, easy to get up

For parents and grandparents, the best sofa is the one they can sit down on gracefully, stay on comfortably for a long conversation, and leave without a second thought. Four details make that happen:

• Seat height: how high the seat is from the floor. Higher seats make standing up easier.
• Seat depth: how far back the seat goes. A depth that suits the length of the thigh lets the back rest against the cushions with the feet flat.
• Comfort: how much the seat gives. A medium seat holds you up; a very soft one wraps you in.
• Arms: a steady, comfortable place to rest the hands and push up from.

Get these four right and the sofa becomes the favourite seat in the room for everyone, from grandparents to grandchildren.

A common rule is that a seat height of about 45 to 50 cm suits most adults who like to get up easily. At that height the knees sit level with the hips or slightly below them, so standing up is a natural movement forward and up.

The simplest test happens at home. Measure the height of the chair your parent finds most comfortable, from the floor to the top of the seat cushion, and look for a sofa within a few centimetres of it. A seat cushion also settles slightly when you sit, so a medium comfort keeps the height closer to the number on the page.

Seat depth matters as much as height. For sitting upright, about 50 to 56 cm suits most people: the back reaches the cushions while the feet stay flat on the floor and the knees bend comfortably at the front edge.

Deep, lounge-style seats are wonderful too, and they adapt easily. A firm, square cushion placed behind the back brings the backrest forward by 10 to 15 cm and turns a deep seat into an upright one. Many families keep one such cushion on the favourite seat of a grandparent, and take it away when the grandchildren want to curl up.

Our guide to sofa seat depth and height shows how to measure the depth that suits each person.

Every Pufflo sofa comes in two seat comforts, at the same price:

• Classic: the medium feel most sofas have. You sit on it rather than in it, and you get up easily.
• Cocoon: very soft. You sink in and feel wrapped, made for curling up and long, lazy evenings.

For parents and grandparents who want to rise easily, Classic is usually the happiest choice. The seat holds its height under you, so the knees stay well placed and standing up takes less effort. Three of our sofas start in Classic: Brioche, Doudou and Snoozo. You can choose Classic on Comfo and Nuage too when you order. Our article on soft or firm sofas explains the two comforts in more detail.

Arms do much more than shape a sofa's outline. For many older people they are part of sitting down and standing up: a hand on each arm gives a steady, comfortable push.

• Look for arms on both sides of the seat your parent will use most.
• Firm, padded arms feel reassuring under the hand.
• A comfortable arm height, often around 60 cm from the floor, lets the elbows rest naturally when seated.
• Rounded fronts are soft to lean on and easy on clothes.

On a corner sofa, the end seats beside an arm are the natural places for grandparents, with the corner and chaise for everyone else.

Brioche is a compact 2-seater, 206 cm wide, with rounded, enveloping arms and a comfortable seat height: lovely in a parent's own room or a quiet corner of the living room. Doudou is a wide corner sofa for the family room or majlis. Comfo has the highest seat of the collection; ordered in Classic, with a firm cushion behind the back, it seats grandparents comfortably while the rest of the family lounges on the deep modules beside them.

• A clear path of about 90 cm in front of and beside the sofa makes walking to and from it easy.
• A side table at arm height next to their seat, for tea, glasses and the remote.
• Good light: a floor or table lamp beside the sofa for reading, and soft light at night.
• A flat, low-pile rug with corners that lie flat, or a rug that stops just before the sofa's front edge.
• A favourite seat close to the door of the majlis or living room, so welcoming guests is easy.
• A light throw within reach for the air-conditioned evenings.

Need a different size or shape, for example a longer sofa for a family majlis? Our custom sofa page gets you a drawing and a price within 48 hours.