Like love at first sight, finding that oh-so-perfect sofa can happen in an instant. However, most shoppers make multiple visits to the furniture store before purchasing to research fabrics, styles, finishes, and back designs.
To help those shoppers in the latter group find their ideal sofa style, we share all about different sofa arm styles, how they look, and the decor style they lend themselves.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF ARMS ON SOFAS?
While there are many different sofa arm styles, we've curated the most popular ones here. We've included these arm-style designs in our American Leather sofas pictured below.
| CURVED ARM SOFA | |
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The Look: A simple flair or curve to this arm comes from the sofa base slightly to a significant degree. The look can be elegant without being too exaggerated. The Style: Works nicely in contemporary decor. |
WIDE TRACK ARM SOFA |
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| The Look: Track Arm sofas come in wide and petite (thin) formats. This arm style features straight lines from bottom to top with a flat top where your armrests are. The wide track arm design features a wide to a very wide arm that gives a sofa a heavier appearance. This volume makes it ideal for larger living rooms, open family rooms, and lofts. The Style: Contemporary to modern. |
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PETITE TRACK ARM SOFA |
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The Look: As mentioned in the previous section, track arm sofas come in wide and petite. While a wide track arm provides a wider area for your arm to rest, a petite track arm is the most slender. Due to their smaller footprint, they work well in smaller spaces, apartments, or studios. The Style: Elegant, contemporary, but also works with transitional spaces. |
SLOPE ARM SOFA |
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| The Look: This arm slopes from the top of the sofa's back into a comfortable arm. The feel is elevated and elegant. A slope arm sofa extends from the couch’s full height into the arm. The end result is a contemporary looking sofa that has an elevated vibe. The Style: The vibe of the slope arm can go from stately to glamorous by changing the fabric or adding nail head trim. |
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SHELTER ARM SOFA |
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The Look: Just as its name suggests, this arm provides a sheltered feeling while sitting on it. The arms extend down from the sofa's back, sloping down to give a high armrest. The Style: Formal to contemporary, depending upon fabric, tufted or not tufted. |
KEY ARM SOFA |
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| The Look: Based on the Greek Key motif, this arm is the most notable of sofa arm types. They can have a flat to pleated design and often have a wood or metal accent. The Style: Formal and upscale, found often on high-end sofas. |
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WEDGE ARM SOFA |
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The Look: Just as its name suggests, this arm is shaped like a wedge when viewed facing it. The arm is thicker at its base while it flairs out in appearance. This style offers a relaxed shape to rest your head, which makes it a favorite for those who like to sleep on their sofa. The Style: It has a mid-century modern vibe but works in contemporary spaces. |
ROLLED ARM SOFA |
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| The Look: Perhaps the most versatile of arm styles, the rolled arm can take on a formal, transitional, or casual one with just a few variations. For informal settings, the roll of the arm offers a comfortable place to lay your head. The Style: The flat front of the arm, while casual as is, can be dressed up by adding any number of embellishments and designs such as sock, panel, pleat, and runching. |
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We hope that you learned more about different sofa arm styles but these styles can also be found on chairs, sectionals, sleeper sofas and other pieces of furniture. We invite you to view other content in our resource library to ensure you are making an educated purchase.
