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Buyingalivingroompiecebypiecefeelslikethesmart,carefulwaytofurnishahome.Youpickasofayoulove,thenhuntforamatchingchair,thenacoffeetable,thenasidetable,andslowlytheroomcomestogether.Inpractice,itoftenendstheotherway. Thesofaarrives,thechairyouwantedisoutofstock,thetablethatlookedrightonlineisthewrongheight,andmonthslatertheroomstilllookshalf-finished.Amatchinglivingroomsetsolvesadifferentproblemthanmostpeoplethink.Thatdoesnotmeanmakingeverypieceidentical.Itisaboutmakingonedecisionthatcoversscale,colour,andstyleatonce,sotheroomworksfromthefirstdayinsteadofwaitingforthelastpiecetoarrive. AleatherlivingroomsetfromSohomod. TheHiddenCostofMixingPieces Buyingseparatelylookscheaperbecauseeachpurchaseissmaller.Addedup,itisoftenmoreexpensive.Youpaydeliveryseveraltimesinsteadofonce.Youbuyandreturnpiecesthatdonotmatch.Youendupwithasparesidetableorachairthatneverquitefitsandquietlystaysinthecorner.Timeisacosttoo.Eachpiecemeansanotherroundofmeasuring,comparing,andwaiting. Asetbundlesthesofa,chairs,andoftentablesintooneorderwithonedeliveryandoneprice.Thatalonecansavearealamount.Moreimportantly,asetremovestheriskofbuyingapiecethatclashes.Themanufacturerhasalreadymatchedthewoodtones,thefabric,andtheproportions.Youarenotguessingifthechairwillsitwellnexttothesofa.Someonehasalreadychecked. WhatMatchesandWhatDoesNotNeedTo Amatchingsetdoesnotmeanaboringroom.Thebigpiecesshouldmatch,becausetheysetthetone.Thesofaandchairsshouldsharethesamefabricorleather,thesamewoodfinish,andthesamegeneralshape.Thatgivestheroomacalmbase.Thesmallerpiecesarewhereyoucanaddvariety. Arug,cushions,athrow,alamp,andwallartcanalldifferandstillwork,becausetheysitontopofthatcalmbase.Thinkofthesetastheframeandtheaccessoriesasthecolour.Ifyouwanttheroomtofeelpersonal,changetheaccessories,notthesofa.Swapcushioncoverswiththeseasons,addaplant,orhangapieceofartyoulike.Theroomwillfeellikeyourswithoutlosingtheorderthatmakesitlookfinished. SizeandScaleDoneOnce Scaleisthehardestpartoffurnishingaroom,anditiswheresetshelpmost.Asofathatistoobigforitschairslooksbulky.Chairsthataretoolownexttoahighsofamaketheseatingfeeluneven.Tablesthataretootallortoolowmakethewholegroupawkwardtouse.Inaset,thoserelationshipsarealreadyworkedout.Thecoffeetableistherightheightnexttothesofa.Thesidetablesaretherightheightnexttothechairs.Thearmsandbackssitatheightsthatlookbalancedtogether. Thatmattersmorethanitsounds,becausescaleiswhatmakesaroomfeelcalmorrestless.Whenyoushopforaset,measuretheroomonce,checkthefullfootprintoftheset,andconfirmthatwalkwaysanddoorwaysstillwork. When you are looking at living room sets, check the full footprint of the set, not the sofa alone. One measurement session covers the whole room, instead of adding up separate pieces in your head. WhenaSetIstheWrongCall Asetisnotrightforeveryhome,anditisworthsayingsoplainly.Ifyoualreadyownagoodsofayoulove,buyingafullsetmeansreplacingsomethingthatstillworks.Inthatcase,buythepiecesyouactuallyneed.Ifyourroomisaveryunusualshape,astandardsetmaynotfit,andacustommixmightserveyoubetter. Ifyouenjoyhuntingforvintageorone-offpiecesandyouhavethepatiencetowaitfortherightones,amixedroomcanlookwonderful.Therealquestionishonest.Doyouhavethetime,themeasurements,andtheeyetomakeseparatepiecesworktogether?Ifyes,mixaway.Ifyouwantaroomthatworkssoon,withoutmonthsofsearchingandreturning,asetisthesaferchoice.Thereisnoprizeformakingfurnishingharderthanitneedstobe. HowtoMakeaSetLookLessLikeaShowroom Themostcommonworryaboutsetsisthattheroomwilllooklikeashopdisplay.Itwill,ifyouleaveitexactlyasitarrived.Thefixissimple.Addthreethingsthatdidnotcomeinthebox.First,somethingsoftandpersonal,likecushionsorathrowinacolouryoulike.Second,somethingliving,likeaplantorfreshflowers.Third,somethingwithastory,likeabook,aphoto,orapieceofartyouchose. Movethepiecesslightlyoffaperfectline.Angleonechairalittle.Putasidetablewhereitisactuallyuseful,notwherethecatalogueputit.Asetgivesyouafinishedbase.Yourjobistoloosenitjustenoughthatitlookslivedin.Thattakesanafternoon,notarenovation. Matchingsetssavemoneybecausetheycutdeliverycosts,returns,andhalf-finishedrooms.Theysaveregretbecausethescaleandstylearesettledbeforeyoubuy.Theyarenotrightforeveryhome,butforanyonewhowantsaroomthatworksfromdayone,theyarethesimplestpath.Pickthesetthatfitstheroom,thenmakeityourswithafewpersonaltouches,andyouwillbedone. Small…