Linen Sofa Buying Guide

Linen is a fabric that’s been extremely popular for sofas for thousands of years. With its natural, fresh and chic look, along with how practical, versatile and sustainable it is, this material appeals to many homeowners.

If you’re considering buying a linen sofa, keep reading to learn everything you need to know to help you make a final decision.

Is Linen Good for Sofas?

Linen is a fantastic choice for a sofa for a number of reasons. Typically, sofas that are used everyday need to be made from a durable fabric...enter linen. Linen is an extremely hard-wearing material made from flax seed that will stand up to a lot of wear and tear. This type of fabric is ideal if you have small children or pets as it’ll be able to handle almost anything that’s thrown at it.

Linen is also very comfortable and naturally cooling so is perfect for even the hottest of days. Plus, thanks to the compact weave of its fibres, it takes a lot more effort for any dust or dirt to get trapped in, making it much easier to clean and maintain.

Linen Sofa Types

There are many different linen sofa types available to choose from, but here are some of the most popular styles:

Linen corner sofa

Stylish and comfortable a linen corner sofa is a classic design that’s perfect for entertaining guests or just simply lounging on.

Linen chaise sofa

A linen chaise sofa is the ideal choice if you want to relax and put your feet up at the end of the day. Perfect for smaller spaces, it also provides an extra seating arrangement for any surprise visitors.

Linen sectional sofa

You can essentially build your own sofa with a linen sectional sofa. Choose how many seats you want, along with the colour and whether to include an ottoman or corner seat so to ensure it’ll fit perfectly in the available space.

Linen 2-seater sofa

A linen 2-seater sofa is a great choice if you have a small space or have recently moved in with your partner. Comfortable, functional and cosy, what more could you want?

Linen 3-seater sofa

For something a little bit bigger that will allow you to stretch out, a soft linen 3-seater sofa will be the best choice for you.

What are the Best Colours for Linen Sofas?

Linen is a fabric that can hold dye very well, meaning there is a huge selection of colours available to choose from. This then makes it far easier to find a colour that matches the overall colour scheme of your living room. The most popular colour choice for linen sofas include:

Cream linen sofa

Cream linen sofas offer a fresh, clean look and will add a touch of warmth to your living room. Perfect for a neutral colour scheme, a cream linen sofa will add texture and interest and, if there’s a lot of natural light in your living room, having a cream sofa will make the whole space look bright and spacious.

If you have pale colours in the living room, such as pale blue, pale green or pale pink, a cream sofa will work extremely well and help to make those little splashes of colour pop more. Dark browns and navy blues can also be styled with a cream sofa for a more dramatic, contrasting interior.

Grey linen sofa

For a luxury look and feel, a grey linen sofa is perfect. Grey is a very popular colour scheme for living rooms because of how versatile it is. You can easily add bright pops of colour if you want to, or stick to a sleek and modern monochromatic look. Whatever your style, a grey sofa will fit in perfectly.

Whether you choose a dark grey, light grey, or mid-toned shade of grey for your sofa, the opportunities are endless. Bright yellows, soft pinks, cool blues or vibrant oranges will all work beautifully with your grey sofa. Take a look at our styling tips for grey sofas to help inspire you.

Blue linen sofa

Blue linen sofas are always a popular choice. From deep rich regal tones to add some sophistication to your room, to pale, seaside blues giving you all the beachy vibes, to even vibrant and unique teals for a real statement piece. Blue is bold but very easy to work with and style.

There are many other colours that complement blue shades wonderfully including pink, orange, green, varying shades of blue, mustard and white, so you have plenty of choices to play around with.

How to Clean a Linen Sofa

To ensure your sofa lasts and looks fresh for as long as possible, it’ll need to be cleaned and maintained regularly. Luckily, linen is a fairly low maintenance fabric, so cleaning it won’t be a big task. Like with any sofa, it’s important to hoover it on a weekly basis to get rid of any loose dirt or crumbs. Hoovering your sofa often also prevents any smaller particles embedding themselves into the weave making it much more difficult to remove.

If something spills on your linen sofa, and chances are this will happen, especially if you have children or pets around, you’ll need to grab a clean, damp cloth and gently dab at the stain to lift it. A bit of patience may be required as the dabbing process could take a while depending on how big or dark the stain is. But, one thing you must never do is rub the stain with a damp cloth as this will only embed the stain further into the sofa.

For more stubborn stains and spills on linen, you’ll most likely need to use a mild soap or detergent to help. Again, dab at the stain with a clean cloth and eventually it’ll start to lift. Bicarbonate of soda is also a handy option to remove stains from linen. Simply sprinkle some onto the stain, leave it for a few minutes to work its magic, hoover it up and gently dab it until it’s gone. Once the stain has been removed, leave the sofa to air dry.

At Swyft, all of our linen sofas are easy to clean and freshen up. Take a look at our sofa cleaning tips for more help and advice.

If you’re currently on the hunt for the perfect linen sofa, browse our range of linen sofas here .