Is it "Couch" or "Sofa?" Which Goes Best with "Potato?"
Blaine Wieland, President of Home Reserve, a fourth-generation
furniture company, settles the long standing debate about
whether it's "a couch" or "a sofa".
Fort Wayne, IN December 2005 -- "When someone calls their
furniture a 'couch' I assume that they must be a comfort driven
person," he explains. "The word conjures up images of a sleepy
Saturday afternoon or a quiet evening with a book. On the other
hand, when someone calls their furniture a 'sofa' it seems to
imply that they think in terms of design and how everything
works together in their decorating plan."
But besides personal style, which is the right term to use? The
answer is sofa. The reason is simply because couches are not
sofas. A couch is the armless variety of furniture that one
would have seen in the Victorian period, as in "fainting couch."
It was a place for the ladies wearing those tight fitting
corsets which restricted breathing to be able to "sit a spell."
The root of the word from the French has to do with "to lie
down."
In our more modern times, we've added arms, taken off the legs,
and call it a sofa, which is in keeping with the Arabic roots of
that word which implies a meaning along the lines of "a bench"
or someplace meant for reclining or sitting, but not laying.
Blaine added, "So there it is. Here in America what most folks
have in their living room is a sofa. They may call it a couch
but a sofa by any other name is still...a sofa. Use this
information with caution. You can go ahead and feel superior
when you overhear someone using the wrong term but don't point
it out. It won't do to go around irritating all the 'sofa
potatoes.'"
Home Reserve, LLC makes ready-to-assemble sofas, loveseats,
chairs and ottomans. Sold directly to customers via the
Internet, this new furniture category offers built-in storage,
changeable covers in 60 fabrics and shipping in 5 to 10 business
days via UPS. Their web address is www.homereserve.com.
Media Contact: Byron Shank 260-969-6939