The 20 Best Couches for Small Spaces That’ll Fit Almost Anywhere

I’ll never forget my first apartment couch: an IKEA loveseat so small it could barely fit two people on it, upholstered in a difficult-to-clean bright white fabric. It was compact and cute, stylish enough and yet able to blend into any apartment. But that small white couch didn’t survive long (I think it went maybe a week without a coffee spill!)

Today, 15 years and many sofas, loveseats, and sectionals later, I actually know what to look for when choosing a quality couch for small spaces. While size is the most critical detail to think about, after owning and testing multiple couches of different types, I know the upholstery material, frame construction, and cushion comfort all play important roles in how durable, comfortable, and eye-catching the best of the bunch are.

Whether you’re searching for a super compact couch for a small apartment, a small sleeper sofa that’ll fit anywhere, or a customizable modular sofa that’ll fit in a small living room, our picks for the best couches for small spaces have you covered on every front.

Our Favorite Couches for Small Spaces

The best couches for small spaces may be shorter width-wise, clocking in at around 74 inches or less. But our top picks capture all of the same cushy-yet-supportive comfort of full-size sofas in smaller packages. With plush seat and back cushions, a wide range of upholstery options, and versatile styling, these top small couches can fit into homes and rooms with any kind of space constraints.

Our favorite couch for small spaces is Pottery Barn’s Cameron Roll Arm Slipcovered Sofa, which we’ve been testing for over two years. While we’ve been lounging on the full-size version of this couch, it does come in two smaller loveseat configurations–a 63-inch and a 75-inch–that shrink this durable, easy-care piece down in size. If you’re looking for a couch that’s compact and comfortable, with years of life in its frame and cushions, this is a sure bet.

Pottery Barn Cameron Roll Arm Slipcovered Sleeper Sofa

$1,999 at Pottery Barn

Albany Park Lido Sofa

View on Albanypark.com

Crate & Barrel Lounge Deep Apartment Sofa

View on Crate And Barrel

Allmodern Rae Loveseat

$1,249 at Allmodern.com

Best Budget Couches for Small Spaces

Since you’re shopping for a smaller-than-typical sofa, it’s usually pretty easy to find more budget-friendly options at your favorite furniture retailers. While a full-size couch can cost $1,000 or more depending on how fancy (and how large) you’d like to get with your seating space, couches for small spaces tend to run under $900. And it’s possible to find cheap picks priced between $250 and $600, too.

One of our top budget-friendly couches for small spaces is the Brumback Velvet Sofa from Mercury Row. Featuring mid-century modern styling and sleek lines, this couch is just under 70 inches wide and built with resilient foam cushions and a soft-to-the-touch velvet-like upholstery material. We especially love its solid wood frame made with eucalyptus and rubberwood, a hallmark of a nicely durable build.

Mercury Row Brumback Velvet Sofa

$250 at Wayfair

Wade Logan Carmencita Loveseat

$296 at Wayfair

Mercer41 Everly Quinn Hessville Loveseat

$240 at Wayfair

Trent Austin Design Dover Sofa

$300 $285 at Wayfair

Best Loveseats for Small Spaces

Loveseats are one of the best options to consider if you need a couch that’ll fit into a small space. Designed with seating for two and available in sizes that range from 52 inches to 68 inches, they can be squeezed into small living rooms, offices, spare bedrooms, and dorm rooms with ease–and they come in a variety of styles.

One of our favorite loveseats for small spaces is IKEA’s Morabo Loveseat, which features soft upholstery, high-resiliency foam cushions for long-lasting comfort, and a solid hardwood and plywood frame. Even better? If you want to add a small chaise, the arms on this loveseat can be removed to do so, giving you a little adaptability.

IKEA MORABO Loveseat

$649 at Ikea

Pottery Barn Preston Sofa

$799 at Pottery Barn

Allmodern Miller Loveseat

$949 at Allmodern.com

Article Ceni Loveseat

View on Article.com

Best Sectionals and Modular Couches for Small Spaces

Modular sofas can be as large or small as you need them to be, and their adaptability allows you to make changes later on if you upgrade your space. We love Anabei’s Modular Performance 2-Seater Sectional, which is just 68.5 inches wide and yet offers all the perks of a classic modular sectional, including a small chaise. The 10 different upholstery materials offer performance and more style-forward options, too, for total customization.

Another great option is IKEA’s Finnala Loveseat, which looks like your typical simple loveseat yet offers the ability to change and adopt different configurations. By taking the side arms off of this couch for small spaces, you can add more sections to it and turn it into a larger sectional sofa. I owned this sofa in one of my past apartments, and its consistent comfort, solid frame (which features plywood and solid hardwood), and flexibility make it a worthwhile investment.

Anabei Modular Performance 2-Seater

View on Anabei.com

IKEA FINNALA Loveseat

$1,049 at Ikea

Burrow Arch Nomad Loveseat

$959 at Burrow

Cozey Ciello Sofa

View on Cozey.com

Best Sleeper Couches for Small Spaces

Even the smallest couches can transform into beds–so why not opt for a sleeper sofa that’ll fit your small space? You can maximize a room’s functionality and still have plenty of room to move around. We particularly like Pottery Barn’s Cameron Slope Arm Sleeper Sofa, which is similar to the non-sleeper version we’ve tested; classic styling and comfort pair with a traditional pull-out mechanism to reveal a twin-sized mattress.

While traditional pull-out sleeper sofas are a great option for any small space, you can also opt for something more unique and style-forward. We love Hernest’s Modern Velvet Upholstered Sofa Bed Sleeper, which features rounded arms and a curvature that makes for one gorgeous statement couch. Its simple fold-out style sleeping space makes transforming seating space into a bed a breeze, too, with no complicated mechanisms.

Pottery Barn Cameron Slope Arm Sleeper Sofa

View on Pottery Barn

Hernest Modern Sofa Bed Sleeper

View on Hernest.com

Article Braam Vintage Sofa Bed

View on Article.com $1,299 at Havenly.com

Koala Sofa Bed

View on Koala.com

How to Choose a Couch for a Small Space

What’s the Right Size Couch for a Small Space?

Couches come in a vast range of different sizes, but on average, your typical full-size sofa (which can seat three to four people) will stretch 84 inches wide. Larger options, like sectional sofas and couches with chaise add-ons, can reach 88 to 91 inches wide–or even wider.

Loveseats, on the other hand, can be a little too small. The average loveseat (which seats two people) runs 52 inches wide. However, loveseats can stretch up to 72 inches wide, offering a bit of extra seating space.

When you’re working with a small space, you want a couch that falls somewhere between these two sizes. The best couches for small spaces are typically those between 70 and 74 inches wide, with 72 inches as the sweet spot for most apartments or small rooms.

All of the couches on our list fall in the 70- to 74-inch range. However, we think it’s important to note that you shouldn’t just assume a 70-inch couch will fit your room. Before you settle on any particular sofa, make sure to measure your available space so you know just how much wiggle room you have when it comes to sizing.

Loveseat, Modular, or Sleeper: Choose the Right Couch Type

Once you’ve nailed down the size of the couch you need, you’ll want to turn your attention to the type. While there isn’t as much variety to choose from when you’re looking for a couch for small spaces, you’ll still find there are a number of different types, shapes, and styles.

Loveseats are a popular choice for small spaces, since they’re designed to be significantly smaller than your average couch. If you like the compact width and depth–loveseats are typically between 52 and 64 inches wide and about 30 to 40 inches deep–of these smaller seating options, they can easily fit into most apartments, offices, and other smaller-sized rooms.

Modular sofas are another great option when you’re short on space. These couches are constructed with individual modules, or sections, that can be arranged and configured, offering a high level of customization. And they’re particularly ideal for small spaces because you can remove modules or reconfigure them to suit the unique needs of your room (or add more in later, if you move and find yourself with more space.)

Another option you might want to consider if you’re hoping to maximize your space is a small sleeper sofa. While huge, heavy sleeper sofas might come to mind when you think about these dual-use couches, they don’t have to be oversized. 

It is possible to find compact sleeper sofas, like Pottery Barn’s Cameron Slope Arm Sleeper Sofa. Just as comfortable as your average couch, a sleeper sofa offers both space to lounge and sleep, turning your living room, den, or any other space into a bedroom in minutes, which can be particularly valuable when you don’t have a spare room for guests.

Upholstery Materials That’ll Survive Wear and Tear

Once you’ve ironed out the size and type of couch you need for your small space, you’ll want to think about another crucial detail: What kind of upholstery material do you like best?

Choosing an upholstery material means you’ll get to pick the color, feel, and appearance of your couch. But it also plays a role in the overall durability of your furniture, as the upholstery makes direct contact with anyone who’s sitting, laying, kicking their feet up, and eating or drinking on its cushions, pillows, and frame.

So, if you live in a home that sees a lot of wear and tear–spills, crumbs, climbing kids, or pets with nails or claws, you’ll want to opt for an extra-durable upholstery material. That's typically any kind of performance fabric, which is built to withstand the average wear and tear of frequent messes, pets, and kids. Performance fabrics may not be the most luxe, but they are easy to clean (either with an upholstery cleaner or in your own washing machine) and built for longevity.

Household not prone to dirt or messes? You may be able to opt for a more delicate or tricky-to-care-for fabric, like linen, or chenille. These materials are more difficult to clean, but they make a style statement on any couch designed for small spaces.

Leather is another great upholstery material. Leather couches tend to be hardy and age well with wear, even handling pet fur and messes effortlessly, as long as you care for the leather (like applying conditioner regularly and cleaning the surface properly) over time. Just note that pets who are prone to scratching and clawing fabric may damage leather easily, so it may not be the best for those who want completely flaw-free upholstery.

A Tough, Long-Lasting Couch Frame

Couch frames can come in a variety of different materials, including wood, plywood, and metal. But wood is by far the most common frame choice, and for good reason: Solid hardwood sofa frames tend to be the most durable.

Solid hardwood couch frames are stronger than other frame types because they’re made with the strongest, densest wood available. And many hardwood frames are also kiln-dried, an added step that heat-treats that wood to add even more durability against weight and your everyday wear and tear.

Metal frames can also be durable, though it’s best to look for a small space couch that features both metal and solid hardwood when possible. This is common with sleeper sofas; the couch frame will be made with hardwood, while the pull-out mechanism and mattress platform will be made with metal.

Wondering about plywood and wood-like materials like MDF? Unfortunately, these thinner woods and pressed wood fiber are much weaker than solid hardwood. As a result, they can bow, bend, and ultimately break with time, weight, and lots of lounging, so we recommend skipping any sofas made with these less hardy frames.

Why Trust The Spruce?

Heather Adams is a senior editor at The Spruce, and she’s been part of the team’s researching, testing, and home goods coverage on items like furniture, bedding, and bath products since 2022. She’s particularly passionate about couches and has owned five in the last decade, mostly because it took her a few years to figure out what makes a quality couch firsthand. She’s owned compact sofas suited to small spaces in studio apartments, upgraded to stylish mid-century modern couches in a two-bedroom, and made the jump to sectional and modular sofas as a recent homeowner–and right now, she’s testing couches for The Spruce hoping to find a roomy deep-seated couch with enough space for napping.