4 sofa seating alternatives to improve your living space

A day bed creates a sleeping option in a small bedroom. Photos: Handout/TNS

While sofas are often the go-to seating option, often a smaller seat would be ideal. This is where seating and sleep solutions such as day beds, chaises and benches can play a useful and purposeful role.

Chaises

Chaises are typically shorter versions of a sofa. They sometimes come in more organic shapes and may include softer lines and rounded arms. Chaises can be great choices in smaller spaces or nooks in bedrooms and offices.

A chaise provides a functional seating option in a modern home office space.

Day beds

Perhaps you picture a day bed to be a piece of furniture made of white or black painted iron, padded with an ill-fitting mattress, camouflaged with toss pillows. This may have been the standard day bed of decades past, but these days day beds can serve as an attractive, sleek and even modern addition, especially in smaller rooms or spaces.

A decorative bench provides a glamorous touch at the foot of a bed in a primary bedroom.

Benches

Benches are considerably thinner and smaller than day beds. Benches can be used for function as well as aesthetics. Benches work well in entryways, at the foot of a bed, as well as in small niches and nooks where a larger piece of furniture typically would not fit. In entertainment spaces such as a living or family room, benches can also provide extra seating and can even be used as an alternative to a traditional coffee table.

An ottoman is paired with a coffee table to create a second table option in this living room.

Ottomans

Ottomans, typically half the size of a bench, are the most versatile items on the list when compared to a day bed or bench. Ottomans can either be used alone or in pairings, often in a set of two or three. They're great for extra seating, as a footrest or as a decorative furniture element to introduce a fun material or fabric into a space. Ottomans can also come in various shapes, including rectangles, circles, squares and ovals. – Tribune News Service