Here's How To Split Your Sectional For A Dramatic Living Room Focal Piece

Furniture sectionals are a great way to achieve more seating and comfort in your living space. Whatever their size and configuration, they are often a stylish anchor for a room, particularly in a large or multiuse space. They also offer a huge amount of comfort, with varying types of seating including upright, lounging, reclining, and sleeping available. They also create more intimate conversation spaces.

Sectionals, however, can often be quite large, making them less amenable to smaller spaces or rooms with the wrong layout or dimensions. A perfect way to keep your sectional, particularly if it's a favorite piece you don't wish to part with, is to break it up. This furniture is actually quite adaptable, sometimes more so, in pieces. There are a number of benefits to breaking up your sectional and multiple ways to arrange the pieces for maximum beauty, comfort, and functionality. In addition, most sectionals are relatively easy to disassemble. Some just slide apart, while others require removing a few bolts and screws.

With their larger size, sectionals sometimes feel like they can dominate a room and allow little space for other furniture. While a move to a downsized home or apartment might have you considering ditching your piece, you'd be amazed at how easily one large sectional can become two or three smaller pieces that work in smaller spaces. Regardless of the overall size of your living room, separating your sectional may also scale down the size of the full piece to match other smaller or more lightweight furniture in the room.

Separating the components of a sectional can also give you placement options you might not have considered before. While a badly needed end table may not fit into a corner or look cramped and awkward, separating a two-part sectional even along a single wall not only allows you to push the edge of the sofa to the wall on either end, but the gap between them makes ample room for a small table and lamp.

To separate your sectional sofa, first remove the cushions so you can find how the pieces disconnect and move them around more easily. Some sectional pieces will simply lift out and apart, while others might be outfitted with clasps and hooks.

Once you have your sectional separated, you can use these pieces in new and dynamic ways. If you lack a large enough wall for a lengthier L-shaped spread, consider placing the longest portion of the sectional against the wall opposite the focal point of the room, with the rest of the sectional free-standing and perpendicular to the larger segment. If you have a large room and want to create a cozy conversation area, place two larger pieces parallel in the center of the room separated by a coffee table.

While some units have one end that lacks an arm, you can always place it where you desire and add an end table with well-placed cushions to create a balanced look with the opposite end. Or take an armless section and place it alone against a wall as a slipper sofa. A chaise lounge can be placed attractively in a corner for a cozy reading nook, while even an armless middle section can be augmented with cushions to make a comfy standalone chair.

If you are moving to a smaller space and don't feel like the sofa will fit all in one room, there is no rule that you cannot implement the pieces in other rooms, like a home office, bedroom, or child's room. Chaise longues or recliners can also be great additions to nurseries.