Types of sofas split into two groups: the ones named for their shape and the ones named for the job they do. I cover 14 of them, and arm style cuts across both groups. The shape names are the Chesterfield, Lawson, tuxedo, camelback, English roll arm, Bridgewater and mid-century sofa. The job names are the sectional, modular sofa, sleeper, reclining sofa, loveseat, apartment sofa, and the chaise or sofa-chaise.
A sofa is a long, comfortable seat with a back and arms for two or more people, and Oxford's learner's dictionary treats couch and settee as the same thing. At Merit Home Furniture on Vancouver Island, 273 sofas, loveseats, sectionals, sleepers and reclining pieces are listed for our Duncan store. I've defined each type below from a museum record, a Canadian designer or the maker, and named one Duncan piece per type where we list one.
Six of the classic shapes aren't on Merit's list under their own names: Chesterfield, Lawson, tuxedo, camelback, English roll arm and Bridgewater.
What are the different types of sofas called?
The different types of sofas are called either by their shape or by their purpose, and there is no official count. These are the 14 covered here, with the feature that sets each one apart.
| Type | What defines it |
|---|---|
| Chesterfield | Always tufted, rolled arms level with a fairly low back |
| Lawson | Loose back and seat cushions, arms lower than the back |
| Tuxedo | High, straight arms in line with the back |
| Camelback | A back that rises to a hump in the middle |
| English roll arm | Padded arms that dip in the centre, pleated at the front |
| Bridgewater | Low arms set back from the front, classically skirted |
| Mid-century | A spare, geometric profile on slim legs |
| Sectional | Two or more pieces joined into an L or U |
| Modular | Separate pieces that can be rearranged |
| Sleeper | A fold-out mattress inside the frame |
| Reclining sofa | Seats whose backs tilt and footrests rise |
| Loveseat | A two-seat sofa |
| Apartment sofa | A narrower version of a full-size sofa |
| Chaise and sofa-chaise | A long seat for the legs, alone or built onto a sofa |
What do Canadians call a sofa?
Plenty of Canadians call any sofa a chesterfield. Oxford's learner's dictionary gives the word two meanings: a sofa whose arms and back are all the same height, and, in Canadian English, any type of sofa at all. It traces the name to a 19th-century Earl of Chesterfield.
Classic sofa styles names: Chesterfield, Lawson, tuxedo and camelback
These four styles are named for a silhouette. The definitions come from Steven Sabados, CBC Life's in-house design expert, and from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Chesterfield. Sabados describes the Chesterfield as always tufted, grand in scale and generally lower in the back than most sofas. Its exaggerated rolled arms sit at the same height as the back. Nothing on Merit's Duncan list is sold as a Chesterfield. The nearest on paper is the Canadian-made Decor-Rest 2230 sofa, with a hand-tufted back and an overall height of 31 inches. It's listed at $2,199.00 to $3,399.00 before applicable taxes, depending on the cover. The listing never says Chesterfield, so check the arms in the photo.
Lawson. Sabados calls the Lawson easy going, with an overstuffed loose back and evenly sized seat cushions. Its arms sit lower than the back and can be rolled or squared off. He notes it's said to have been designed for the American financier Thomas W. Lawson at the turn of the 20th century. La-Z-Boy's Collins sofa comes close: its rolled arms stand 26 inches high against a 37.5-inch overall height, and the seat cushions are loose. Its pillow backs are semi-attached, though, where Sabados describes a loose back. The Collins is $3,570.00 before applicable taxes, and La-Z-Boy sofas take 8 to 10 weeks to be ready.
Tuxedo. In Sabados's account the tuxedo comes from the 1920s. Its high, straight arms run in line with the back, it can be tufted or plain, and it tends to be long and lean on up to six legs. We have no tuxedo sofa listed at the moment.
Camelback. The Met names the camel-back sofa for the crest that forms a central hump along the top of its back. It says this was the most common type of sofa made in America in the second half of the 18th century, most often in Philadelphia. The museum's own example, made between 1760 and 1790, is 98 inches long. Nothing on our current list is sold as a camelback.
English roll arm, Bridgewater and mid-century sofa types
English roll arm. Sabados places this style in the British country house of the 20th century. The padded arm dips slightly in the centre and comes up again at the front with tailored pleating, over soft and generous seat cushions. La-Z-Boy's Mackenzie sofa has rolled, pleated arms on wood legs and is 87 inches wide, at $3,332.00 before applicable taxes. La-Z-Boy calls it a traditional sofa, not an English roll arm.
Bridgewater. 1stDibs, the antiques and design marketplace, defines a Bridgewater as a low sofa whose low arms are set slightly back from the front. The classic version adds a skirt and a rolled back. We don't list one under that name.
Mid-century. Knoll says Florence Knoll's sofa scales the proportions of mid-century modern architecture down into a spare, geometric profile. Her lounge collection was designed in 1954. Ashley's Bixler sofa is sold as mid-century modern, with a linear profile, tapered legs and a button-tufted back. It's 79 inches wide and $1,066.00 to $1,078.00 before applicable taxes.
The Island Living Cowichan sofa is a made-to-order mid-century style on a walnut-finish wood base, 85 inches long. Island Living is quoted by phone, as the maker allows no online prices. How the Island Living made-to-order line works has its own guide.
Sofa types names by job: sectional, modular, sleeper and reclining
Sofa types named for their job are how Merit's own catalogue sorts the living room. Here's how many listings for the Duncan store carry each product type, as read on November 1, 2026.
| Listing type | Listed for Duncan |
|---|---|
| Sofa | 114 |
| Sectional | 38 |
| Loveseat | 38 |
| Reclining sofa | 36 |
| Reclining loveseat | 32 |
| Sleeper sofa | 15 |
| All six together | 273 |
Sectional and modular sofas
A sectional is a sofa built from two or more pieces that join into an L, a U or a corner. Design historian Judith Gura, writing for 1stDibs, credits the American designer Harvey Probber with modular seating: separate upholstered sections that can be arranged and rearranged. His Cubo collection of 1972 used steel-reinforced foam squares and quadrants that could be set out in different shapes.
The Ashley Altari 2-piece sectional with chaise is 110 inches wide and 90 inches deep, at $1,799.00 before applicable taxes. It's listed at Duncan, Campbell River and Port Alberni. For a modular piece, the Ashley Elyza 3-piece sectional is 143 inches wide at $2,499.00, and its listing says the pieces can float anywhere the sides are finished. Shape, side and size are covered in our sectional guide for Island homes, and every listing sits in the sectional collection.
Sleeper sofas
A sleeper sofa hides a fold-out mattress under its seat cushions. The Home Furnishings Hall of Fame says Bernard Castro opened a drapery and upholstery shop in a New York loft in 1931. It grew into Castro Convertibles, which sold more than five million convertible sleeper sofas. Ashley's Altari queen sofa sleeper folds out a bi-fold queen memory foam mattress on a steel frame. It's 85 inches wide and listed at $899.00 to $1,531.00 before applicable taxes.
Reclining sofas
A reclining sofa puts a recliner's mechanism into two or three seats. La-Z-Boy says its founders, the cousins Edwin Shoemaker and Edward Knabusch, designed a reclining wood-slat chair in a garage in Monroe, Michigan, in 1927. The La-Z-Boy Pinnacle reclining sofa is a power wall recliner that the maker says can sit only inches from a wall. It's $3,602.00 before applicable taxes and listed at Duncan and Port Alberni. Ashley's Tulen reclining sofa reclines with a pull tab, and its middle seat stays put, at $1,372.00. The trade-offs are in what a reclining sofa costs and the room it takes.
Sofa types for small rooms: loveseat, apartment sofa and chaise
The loveseat, the apartment sofa and the chaise fit where a full sofa won't, and Merit lists each one for Duncan.
Loveseat. Oxford defines a love seat as a comfortable seat with a back and arms for two people. The La-Z-Boy Collins loveseat is 65 inches wide with the same 26-inch rolled arm as the Collins sofa, at $3,267.00 before applicable taxes. A loveseat and a sofa from one family is the plain way to get a matched pair in an open room.
Apartment sofa. La-Z-Boy describes its Kennedy apartment-size sofa as the standard Kennedy on a narrower scale, designed for apartments and other small spaces. The Kennedy apartment sofa is 69 inches wide with narrow track arms and a 20.5-inch seat depth, at $3,013.00 before applicable taxes. Widths for every size are in our sofa dimensions guide.
Chaise and sofa-chaise. Oxford defines a chaise longue as a long, low seat with a back and one arm, for stretching out the legs. Cassina says the LC4 chaise longue by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand was designed in 1928. Ashley's Mahoney chaise is 35 inches wide and 62 inches long, at $949.00. A sofa-chaise builds that long seat onto a sofa. The Amity Bay sofa chaise is 90 inches wide at $1,297.00. A reversible seat cushion and a movable ottoman let its chaise go on either side.
Sofa arm styles: track, rolled, English, flared, slope, pillow top and shelter
Sofa arm styles go with any type above. American Leather, a US sofa maker, describes the track arm as straight from bottom to top with a flat top. Its slope arm runs from the top of the back down into the arm, and its shelter arm extends down from the back to a high armrest. Ashley's listings use pillow top for arms wrapped in a cushioned layer.
| Arm style | A Duncan listing that has it |
|---|---|
| Track | Ashley Altari sofa, $935.00 to $1,026.00 |
| Rolled | La-Z-Boy Collins sofa, over-scaled roll arms, $3,570.00 |
| English | La-Z-Boy Mackenzie sofa, rolled and pleated arms, $3,332.00 |
| Flared | Ashley Allmaxx sofa, $1,080.00 |
| Slope | La-Z-Boy Noah sofa, wings that slope into flared arms, $3,190.00 |
| Pillow top | Ashley Tulen reclining sofa, $1,372.00 |
| Shelter | La-Z-Boy Emric sectional, call for our best price |
Arm style changes a sofa's width as much as its look. American Leather says petite track arms suit apartments and studios; the Kennedy is 69 inches overall, 59 of them seat. The Emric's shelter arm stands 27.5 inches high, against 26 on the Collins.
How do you choose between types of sofas for your room?
Choosing between types of sofas comes down to the room, the people and the jobs, in roughly that order. I'd work through it like this:
- Measure the room and the way in. The doorway, the hall and any stairs decide what's possible before the style does, and twice over for a sectional or a sleeper.
- Count who sits there. One or two people suits a loveseat, an apartment sofa or a chaise; a family that spreads out, a sectional.
- List the jobs. Overnight guests mean a sleeper, long TV evenings a reclining sofa, and a room that changes often suits modular pieces.
- Pick the arm and the shape last. After that it's taste. Matching the style of the furniture around it helps settle that.
Families, pets and hosting with each sofa type
For busy homes, the cover matters more than the type. Fabric and the different leathers behave differently with dogs, cats and spills. The types of leather for sofas we list are explained grade by grade in fabric versus leather with pets and spills. For hosting, a sleeper makes the living room a guest room for the night.
Is deep seating always more comfortable?
Deep seating isn't always more comfortable, because the right depth depends on the length of your legs. The Collins sofa has a 23.5-inch seat depth, the Kennedy 20.5 and the Pinnacle 20. A shorter person on a deep seat ends up with feet off the floor. A few minutes sitting the way you sit at home tells you more than the number.
Where each type of sofa falls short
Every type of sofa gives something up for what it does well. The tuxedo is upright: Sabados says it isn't the most comfortable for lounging. The Chesterfield, he says, needs everything around it to be of substantial size. A sectional with a fixed chaise side can't be turned around later.
A sleeper carries the weight of its mechanism and mattress. The Altari queen sleeper weighs 199 pounds against 131 for the Altari sofa of the same 85-inch width, which matters on stairs. A reclining sofa may not recline in every seat, as the Tulen's fixed middle seat shows.
Merit's own list has gaps too. We don't list a Chesterfield, Lawson, tuxedo, camelback, English roll arm or Bridgewater under those names. If one of those shapes is the one you want, ask us before settling for something close.
Where the sofa type definitions come from
- CBC Life, Sofa shopping made easy: Steven Sabados' guide to the styles that will complement your space (January 22, 2018), checked November 2026.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sofa, American, 1760 to 1790 (object 1972.55), checked November 2026.
- Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, chesterfield, with the entries for sofa, settee, love seat and chaise longue, checked November 2026.
- 1stDibs, What is a Bridgewater sofa?, checked November 2026.
- Knoll, Florence Knoll Sofa, checked November 2026.
- 1stDibs Introspective, Judith Gura, Harvey Probber Was the Godfather of Modern Modular Seating (March 22, 2020), checked November 2026.
- Home Furnishings Hall of Fame, Bernard Castro, checked November 2026.
- La-Z-Boy Incorporated, Our legacy principles, checked November 2026.
- Cassina, LC4 Chaise longue a reglage continu, checked November 2026.
- American Leather, Sofa arm styles, checked November 2026.
- Merit's live sofa, loveseat, sectional, sleeper and reclining listings, with prices, counts and specs read November 1, 2026.
- Merit Home Furniture, Delivery and Setup, read November 1, 2026.
Trying sofa types at the Duncan store
Most of what's at Merit's Duncan store on Ingram Street is there to sit in, and the piece you choose is ordered for you. Call ahead to ask which sofas, sectionals and sleepers are set up, and bring your room and doorway measurements. Delivery from Duncan across the Island is $150 with assembly, and pickup at the store is free. We can take the old sofa away at delivery, usually for $25 to $50 a piece. Some Gulf Islands are on our delivery runs too; the Duncan store has the details. Take as many visits as you need.
Call the Duncan store, (250) 746-5527
Our other guides on sofas, sectionals and recliners are gathered on one sofa and sectional page, and the full range is in our sofa collection.