Have you ever been in a house without a couch?
I don’t think I have. I’ve thought about my friends’ houses, my relatives’ houses, and my neighbors’ houses. I’ve thought about all the places in which I’ve lived, from childhood until now. I’ve thought about the homes I’ve seen on TV, in movies, and in magazines.
From modest studios to million-dollar McMansions, from inner cities to suburbs to out-in-the-sticks, you’d be hard-pressed to find a living room without a couch.
In considering the subject, I realized that our sofa has always been the key piece of our décor. When we looked for houses or apartments, we’d wonder how the layout would accommodate it. After we moved in, we’d spend time experimenting with its optimum orientation (against the wall? at an angle? facing the window or TV?) In some cases, we even bought a new one because the old one didn’t suit the style or size of our new digs.
So naturally, after we found a flat in the UK, one of the first issues to arise was that of a couch. We’d lived without a single piece of furniture for two weeks (minimalist heaven!), but our backsides were growing a bit numb from sitting on the wood floors.
Personally, I would have purchased a couple of floor cushions and called it a day. No matter how comfortably a room is furnished, I usually end up on the floor anyway. I simply feel more relaxed on the ground—and whether I’m eating, reading, or surfing the net, that’s where you’ll usually find me.
It seemed unfair, however, to deny my husband (and potential guests) more proper seating—and so our hunt for a couch began. We spent a weekend searching online, and visiting furniture stores, to find the perfect sofa for our new flat. We looked at every type imaginable—from futons to loveseats to sectionals—and tried to imagine how they’d look in our open-plan living room.
We had just about settled on one with a mid-century modern design, when my husband suddenly asked, “Do we really need a couch?” (Whoa. Is it any wonder I love him so?)
Do we really need a couch? Hmm. Good question. We took a break from shopping, and talked it over. We didn’t have a TV, so we weren’t sure what our couch would face. Furthermore, we’d always have to sit side-by-side, instead of face-to-face—unless, of course, we bought some additional chairs. The more we thought about it, the less appealing a couch seemed to be. Not to mention that it would likely require more pieces of furniture to balance it out.
We concluded that not only didn’t we need a couch; we didn’t even want one.
But would that be weird? We wondered what our landlord, guests, or family would think when they came to visit, and found an empty space where the sofa should be. But then we reasoned: we were already considered somewhat eccentric for quitting good jobs, getting rid of everything we owned, and moving to a foreign country. Why not go for broke and confirm our (already-suspected) quirkiness? Why not live in a house without a couch?
So instead of arranging delivery on a heavy, expensive sofa (the resale of which we would someday have to orchestrate), we decided on a more lightweight, mobile, and versatile option: we threw two Ikea Poang chairs and a coffee table into our Mini, and were on our way. And thus we completed the task of furnishing our flat.
I’m certainly not suggesting that minimalists can’t have couches. My point, rather, is that we should think about why we own what we do. We should make our possessions fit our lifestyle, instead of the other way around. We shouldn’t feel pressured to own things just because it’s expected, or because everyone else has one. We should feel free to own only those things that meet our needs (no matter how strange that may seem to anyone else!).
In our case, a sofa doesn’t meet our needs at this particular place, and at this particular time, so we’ve simply decided not to own one.
So what items have you decided you don’t need to own? I’d love to hear about them!
This is absolutely true! sometimes we have stuff because is normal to have it (or because everybody does) adn we never think if we really need it.
For example I got married and started living in a rental, as the apartament was not the place where we were going to live “forever” we never bought the couch, and I got really used to being without a couch, it was never necessary!. Now, a year later, finally we bought our own apartament and although I wanted to be without couch we bought it as we got more visits.
my grandparents never had a couch and in my first two appartements I didn’t want one, but in my current house I have one, I like laying on it but I don’t know if I would take it with me if I move again
I love how your minimalism intersects with Katy Bowman’s movement ecology. Less stuff = more movement. She doesn’t have a couch because it brings more movement into her life when she and her family sit on the floor.
Hubby and I have decided to go minimalist and I just read this to him. He even asked if we needed our couch. We don’t watch our tv as we don’t have cable and watch shows on Netflix and other streaming services. The living room is where we do our workouts and getting rid of our couch we would have way more space for working out. We also don’t entertain due to space but if we got rid of our couch we could easily put up a folding table and folding chairs to do so.
Lol I love this! I sold our couches and we were couchless for a while. I found I did more yoga and like others said, more movement. We recently scored a free one off craigslist but I have relisted it! It’s just too big. Like the idea of table and chairs! Comfy chairs to face each other <3
We have been married for 46 years. For many years we had a sleeper sofa because we had no place else for guests. We have a small sofa in our living room which my daughter used to nap on. The TV is in our small den with 3office chairs. Most furniture here is Ikea or second hand. I am amazed when I hear that people pay over $300 for a couch. We have 2 lamps that belonged to my in laws. That’s why we have a couch.
I absolutely loved this article. I’m a recent graduate who moved back home to pay off debt while I work and find an internship. (Luckily, it’s not that much debt at all!) I fell in love with minimalism recently, so I’ve been selling, donating, and getting rid of things. I’ve been thinking about getting rid of my couch and just happened to come across this article. Thank you for sharing! I love the idea of getting rid of my bed and sofa for a Japanese futon or zabutons.
I have not owned a couch for over 15 years. At about the same time my old used analog television
burned out and I never replaced it so don’t have television.. I have never owned a smartphone. My cellphone
is 8 years old and works fine. I have an older laptop. I don’t pay for online streaming as I get two streaming services
free through my local library…Kanopy and Hoopla. I have owned the same pick-up truck for over 25 years.
It’s on its second engine and works fine. I don’t have a kitchen table. I have tables and chairs and storage
units that work double duty. I live in a small space. I don’t really think much about what others have. My
.lifestyle is very comfortable. Most people describe my home as cozy. I believe in hygge over high-tech.
I have the sofa which I like and cannot imagine sitting only on the floor (maybe good armchairs instead of a sofa?).
What I question now is possessing an oven. I see that I bake rarely, I’m changing my diet so that cakes aren’t welcome. And other dishes – I observe that I prefer to prepare them in a pot or on a pan, where I feel like I have more control. So if we’d be moving, I’ll be really thinking about buying no oven.
Now, we mostly use our oven as a shelf and a clock ;)
Ahh. This is a great site. I have to say that I have Never owned a couch in all of my 58 years. And never missed it. I live in a 200 year old house in Japan, which has probably never had a sofa in it in its entire lifetime. I have always had a thing against sofas, curtains, carpet, TVs, refrigerators, beds, cars, and bedrooms and clutter, all mainstays, or shoud I say cliches, of western suburbia. I own none of these. Transport is by bicycle, even if the destination is 100km away. Bed is a futon. Floors are all tatami. Any room can be a bedroom. If you are into minimalism I do recommend a trip to Japan, particually to see traditional houses. Japan unfortuantely went down the road of American consumerism after the war, but before the war, the entire country was minimalist. Watch any Yasujiro Ozu movie to see the wonderful simplicity of pre-consumerist life. This has completely gone now, but I have recreated my
own little Ozu style house and lifestyle in the country. It is one of the reasons I choose to live here.
When I got rid of my old second-hand couch (it was terribly orange and had various unremovable stains *shudder*) I didn’t get a new one. At the beginning I thought about buying big cushions and placing them on the ground to create something like a floor couch, but at the end I decided against it, as I would just laze around on it in postures that kept causing me lower back pain. Insteas I decided to get a playmat. Yes, one for children. The one I got is 1cm thick, light grey and looks just like a huge quadratic yoga. I paid a bit more to make sure it was free of any potentially toxic substances and I have to say I‘ve never felt more comfortable. I use it for everything (even naps) and after a short period of time I have no more pain in my lower back. Though I have to say that my back was killing me for the first week until my body got used to it.
If you really want to be minimalist, why not go all the way? People living the modern lifestyle are physically weak, sick and fat from insufficient exercise and too much rich food. Radical minimalism: All the furniture you need are tables and a yoga mat. No chairs, sofas, big bed are necessary. Much better for your health in many ways. Live longer. Less need to diet or exercise too.
Consider: People simply sit too much. Standing or squatting takes more energy than sitting, but you will become more robust, live longer and shed fat, just by getting rid of chairs and sofas (keep maybe a foldaway for guests). This applies to autos too – pedal a bicycle instead.
Nature design our bodies to squat, not sit. We do much too little of the former and way too much of the latter. The health benefits are profound from squatting – from better bowel movements, easier childbirth, better posture and flexibility.
People also like to sleep in a big comfy bed but shouldn’t. A simple yoga mat or sleeping bag is minimalist and much better for you. Its not only multi-functional, inexpensive, portable, and takes up virtually no storage space, sleeping on one will do wonders for your posture, which will translate into better health not only orthopedically, but also metabolically. (just google it, the list of benefits is long.)
PS – Im not kidding. All of this is true!