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Learn · Designers and builders · Lesson 17 of 17

Choose a sofa style and its fabric

You willPick a sofa, armchair or ottoman by style and layout, then its arms, legs, cushions and upholstery, or a fabric you photographed.
Time4 min
Why it mattersThe sofa is the biggest thing in a living room: the right style, size and fabric in 3D makes the room read true.

Try it in Plotlay → Opens an example project with this lesson beside it. Nothing to install.

Steps

  1. Open Library, search sofa (or Chesterfield, curved sofa, chaise, sofa bed) and click a sofa such as Sofa, 3 seat, Chesterfield. Click the plan to place it, then select it.
  2. Choose All details… under its name, then the Style: Contemporary, Chesterfield, Mid-century, Scandinavian, Curved, Deep-seat lounge, Lawson or Cloud. Each sets its own arms, back, legs and fabric.
  3. Choose the Layout: a loveseat, 2 to 4 seats, a chaise on either side, an L corner, a U-shape, a daybed or a sofa bed. The size changes to suit.
  4. Change any part from the style’s choice: Arms, Back, Seat cushions, Legs and Leg finish. As the style puts it back.
  5. Choose the Upholstery (linen, boucle, velvet, wool, chenille, performance fabric or leather) and the Upholstery colour. Add Throw cushions and a Throw blanket if you like, then Apply.
    The All details dialog of a Chesterfield sofa: Style, Layout with a chaise on the left, Arms, Back, Seat cushions, Legs, Leg finish oak, Upholstery velvet and its colour, throw cushions and a throw blanket.
  6. For a fabric you have a sample of, photograph it with New finish from a photo (Sheet or slab) and tick Furniture fabric under where it can go. It is then in Upholstery as My finish and its name.

Tips

  • The fabric’s weave shows at High and Ultra quality; Standard draws its colour only, so the view stays quick.
  • Armchairs and ottomans take the same styles, so a matching set is the same Style and Upholstery on each.
  • Schedules list each piece’s style and finish, such as Chesterfield, leather, oxblood, walnut legs.

Common mistakes

  • Changing the size by hand and then the layout: the layout sets its usual size. Choose the layout first, then fine-tune the size.
  • A photographed fabric missing from Upholstery: it needs Furniture fabric ticked under where it can go. Edit the finish in My finishes and tick it.
Check yourself

You want a leather Chesterfield with oak legs instead of walnut. What do you change?

Words in this lesson

Library
Real-sized things to place, by category and subcategory: kitchen, bathroom, furniture, lighting, power, heating, stairs, outdoor, site, commercial, vehicles, plants. Search in your own words (GPO, countertop), filter, and star favourites.
Schedule
A table drawn from the plan: rooms and finishes, doors, windows, plants or materials. It updates as the plan changes and downloads as CSV.
My finishes
Tiles, boards, stone, render, paint and fabric you add from a photo, at their real size and laying, for floors, walls, benchtops and furniture. Keep them in the project, your library or your team’s.
3D quality (Standard, High, Ultra)
How the 3D view is drawn on this device. Standard is fastest; High adds soft reflections, shading where surfaces meet and relief in tiles and timber; Ultra adds finer detail. Auto picks one and steps down if the view slows.

Related lessons

Use your own tiles and finishes from a photoPhotograph a tile, board or sample, give it its real size and laying, and put it on a floor, a wall band or a benchtop.6 minChoose finishes and add fit-out to a roomSet a room’s floor tile and paint, and place a fitting such as a towel rail against a wall to the millimetre.5 minWalk through your plan in 3DTurn the plan into a 3D model, walk through it at eye height, tour the rooms, compare design options and save a picture.4 min

Steps checked in the app on 18 October 2026.