The 8 Best Linen Sofas to Elevate Any Room

The slouchy profile of Jenni Kayne’s couch is so inviting. I like the mix of the old-fashioned slipcover ruffle along the bottom with the modern, relaxed, rectangular cushions. It’s a sofa that you won’t see in all of your friends’ homes, so you can feel like an individual in a world full of West Elm and Burrow couches.The fabric, Libeco linen crafted in Belgium from 91 percent linen and 9 percent nylon, comes in six neutral colorways, including the slate seen here. Being almost entirely linen, that means you may have to call a professional cleaner or attempt to spot-clean it yourself if you spill. But this soft linen fabric is also higher quality than a fabric with linen and four other materials with percentage signs next to them, so it depends on how badly you want that genuine linen appeal.Dimensions30"H x 72"W x 40"DSeat Depth24"Seating2-3Linen sofa silhouettes tend to be boring, honestly. Linen is an elegant fabric, so it makes sense that it usually covers more traditional-looking sofas. Sixpenny, which designs, sources, and manufactures all of its own furniture, bucks the linen sofa trend with the Juno. The Juno has a bubbly shape that reminds me a bit of an inflatable chair (complimentary). It looks comfy, chic, and like it belongs in the lobby of a four-star hotel.Usually, linen fabric colors fall in the neutral family, but Sixpenny has some vibrant thread-dyed cotton-linen blends, including Summer Plum and Garden Berry. In general, Sixpenny offers a lot of linen varieties, including lightweight, which is a breezy, all-natural linen, or medium-weight, which is a heavier duty and all-natural linen with a loose weave. Make sure to read the cleaning instructions before picking your linen fabric, because it varies.Dimensions33"H x 84"W x 43"DSeat Depth25"Seating2Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowSundays designs furniture with families in mind, so count on this DTC brand (which just last year opened a brick-and-mortar flagship in NYC) to deliver a moisture-repellent fabric that makes cleaning up unexpected stains and spills a breeze. Like other fabrics on this list, the Cream Linen is part of Sundays’ LiveLife performance fabric line. It’s composed of 16-percent linen and is non-toxic. This pet- and kid-friendly fabric choice allows pet owners and parents to own a fashionable sofa that can withstand messes. And with its modular design, you can turn this sofa into five individual pieces, which makes it painless to rearrange or move from one home to another.I visited Sundays’ showroom to test out the sofas in person, and I loved the Get Together Sectional, which has actually been reviewed separately on the Esquire site. It was supportive, exceptionally comfortable, and, thanks to the deep seats, easy to get cozy in. Sundays make some very slouchy sofas, which are great but not for everyone, and this is a great in-between option.Dimensions37"H x 114"W x 114"DSeat Depth25"Seating5This simple sofa from Maiden Home is a visual conundrum, thanks to its oversized look, single seat cushion, and otherwise light-looking frame. It’s not often you see a single cushion on a sofa, so it really stands out from the pack.Maiden Home offers a heritage Belgian linen fabric, which is woven in a fifth-generation mill, as well as a performance linen weave, which is a mixture of linen and cotton. Both fabrics come in a variety of colors, though the Belgian veers into some more colorful neutrals like Chai and Lake. That said, “colorful” is a strong word. I recommend picking your fabric based on your lifestyle—the Belgian Linen will be harder to clean.Dimensions75"H x 66"W x 38"DSeat Depth24"Seating2Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowIf you’re like me and like to have a lot of control over what you want your sofa to look like, going with a big retailer like Pottery Barn can have a lot of benefits. You can customize a lot about your sofa without paying crazy fees or enduring months-long wait times. The Pearce sofa might look a little basic, but sometimes your living room calls for a timeless square-arm couch. Plus, linen is a great fabric for a classic silhouette.Pottery Barn now offers five types of performance linens: Everydaylinen, Slub Weave, Rustic Linen, and the new Belgian Flax Linen and Luxe Linen. That’s a lot of choices; let me break it down for you. The Everydaylinen will have a bit more texture and is a basketweave, while the Performance Slub Weave has a slight sheen, is softer to the touch, and is described as “family friendly.” The Rustic Linen is 55-percent linen and 45-percent cotton, so it looks more natural and is more high-end (also less spill-friendly). The Belgian Flax Linen is actually mostly viscose, so it’s extra soft but less linen-y; the Luxe Linen is mostly cotton, so it’s more like a weightier linen cousin (and not as lightweight as the other options).Dimensions38"H x 75"W x 40"DSeat Depth24"Seating2-3Interior Define makes shopping for a sofa online relatively straightforward. There are videos on each sofa’s page of people of varying heights sitting down, so you can get a better idea of what you want in your home. Plus, you can customize everything from the cushion fill to the type of sleeper mattress you want. The only downside is that you pay for this convenience on the front end by enduring a long shipping period after you place your order.The James Sleeper Sofa is a great solution for those who host friends or family frequently but don’t have a guest room to store them in. And unlike some sleeper sofas, this one is pretty sleek. There are two performance linen options, which will add $150 to the sofa’s price tag, and two Luxe Natural Linen options, which will add $300.Sofa Dimensions35"H x 84"W x 40"DSleeper Queen Dimensions5.5"H x 60"W x 72"LSeat Depth25.5"Seating2-3Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowIf you have one of those crazy huge open concept living rooms, then have I found the sofa for you. This large, sleek sectional from CB2 looks like it’d be right at home in a house tour of a celebrity’s space. The boxy profile will make you look, though it can also play second fiddle if it’s paired with a more colorful or textured coffee table, both of which will add depth to the room.It comes in three colors of linen weave: the light beige seen here; a warmer, reddish beige; and light gray. It’s 86-percent polyester, 9-percent acrylic, and 5-percent linen, so you get the sophisticated texture of linen in a fabric that is easier to clean. Just a note that some of the custom linen fabrics have a bit of wait time.Dimensions29"H x 145"W x 90"DSeat Depth32"Seating4-5If you want the gravitas of a linen sofa without the stress of keeping a light-colored linen clean, then this Castlery sofa is for you. There are two colors of linen fabrics to choose from: Beach Linen, a white-beige hybrid, and Seagull, bluish gray. The catch is that linen only makes up 7-percent of the fabric while polyester is the other 93-percent. Most linen sofas are blends, but this one has particular emphasis on blend. The fabric looks like linen, and your guests, unless they specialize in sofa fabrication, won’t notice either.One of the things I like most about this sofa is that the cushions are washable. As a spiller, I think it’s smart to invest in washable or easy-to-clean sofa fabrics. Otherwise, your white sofa one false move with a drink in your hand and your sofa will be stuck with a stain, which will drive you crazy, for the rest of its life. At just under $2,300, this sofa is a stylish choice that doesn’t cost a small fortune.Dimensions31.9"H x 89.8"W x 44.9"DSeat Depth24.4"Seating2-3Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowWhat Are the Benefits of Choosing Linen Fabric?Linen is a durable fabric. It can withstand wear and tear, which is why it’s been a popular choice for upholstery for centuries. Linen is also very breathable, making it an ideal furniture fabric for warmer or more humid environments. It also gives couches a natural, elegant appearance.Although performance fabrics have become the stain-resistant choice, linen also resists stains, but it’s a natural fabric, so it’s more of a costly choice and more challenging to care for. That said, we spotlighted some performance linen options on this list, along with 100-percent linen sofas.