Fully Furnished

Sofas, beds, mattresses, dining tables, rugs and dressers carry real prices read at the shop that sells them, with the date on every row. Every other category is still sample data.

What does a small living room need besides the sofa?

Summary

Past the sofa, a small living room needs one surface to put things on and a safe place for the TV. A storage ottoman can be the table and the cabinet at once. The TV goes on furniture made to hold one, anchored to the wall, because TVs were involved in close to half of the tip-over deaths CPSC counted over ten years.

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The ottoman is the coffee table

Best Choice Products sells its Modular Sectional Pillowtop Sofa as an 82 by 33 inch sofa with a 33 by 25 inch ottoman, 19 inches high, with storage inside for blankets and magazines. The ottoman is rated for 300 pounds, so it takes feet or a tray. The shop says the sofa can be set up as a two-seat L, a three-seat sofa or an oversized loveseat with the ottoman.

That is one piece doing the job of a coffee table and a storage cabinet, and the floor between the sofa and the TV stays clear.

Rug sizes against a sofa

IKEA's STOENSE has a 1/2 inch pile and comes in four sizes. Here they are next to IKEA's three-seat KIVIK, which is 89 3/4 inches wide.

STOENSE sizeLong sideAgainst KIVIK's width
4 ft 4 in x 6 ft 5 in77 inabout 13 in shorter
5 ft 7 in x 7 ft 10 in94 inabout 4 in longer
6 ft 7 in x 9 ft 10 in118 inabout 28 in longer
7 ft 10 in x 10 ft120 inabout 30 in longer

IKEA's instructions for every size are the same: STOPP FILT anti-slip underlay under the whole rug.

Where the TV goes

CPSC's 2023 tip-over report counted 217 deaths reported between January 2013 and July 2023. In 49 of them (23%) only a TV fell, and in 54 more (25%) a TV came down together with furniture. For 2020 through 2022, TV-only tip-overs sent an average of 2,600 people a year to emergency rooms.

That number used to be much higher. TV-only injuries fell from 10,500 in 2013 to 2,200 in 2022, and the report puts the drop down to the move from heavy CRT sets to flat screens mounted on the wall.

CPSC's advice for the TV itself:

  • Put it only on furniture designed to hold a TV, such as a TV stand or media center.
  • Anchor it to the wall even if it is not wall mounted.
  • If you cannot anchor it, use a sturdy, low base, push the TV as far back as it goes, and keep cords out of children's reach.
  • Keep toys and remotes off the top of the TV and furniture, where kids would climb for them.

TV stands and bookcases fall outside the federal stability rule for dressers, as the small apartment article explains.

Sources

Run by Kaz, an individual. Published 28 September 2026.