The best love seats can elevate the style and comfort factor in your home. Smaller than one of the best sofas, but larger than an armchair, a love seat – or ‘cuddle chair’ as it’s sometimes called – can add character to an empty space.
In an area where a standard-sized sofa feels too large and an armchair doesn’t feel substantial enough, an attractive love seat can bridge the gap. It works well to furnish an awkward corner, subtly divide an open-plan room or looks great positioned under a window – all while giving you extra space to sit, relax and socialise.
In terms of colour and design, you can find love seats to match your existing sofa suite, or take a bold step away from your existing style to add interest to your décor scheme and make a statement.
After testing the best armchairs for IndyBest, I continue in my quest for the perfect place to lounge and trialled the best love seats available online. I’ve tested both modern and traditional designs from popular homeware brands such as Dusk, Dunelm, Loaf and Swyft. I’ve tried each one myself at home and rated each on design, comfort, price, colour and fabric options, and how easy it is to clean.
Read more: Best corner sofas, reviewed
The best love seats for 2026 are:
- Best overall – Dunelm Martha vintage velvet snuggle chair: £729, Dunelm.com
- Best budget buy – Dusk Hampshire love seat: £389, Dusk.com
- Best mid-century style – Swyft model 02 love seat: £1,299, Swyfthome.com
- Best compact love seat – Solace+Co Addison love seat with castor legs: £419.99, Bedkingdom.co.uk
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Dunelm Martha vintage velvet snuggle chair
Best: love seat overall
Why we love it
- Smooth velvet fabric feels great and looks lush
- Big enough for two
- Cushioned design feels comfy
Take note
- The paler colours may be harder to keep clean – particularly with kids around
- Legs only available in pale beech colourway
Dunelm’s Martha vintage velvet snuggle chair is the best love seat I tried, with its standout feature being just how padded and comfy its frame feels. It’s cloud-like to sit on, and I never felt stuck or like I was sinking into the design too much.
Available in seven muted shades of retro vintage velvet such as dove grey, warm sand, apricot and soft green (shown), the button-back love seat looks timeless in design. Its legs come in a pale beech that look good against my American Oak flooring and unless you have a very traditional, dark floor, I think they are neutral enough to blend in with most styles.
The love seat’s frame is sourced from responsibly sourced birch and OSB – a type of engineered wood. The fabric has a velvet finish but is made from 82 per cent polyester and 18 per cent cotton, with a polyester seat and back-cushion fill.
As the cushions are fibre filled, Dunelm suggests plumping them regularly to ensure they stay in shape. So far, they have bounced back nicely so I haven’t needed to plump them too much. The love seat doesn’t come with extra cushions, which helps the design feel fuss-free and streamlined. The arms are quite short, however, so adding your own cushions may make it more comfortable to lean on the sides.
Overall, I admire the look and comfort factor of this Dunelm love seat. It’s generously proportioned so two people can fit on it at a squeeze, and the tactile fabric feels great against my skin. The paler colourway may be harder to keep clean as the covers aren’t removable, although the fabric can be wiped clean with a soft cloth.
Key specifications:
Buy now £729, Dunelm.com
Dusk Hampshire love seat
Best: budget love seat
Why we love it
- Compact design works well in small spaces
- Has a nice depth that can be snuggled into
- Available in a wide selection of colourways to suit your scheme
Take note
- The arms are low
- Its small, so may look lost in a large space
Smooth and stylish, this love seat comes in a range of fabric finishes including chenille in olive green (shown). It’s quite an earthy green finish and blends in well with similar tones of cream and green in my home.
The love seat features a foam and fibre-filled pocket-sprung seat that gives the seat a satisfying firmness that bounces back nicely. The back cushion has a nice depth to it, so I could snuggle right in to find a comfortable position. I think the arms could be taller, but everything looks in proportion.
Like the Dunelm love seat, this Dusk design comes preassembled so upon arrival all I needed to do was get it out of the box and screw on the legs. At 86cm high, it’s slightly shorter than the Dunelm design and feels more compact. I think it would look lost in a room that’s particularly large, but works well in smaller rooms or as a way to add interest to your existing sofa suite. I’ve found that it’s just the right size to position on the upstairs landing, where I’ve created a quiet spot for me or the kids to sit and read.
For something a little braver, you could try the bright orange, royal blue and muted gold colourways, which I think would work well if you need to liven up a dull area. There’s also a matching Dusk Hampshire pouffe (£199, Dusk.com) and numerous sofa configurations if you want to branch out.
Key specifications:
Buy now £389, Dusk.com
Solace+Co Addison love seat with castor legs
Best: compact love seat
Why we love it
- Comfortable cushions
- Soft, velvety fabric
- Castor legs makes it easier to move around the room
Take note
- Cushions are more for style than comfort
- Material takes a while to smooth over after opening
With its solid wood frame and foam filled cushions, this Solace+Co Addison love seat is a compact and attractive design. It looks considerably smaller in size than the photos online, but it’s comfortable enough for you to lay back and relax on.
It’s similar in size to the Dusk Hampshire design, reviewed above, but not as padded or large as the Dunelm Martha design. Its firm and attractive design comes with tactile, velvety smooth fabric that’s soft to touch and feels good to sit on, and setup is quick as the love seat comes assembled. Like most love seat designs I’ve tried here, the legs will need to be screwed on.
It comes in a choice of three brooding colours including a velvet green, burnt orange and brown, and has castor legs to make it easier to manoeuvre around the room. I found the two scatter ball cushions that come with the love seat rather unusual in design, but they made it stand out from the crowd – even if the kids did find it fun to throw them around the room and kick them like a football.
Key specifications:
Buy now £419.99, Bedkingdom.co.uk
Swyft model 02 love seat
Best: mid-century style love seat
Why we love it
- It has a luxurious finish
- Its classic mid-century style looks premium
- Timeless faux-leather finish suits most schemes
Take note
- Price varies depending on fabric finish
- Backrest is low, which may not be to everyone’s taste
There’s nothing quite like beautifully crafted mid-century style furniture, such as the model 02 from Swyft, to upgrade your home décor. Swyft sells a wide range of attractive Scandi-inspired furniture including dining chairs, sofas and beds and a selection of love seats, and it was love at first sight for me when I first laid eyes on the model 02.
It comes in a choice of over eight colourways and five material finishes including linen, boucle, velvet, mottled velvet and faux leather. I tried the latter shown here in a versatile maple hue, which has a subtle glossy finish and instantly upped the style in my open-plan kitchen. It has a premium finish with pulled seams, piped detailing and a solid wood plinth and legs.
The back cushions here are filled with 50 per cent crumbed foam and 50 per cent hollow fibre, and this gives the design a very supportive finish that feels firm and nicely padded. While the cushions covers aren’t removable, the nature of this faux leather fabric makes it easy to wipe and dust clean with a damp cloth.
It comes with two bolster cushion either side that help to add support in the corners, but these can be removed to make more space in the seat. The backrest is a little lower than what I usually go for, but as a place to perch upright or socialise with the rest of the household, this love seat is successful in design.
Key specifications:
Buy now £1099, Swyfthome.com
Loaf cuddlemuffin love seat
Best: love seat for comfort
Why we love it
- Very comfortable
- Beautifully soft and supportive
- Excellent selection of colours and fabrics to choose from
Take note
- It’s large and takes up space
- Removable covers should be professionally cleaned
- Price increases depending on fabric
The clue to what you get when you sit on Loaf’s cuddlemuffin love seat is in its name – laying back in it feels just like a lovely, big cuddle. The moment I sat on it I was amazed at just how relaxing it felt. This is down to its super sumptuous cushions, that are deep and substantial. It is a large item of furniture, however, so you’ll need to measure the dimensions carefully before you buy to ensure it doesn’t overpower the room.
Loaf sells a wide selection of love seats handcrafted in the UK so there’s a lot to choose from, but the cuddlemuffin is one of my favourite designs. It has duck feather-filled seats and back cushions, with a foam core and duck feather jacket. Its timber frame with solid oak legs is glued and screwed using traditional techniques and this gives me reassurance that I’m sitting on something that will stand the test of time.
The design comes in a choice of six materials including a wide cotton weave called ‘Slubby’. Each fabric can be finished in a selection of around 30+ colourways, which makes it a good option if you have a specific colour in mind – choose from whipped cream, milky way blue, hosepipe teal, broken pot orange and more.
You get a 10-year frame guarantee with this Loaf love seat, and there are numerous sofa and armchair designs to match. While it can fit two at a squeeze, I much preferred not to share this love seat. I found plenty of space to curl up my legs up inside and each time I sat in it I just didn’t want to get up.
Key specifications
Buy now £2695, Loaf.com
Willow & Hall foxham love seat sofa bed
Best: sofa bed love seat
Why we love it
- Practical and good looking
- Wide range of fabric options
- Space to curl up without feeling cramped
- Comes with a 25-year guarantee
Take note
- Handmade to order in 4-5 weeks
Unlike your standard love seat, this Willow & Hall foxham design doubles up as a sofa bed. Handmade by skilled craftsmen in Britain, it has a solid hardwood frame and you can choose to have it upholstered from a range of more than 150 fabrics to match your home decor. You’ll need to pay extra (from £74) for matching cushions, and for an extra fee, you can choose removable arms, which may be necessary if you need to get the love seat into a tight passageway.
I love the modular frame of this love seat, which has clean lines that I think would help to freshen up a tired looking interior. In terms of comfort, the back cushion is fibre-filled and the seat cushions are filled with either reflex foam, fibre-filled or feather-wrapped foam. The reflex foam I tried felt sumptuously deep and firm, and there’s space for me to curl my legs up to the side without feeling too cramped.
It comes pre-assembled and wrapped in plastic and cardboard so setup was easy. Once I’d realised I needed to cut the fabric tie off the bottom of the love seat, I was able to slide the mattress easily out from inside the frame.
There’s the option to tailor the mattress to your preference too, with open sprung, pocket sprung or memory foam options depending on how much you want to spend, which adds to the premium feel of this design. Overall, I think having the option to use the love seat as a sofa bed makes this a space-saving design both attractive and convenient.
Key specifications
Buy now £1160.25, Willowandhall.co.uk
Big Bertha bubble sofa bean bag
Best: beanbag love seat
Why we love it
- Flexible and easy to move around the house
- Instant comfort for adults and kids
- Vibrant colours
- Soft materials
Take note
- Take care when filling it up to ensure the balls don’t spill everywhere
- Needs plumping to get it just right
A great one for kids, but equally comfortable and convenient for adults, this Big Bertha bean bag love seat is surprisingly comfy to sit on alone and I found it just the right size to share with my 10-year-old. Two adults may struggle to find space, however. It needs regular plumping to make sure the filling is evenly spread inside. As it’s relatively lightweight my son was able to move it around the room himself, and I think it would work well in a snug, bedroom or play room, as well as the living room.
It can be bought with a matching footstool and comes in nine colourways including aegean blue (shown), graphite grey, forest green and black. You can also choose from a number of material options including a hardwearing and stain-forgiving cord, which I tried, as well as faux fur, chenille, boucle and pom pom options.
It comes half-filled with extra polystyrene balls to pad it out and instructions on how to transfer the fill to the bag successfully. For peace of mind, it also has a child safety zip to stop kids accessing the filling and a double zipper. Unless you want your living room to look like a winter wonderland, I’d suggest following the instructions carefully.
I like the feel of the cord fabric, which has soft raised stripes but feels smooth underhand. The material feels thick and durable and while it has a stain-resistant coating, the aegean blue colourway I tried is dark enough to disguise any small stains in the future.
Key specifications
Buy now £239.9, Bigberthaoriginal.com
Wayfair Athalia 2-seater love seat
Best: statement love seat
Why we love it
- Great value
- Bold burnt orange finish with gold legs looks eye-catching
- Comfortable frame
Take note
- It’s larger than a standard love seat
- The legs are thin, so floor protection would be beneficial
Burnt orange is having a moment and this Athalia love seat makes for a striking way to introduce this warming, lively colour to your interior. It’s finished in a velvet-smooth polyester that feels great underhand and comes with gold-plated steel legs that adds to its luxurious look.
It comes flat packed, so a little basic DIY was needed to assemble it. I needed to screw on the base and then add the arms and back before screwing on the legs. The legs are quite thin in comparison to the love seat, so I added a few floor protection pads to make sure my floor didn’t get scratched or dented.
It’s called a love seat online, but when this item arrived, I realised it was noticeably longer than a traditional love seat. But it’s such a beautiful piece and very reasonably priced, I thought it deserves a mention. Its 183cm wide frame comfortably fits two people and my partner and I were able to sit back and relax on its generously high and padded back cushions without feeling squashed.
At the time of writing the burnt orange colourway is out of stock, but you can sign up to be notified when it’s back.
Key specifications:
Buy now £509.99, Wayfair.co.uk
Your questions on love seats answered
What is the best love seat?
There are a wide range of modern and traditional-style love seat sofas available online and I’ve highlighted Dunelm’s Martha vintage velvet snuggle chair as my best overall. I admire its tactile velvet finish, the fact that it comes in numerous pastel colourways and it has a comfortable padded design.
Meanwhile, I think Dusk’s Hampshire love seat, is excellent value at £389 and stands out for its timeless design and range of colour options.
How I tested love seats
To test out the best love seats, I gathered a selection of popular designs and tested them in my home. I assessed them on the following criteria:
What should you look for in a good love seat?
”A love seat is a great item to have a little more fun with than you might with your main sofa, particularly with fabric, shape or detailing,” says Emma Merry from Emma Merry Studio. “But there’s a fine line between something with personality and something you’ll be trying to sell on Facebook Marketplace in two years. Good proportions, quality upholstery and a shape you genuinely love will always outlast whatever happens to be having a moment.
“Your love seat does not need to match your sofa either. In fact, I’d rather it didn’t. It’s an opportunity to introduce another texture, pattern, colour or shape that speaks to the rest of the room without looking as though everything arrived from the same showroom on the same afternoon. Even something as simple as choosing a contrasting leg style can make a room feel much more layered.
“And comfort is non-negotiable. You can buy the most beautiful love seat on earth, but if nobody wants to sit on it, you’ve essentially bought a very expensive place to throw coats. Look for something supportive but still cocooning, paying particular attention to seat depth and back support.”
How do you clean a love seat?
“Always check the love seats’ care label to find out how best to clean it,” says Nicola Whittaker, senior product developer at Beldray. “If you have any stains, blot them with a damp cloth. In some instances, a gentle steam cleaner can work well as a chemical-free way to remove stains. But it’s important to check the instructions first, as I would not recommend using a steam cleaner on delicate fabrics like leather or suede.
“Begin vacuuming the entire love seat to remove loose debris. Ensure you get into the seams and gaps to suck up all debris. Next [if you’re fabric is suitable for steam cleaning], fill your steam cleaner’s water tank and attach the upholstery tool to lift everyday grime using the power of steam. Avoid holding the steam in one place or soaking the material as light, even movements are best.
“Work in small sections so you can see where you have cleaned and give any areas that need extra attention another gentle run. Once finished, allow the love seat to dry completely before replacing cushions or settling back into your favourite spot. Opening a window or keeping the room well-ventilated will help it dry more quickly.”
Read more: Best steam cleaners, tested
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
IndyBest is The Independent’s expert-driven shopping section. We extensively test every product we feature to bring you unbiased reviews based on real-world use. Emily Peck is a lifestyle journalist with more than 20 years of experience writing about interiors, smart homes, gardens, wellbeing, fitness, and modern living. She has tested furniture from the best armchairs to the best dining chairs for IndyBest, so she knows first-hand what makes for a great buy.
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