Sectionals offer a lot of versatility when you’re trying to fill a room with furniture. Rather than a standard, three-seat couch, they allow you to place pieces of similarly designed furniture independent of each other.
At some point, you’ll probably want to connect the pieces so they provide the stability of a conventional couch. If they remain independent of each other, they might move around, and you probably don’t want that.
We are here to help. In this little guide, we laid out how to connect a sectional’s pieces and what hardware you’ll need. We also have some tips on how to keep them connected.
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How to connect a sectional sofa?
Your sectional will likely have its own connecting hardware. If it does, follow the instructions in the owner’s manual. If it doesn’t, that’s no sweat, either.
There are three basic ways to connect sectional pieces: side-locking brackets, bottom-locking brackets, and shoe connections.
A side-locking bracket has male and female fittings along the sides of the individual pieces. Move the pieces next to each other so that a male is next to a female, and lift the male side over the top of the female, and lower it.
Bottom-locking brackets consist of a single piece of metal and one that looks like a two-tined fork. Rotate the tined piece out and push them together. As the single piece of metal is pushed into the two tines, you’ll hear a click. It may require more than one click to fully connect.
Shoe connections are the most versatile and most popular with modular sectionals where you might be removing or installing armrests. You just line the connections up along the bottom of where the sectionals are intended to go and lift the individual pieces into them.
What is the best hardware to connect a sectional sofa?
Side-locking brackets are the fastest, easiest hardware if you need to buy the hardware to connect a sectional. They screw into the side of your sectional near the bottom and as long as you have them properly placed, they are also no hassle to connect two pieces.
But we actually prefer bottom-locking brackets for strength and stability. It takes a little longer to attach them and it takes a little longer to line them up to connect sectionals, but once you do that, they aren’t going anywhere.
Plus, since they’re mounted to the bottom, there is less risk of damage to the couch frame if you have kids who like to horse around on the furniture.
They are a little more expensive than the side-locking brackets, which might make them less attractive if your sectional has several components, but if it’s just two the difference is just a few bucks. Spend a little now to save a lot later.
Tips for keeping a sectional sofa connected
When you have the individual pieces of your sectional in place, you won’t want them to move around easily. If you wanted that, you probably would have just purchased individual pieces of furniture.
After you connect your pieces with hardware on the sections themselves, there are a few things you can do to make sure they stay together.
Placing your furniture on thick carpet is a great way to create more friction as it might move around. That should hold it in place. Also, you can connect your sectional pieces in a corner.
Maintain your couch and keep the connecting hardware in good condition. Don’t roughhouse on it. That will damage it and might cause the connections to twist and come out of shape.
Finally, there are low-tech ways to supplement the connecting hardware. You can use zip-ties or straps around the legs. They won’t be noticeable there, especially if you trim the ends.
Can all sectionals be separated?
One of the primary reasons for buying a sectional is to separate the pieces. All sectionals can, by design, be separated.
Disconnecting a sectional isn’t all that difficult. Most are attached either by way of a simple L-bracket. Just find where that is, lift one piece, and move it a few inches from the other.
You’ll also lift to disconnect a bottom-locking bracket. Lift the section with the post out of the two-tined bracket and move out of the way. Rotate the bracket back under the section and you’re good.
For shoe connections, just lift the different sections out. You might have to do a little more work moving around backrests and armrests if you have a modular sectional.
Conclusion
Sectionals are designed for simplicity and versatility. You can separate one large piece of furniture into smaller ones with the same color and upholstery pattern. It’ll allow you to make better use of space, especially in small rooms.
You’ll also want to be sure you can connect your independent pieces of furniture if they are next to each other. That’ll ensure they provide you the stability of a single piece. We gave you a couple of ideas for what to buy.
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