Making our homes look beautiful can sometimes overshadow the practicalities of how a particular room functions. A lot of us spend the majority of our time in the living room, so making sure this space is functional as well as aesthetically pleasing is key.
Getting the balance right can be tricky and if you haven’t got the right set-up, one of the most common problems is a sofa that doesn’t stay in place on a hardwood floor. So how do you stop your couch from sliding? This can be down to several different factors — perhaps your hardwood floors are too slippery, but even the best sofas need a little help to stay in place on a bare floor.
We spoke to the experts who let us know some quick and easy fixes that will solve this annoying problem in a flash.
1. Place a rug underneath
(Image credit: Tim Lenz. Design credit: MK Workshop)
Hard floors are a popular choice for living room flooring ideas. They are extremely practical for high-traffic areas and look effortlessly chic, whether it be hardwood, engineered wood or LVT.
However, a common problem with hard flooring in living rooms is that it causes furniture to move and slide. To stop this from happening, placing a rug underneath your sofa can really help.
“For the couch itself, the most popular way to prevent it from sliding is to put a rug or area rug underneath,” suggests Ben Soreff from H2H Organizing. This is not just an effective method to stop your couch from sliding but it’s also an opportunity to add another layer of texture and color to your space.
2. Use furniture leg pads
(Image credit: Gieves Anderson. Design: Barker Architecture Office)
A simple solution is to add specialized furniture pads to the feet of your sofa, they won’t just stop it from sliding but they’ll protect your hardwood floor, too.
Ben insists that you shouldn’t worry about them ruining the look of your sofa because “they make clear rubber pads that slip (no pun intended) onto each leg”, therefore you won’t even notice that they are there. You can find transparent leg pad designs like this from Amazon.
“Place these on the underside of your couch legs for added friction. It’s like giving your couch an extra grip boost,” agrees Ayten Nadeau, founder of i-TEN Designs.
3. Keep on top of your cleaning
(Image credit: Kerry Vasquez)
Hardwood floors are renowned to be quite slippery at the best of times, but this increases when there is dust, moisture, wax or grease on the floor. Cleaning a hardwood floor is a simple step that can help stop a sofa, even one with pads on, from sliding, as well as making it easier to walk on in socks.
Try to avoid cleaning products that leave a residue and instead use specialized wood floor cleaner that is designed to give your wooden floors a little extra TLC.
4. Anchor the couch
(Image credit: Julie Leffell. Design: Tami Wassong)
“Furniture grippers or stoppers can be your couch’s new best friends,” says Ayten. “These little guys are budget-friendly and add some serious grip to keep your couch from wandering off.”
These handy accessories, that you can find on Etsy, can be slotted onto the legs of your sofa and butted up against a wall to stop your couch from sliding. They are transparent so you don’t need to worry about them ruining the vibe of your living room.
Of course, these will only be a good option if your living room layout consists of your sofa touching the wall. If this is the case, then they should be an easy fix for you and your couch.
