Left or Right-Facing Sectional: How to Choose

Left-Facing vs. Right-Facing Sectionals: How to Tell and Choose

By LivingChita September 11, 2026

Quick answer: Face the sofa from the front. A chaise on your left is left-facing; a chaise on your right is right-facing. Choose the side that leaves the main walking route and nearby doors clear. LAF and RAF mean Left-Arm Facing and Right-Arm Facing and describe the armrest on an individual sofa section.

A chaise extends farther into the room than the other seats. Choosing its position starts with the doorway, nearby furniture and the path through the room.

How to tell left-facing from right-facing

Stand in front of the sofa, looking toward its seats. A sectional chaise seat is the long seat where you can stretch out your legs. A chaise on your left is left-facing; a chaise on your right is right-facing.

What do LAF and RAF mean?

LAF and RAF describe the armrest on an individual sofa section. The letters stand for Left-Arm Facing and Right-Arm Facing.

Label	Full name	Armrest position
LAF	Left-Arm Facing	On your left
RAF	Right-Arm Facing	On your right

If a CHITA sofa's left- and right-facing options are unclear, our customer support team can help identify which side the chaise is on.

Choose a side for your room

1. Mark the fixed features

Sketch the room's walls, openings, doors, windows, vents and outlets. Mark the full swing of doors and the space needed to open cabinet doors and drawers. Include an unobstructed route to the room’s exit as well as the route to adjoining rooms. The Texas 4-H room-planning exercise uses a scale drawing and marked walking routes to test furniture placement.

2. Draw the actual sofa outline

Use the selected configuration's overall width and maximum depth. A chaise extends farther into the room than the upright sofa seats. For a reclining configuration, add the footprint with the footrests and backrests in use.

Mark both left- and right-facing outlines with painter's tape on a suitable floor surface. Include the coffee table and other furniture you intend to keep. Check that the tape is suitable for your flooring and remove it according to its instructions.

3. Walk the routes and open the doors

Walk from the entrance to the seats, adjoining rooms and frequently used storage. Test the route while another person is using the seating area. If someone uses a walking aid or wheelchair, test the route with that aid. Check wheelchair approach and turning space beside the seats as well as room to pass.

Keep separate measurements for the gap to the coffee table, the main walking route and any moving footrest. A gap that lets a seated person reach a drink has a different job from the route through the room. Our sectional coffee-table placement guide explains how to test table reach, access to the chaise and footrest movement separately.

Kenna Modular 4-Piece Ottoman Sectional Sofa

4. Check views from the seats

Sit in a chair at the proposed seat positions and check the TV, fireplace or conversation area. Check the view from the chaise as well as the main sofa. Then compare which outline leaves the room easier to use.

Room condition	Layout to test first
The main route runs along the sofa's right side	Test a left-side chaise, keeping the right-side route open
The main route runs along the sofa's left side	Test a right-side chaise, keeping the left-side route open
Doors or storage open beside both ends	Test both outlines with those doors fully open; a shorter chaise or smaller configuration may fit better
The sofa sits in the middle of an open room	Test access around both ends and behind the sofa, then choose the chaise position that suits those routes

Liam 5-Piece Overstuffed Feather Wood Base Sectional Sofa

Can you switch the chaise to the other side?

The construction determines what you can change.

Fixed orientation: the chaise and sofa pieces are designed for a particular arrangement. Order the required side.
Reversible chaise: the design supports switching the chaise side. Follow the stated method for moving cushions, the base or other parts.
Modular arrangement: separate pieces offer layout choices. Check which arms can move, which connections match, and where any powered components plug in.

A sofa's L or U shape describes its layout. Modular describes its construction. Our guide to eight sectional sofa types covers the common shapes and construction options.

Teleri 5-Seat Modular Curved Sofa with Wood Leg

Before you order

Confirm the chaise is on the side you want when viewed from the front.
Compare the sofa's full width and chaise depth with the space you measured.
Check that nearby doors and drawers can open and the main walking route stays clear.
Check doorways, stairs, turns and any elevator along the delivery route.
If you plan to move the chaise later, confirm that the sofa supports switching sides.

Use our doorway and delivery-route measuring guide to compare the delivered packages with narrow doors, stair turns and elevators along the route.

Questions about sectional orientation

Does “right-facing” mean my right while sitting?

Right-facing uses the view from in front of the sofa, looking toward the seats. From that position, the chaise is on your right. Once you sit on the sofa, that same chaise is on your left.

Why does my left-chaise order include a right-arm sofa?

In a two-piece layout with arms at the outside ends, the LAF chaise joins an RAF sofa. The armless sides connect in the middle, and the two outer arms finish the arrangement.

Is one orientation better for a small room?

The room's entrances, storage and available floor space determine the useful side. Test the actual outline in both directions and compare access. In small-room sofa layouts, a shorter chaise or narrower sofa may make a larger difference than changing sides.