These days, the hunt for the perfect sofa is more daunting than ever. A couch is a sizable investment, it takes centre stage in the main room of the home, and there are more styles choose from this autumn. Even within the realm of sleekly modern décor, there are diverse options: looks range from the severe, straight-lined, and neutral-toned to the curvy, futuristic, and electric-hued. Elsewhere, deco-vintage couches are still strong, and exotic, divanlike pieces are picking up on the ethnic-boho clothes on fashion runways. In all, the choices could overwhelm even certifiable shopaholics. We decided to take four style-savvy young Vancouverites-a model, a fashion designer, a rock 'n' roll singer, and a homewares designer/author-and find a sofa to suit each of their lives and tastes. The results are a sampling of some of the cooler contemporary couches out there. Pull up a seat…

DESIGNER: BETH HAWTHORN
For Beth Hawthorn, picking out the right sofa is more complex than just getting a colour to match the rest of the house. Beth is the owner of Core, a handbook on buying locally and sustainably; a member of the Bark Collective of B.C. designers; and a principal at This is It, a homeware and glass design company she founded with husband Robert Studer. When it comes to consumer choices, she's thinking more about what the product represents: "We are very hands-on with what we do, so we understand the quality, the details, how it's made. We take it beyond the aesthetics." She tries to implement the following values: How does a piece work for a family? What are the design principles? Is it sustainable? Is it local? Nonetheless, she does have her preferences when it comes to style-"simple and contemporary with a bit of an Asian influence". The Metropolitan Sofa ($3,240 as shown) at Bombast (27 East Pender Street) melds both the idea of sustainable living (multigenerational frames last up to 150 years; all-natural New Zealand wool that's heavy-metal free; locally made) and contemporary design. The fantastic orange is thanks to Beth's little one, Leah, "since having my daughter, all of a sudden colour becomes a part of life".

JASON TROTZUK: FASHION DESIGNER
Jason Trotzuk designer for Fidelity Denim, makes hotels like the Roosevelt and Sixty Thompson his home during his frequent business stops in L.A. and New York City. What draws him to these places, being a man of the cloth himself, is their use of fabrics and colour. For Jason, the ideal couch is something that brings together the past and the present. He looks for the luxury of art deco but prefers the even cleaner lines of contemporary furniture. The Pantera Series by Lazar (from $1,795) at Bayside Furniture (1456 West 8th Avenue) melds these two approaches. "As far as personal aesthetic, I'm a traditional and classic person," says Trotzuk. "As a designer, I like to make my jeans timeless-to have been worn five years ago or five years from now." His desire for opulence ("I have this idea of this furniture in velvet or with satin pillows," he says) is coupled with an appreciation for modular forms. "I'm liking the darker, bolder, streamlined furniture, not crowded or busy. Sleek and elegant."

MUSICIAN: MIK IRELAND
Crystal Pistol lead singer Mik Ireland says his design apotheosis lies somewhere between an art gallery and a Chinese restaurant. The sofa in his living room should be like a piece of art, something to be decorated around, because he doesn't see the space it sits in as a place to entertain others. The living room is "a personal space, not for anyone else"-hence, he'd have his own art gallery where his collection of original Kiss albums and prints could be displayed in their thick, ornate, gilded frames. The Chinese-restaurant part comes in at the details: Ireland envisions "a black couch with red walls, oriental prints, gold". The Euro 851 in top-grain, rockin'-black Singa leather (from $1,800, available in other materials) at Industrial Revolution (2306 Granville Street) is a good option for Mik.

MIRIAM ANDERSON: MODEL
Miriam Anderson's visage currently graces the ad campaign for Buffalo Jeans. Unlike her day EL job, which is all about glamour, her style sense is more on the practical end of the fashion spectrum. She likes to focus on comfort more than beauty; she's looking for something with staying power. Anderson loves pieces that tweak her memory: if the objects in her décor can remind her of an experience in her life, they make a room feel much more like home. She also prefers authenticity. "I don't like buying things from places where it looks like it has a lot of culture but it's just cheaply manufactured." Miriam describes her interior-design style as eclectic, a mix of classic, vintage, and retro, and she spends her spare time digging through flea markets looking for "really, really old things". Coming pretty close to Miriam's ideal, but new, sofa is the ultracozy Magnum by Flexform at Inform Interiors (97 Water Street), save for the significant price tag ($10,897)-not quite within her budget as a student.