The first thing I do with any gray sofa is drag it toward the nearest window, because gray is the color that changes the most depending on what light hits it. A gray that looks soft and warm under shop lighting can turn flat and a little cold once it's sitting in a living room that only gets afternoon sun. If I can't move the thing, I at least hold a fabric swatch up at different times of day before deciding, morning light and evening lamp light will show you two different sofas.
Getting the size right matters more with gray than with a bolder color, because a too big gray sofa doesn't just crowd a room, it can swallow it and make everything look washed out and samey. Measure the actual path it needs to travel, not just the room, doorways, hallway turns, stairs if you're up a flight, because a sofa that measures fine on paper can get stuck at a landing and that is a miserable afternoon for everyone involved. In the room itself, leave enough space to walk around it without turning sideways, and don't push it right up against every wall just to make a space feel bigger, a little gap behind it usually makes the room feel more finished, not less full. The common mistake is buying to fill a wall rather than to fit how people will actually sit, three cushions looks generous in a showroom and then eats half your floor at home.
Gray fabric shows wear in its own particular way. Lighter grays will show every crumb and bit of fluff, darker charcoal grays hide dust but show pet hair like a chalkboard. Over a year or two, the arms and the front edge of the seat cushions will be where it shows first, that's where hands and knees and backsides do the most damage, so a removable, washable cover on those spots saves you a lot of grief later. Rotate and flip cushions regularly so wear spreads evenly rather than carving a permanent dent where one person always sits.
When it arrives, check the fabric in natural light against any sample you were shown, dye lots can drift. Run a hand across the cushions for lumps, check the legs are even and not wobbling on one corner, and look along the seams for pulling or puckering before anyone's sat on it even once.
Would I still like this gray in six months, once the paint smell's gone and it's just the sofa in the room every day?
