I live close to the wonderful and not very well known Geffrye Museum in London, which has an permanent exhibition on the evolution of the living room. It's mainly UK homes but I thought it might be applicable to the US too: http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/explore-the-geffrye/period_rooms/ According to the website, a drawing room in London in the 1830s would already include a couch, very similar to the ones we use nowadays.