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These are great answers. I'd just add (as a sub-answer) that a brown couch is sort of like a happy smile. The adjective doesn't add much of value. It implies nothing much about the couch, or the smile.

But a well-loved couch, or a stained couch, or a threadbare couch, or a stiff, plastic-covered couch, or a couch with one mismatched pillow--All of these immediately give a history to the couch. 

More like an empty smile, or a drooling smile. The adjective does a little work for you.

I'd say... pay attention in books that you read to adjectives that you feel pull their weight.

(Also, assuming a limited perspective, the description informs the reader of the VP Character's mindset. A fun prompt is to ask yourself how each character in your work could describe the same couch differently. One might call it a comfortable couch, another might call the same couch a cheap couch, and so on.)