Couches  

Ponyboy -

Since my wife and I moved into our house 28 months ago, we have tested the following sofas in our living room:

1) Scarpa Bastiano, rosewood + linen cushions over goose down

2) Eames Compact, wool over foam

3) Torben Afdal sectional, vinyl over foam on teak frame

4) Martin Borenstein Challenge sofa, linen over foam on walnut frame

5) Le Corbusier / Cassina LC2 two-seaters, leather over foam

6) Vico Magistretti Veranda 3-seater, leather over foam

7) Peter Hvidt caned-back sofa; wool over metal springs on teak frame

8-11) another Brazilian sofa, custom sectional, and something else I can't remember

So we've tried a lot of different sofas as Craigslist has permitted. We currently have the LC2s and to plan to change from this, though it is a bit difficult to nap on them given their short length. The Scarp was comfortable for short periods but a little low. The Compact was the worst. The Borestein lacked a headrest and too long but was otherwise okay. The Veranda was cool but lacked the preferred prone seating option.

My favorite in terms of aesthetics and comfort was actually the Torben Afdal sectional. Wish I had a photo of it in our living, but here is the pic I took when I sold it. THe Hvidt was a close second.

To summarize, the Danes were pretty good at furniture design, especially sofas, at least considering what the rest of the world was doing at the time.

Well hi.

I have 4 sofa's between 2 homes.

- Florence Knoll 3 seater

- Roche Bobois

- Roche Bobois

- B & B Italia.

The B&B is probably the most comfortable battleship that I've ever elegantly perched upon, and/or napped. Bought it in 1990. It was red. I was broke. Hi.

Best,

Aunt Mark

I would first sort your priorities---style, comfort, and how your family uses a sofa. I've sat on many, many sofas and have found that very few feel perfect to me---an to find one that was comfortable AND had a look that I liked made it fifty times harder. And that was with not even having to worry about upholstery since I could redo that myself.

If you like to curl up on a sofa with room for plenty of pillows, a shallow Danish style frame sofa probably won't suit you well. They're good for sitting upright with feet on the floor, though. They are also only as good as the foam quality and webbing (or innerspring units in the cushions--but most have foam). If it's elastic strip webbing, it can be made firmer or less firm. Urethane foam quality varies a lot--it can be anywhere from horrible to pretty good. Latex is more desirable but is pricey. And whatever you get, you should ideally try different densities on the frame. I used to do that when i did upholstery and it was amazing how there would be one density (not always the same one, either) that had the WOW factor. You'd have to find an accommodating upholsterer, though.

If you aren't too picky about seat depth and whether you and your wife and the dog can all curl up together on it, then you will have more styles to choose from.

I've redone a number of exposed frame sofas with loose cushions for people and I love the look of them but could never own one myself.

Mine is somewhere in between---I bought it years ago in its original state with orange vinyl and a weirdly framed back and annoying welt down the center of the arm rests. I reupholstered it right away but quickly grew to dislike the fabric that I chose. I gave it to a friend to use in his music studio and moved on to something else and then another one and another one--all of which were not quite right. After about ten years the friend no longer needed the formerly-orange sofa and asked if I wanted ti back. By then I was happy to upholster it again so I said yes---got it and sat down on it and said, "WHY DID I EVER GIVE THIS AWAY?!" (answer: because i hated the fabric and thought it would be easy to find something just as comfortable)

So i redid it in a gold wool fabric by Sina Pearson and I love it. I restyled the back and arms, added button tufting, and used thicker foam for the seat cushions. This photo is very unflattering and that's not even my home, but you can get a pretty good idea of what it looks like--just a basic sofa shape, nothing more, nothing less. It's a good foil for my Kofod-Larsen hoop chair and Wegner J16 rocker.

Four Knoll Pfister leather (Spinneybeck Volo and Spinneybeck Sabrina) three seat sofas and several Pfister club chairs between two homes. I do not have a second choice.

Mr. Pfister says hi.

I currently have a Grete Jalk/Charles France model 168 for France and S

It is not at home, it is at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and it is probably not a couch. George Nakashima's Conoid bench placed in front of a Jackson Pollock painting. It was so humbling and quite a spiritual experience.

http://www.mfa.org/node/9524

I found two also where the museum goer is also allowed to sit on these classic benches at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in front of an ancient Chinese landscape screen.

I just want to add that in the end, your final decision is the one the best suits your needs. I also went through a similar dilemma, besides the aesthetics, budget was also a big factor. Vladimir Kagan once said, "no amount of planning can replace dumb luck". I had to make a split second decision between a $99 Le Corbusier leather sofa from the 1970s by Cassina from the Salvation Army or a new one for $12,000.00 down the street at DWR.

It is also an architecture thing.

http://design-milk.com/40-years-of-togo-and-still-going-strong/

If you happen to live nearby in one of their showrooms, it might be worth testing.

This is probably what you should do, just go and test any sofa you think fit all your needs and meet all the other requirements in your household. And another thing, if you happen to live in one of those older buildings that the sofa you choose fits through the door, hallways and stairway turns.

why spanky, that is just fabulous.

fondly,

Your Aunt Mark

Thanks everyone for the recommendations and advice. I agree that most of the furniture I (we) buy depends heavily on personal preference, budget, space, availability etc...but it's nice to hear peoples experiences, both good and bad.

I appreciate the reminder to focus on priorities, Spanky. We (my gf and I) live in a pretty small place and the living room is where we hang out the most/entertain. Any couch we get will get a lot of use so while the looks of the couch are really important, we can't sacrifice comfort or durability! Luckily we are both fairly tall so our needs as far as the size of couch are similar.

Loved all the couches people have been posting! We have one store where I live that sells some of the big name couches/sofas you all posted. Might be a good place to start seeing what is comfortable (I would like to buy old rather than new, or even better have all the thrifting pay off and find one in the wild).

1. Chairs are architecture, sofas are bourgeois.

2. Pfizer, haha.

3. Ponyboy, do you want a sofa to sit on, or to lie down on? If the former, see if you can find an Eames Sofa Compact to try out. It'll fit better than any other three-seat sofa in your "pretty small space" and it's very comfortable for sitting.

I've been researching Mogens Kold and haven't been able to find an image of this couch anywhere. There are similar ones attributed to Arne Hovmand-Olsen but none match this one. Curious if anyone has run into this model or knows anything about it? I apologize for the lack of detail in the pictures.

I find the Knoll Pfister sofa/collection to be....well, as though it should have/could have been designed for Lazy Boy, and come with a 3 year subscription to TV Guide. Sorry.

Best,

Aunt Mark

Strange women that looks like a "man",

It is Knoll Pfister sofa and club chair. You wear such interesting costumes and are so very cleaver with so many witty sayings.