A two-part look at a unique upholstery style begins on the traditional end of the couch spectrum.
Once an icon of the Victorian gentleman’s club the tufted sofa has been steadily growing in popularity and now can be found in every color and configuration. In its most traditional version [top] the leather-upholstered Chesterfield style — with rolled arms, deep seat, button-tufted back and deck, nailhead decoration and bun feet – lurked for years in the backwater of suburban family and TV rooms where it was appreciated for its hard wearing qualities and very traditional English comfort. And while the basic Chesterfield form still anchors the most hide-bound end of an invigorated tufted sofa trend, it is becoming a hybrid with a wide variety of arm, back, leg, deck and frame configurations which merit extensive examination if only because there are so many interesting new variations in addition to the wonderful well known silhouette.
Persimmon leather bespeaks tradition and yet the curvy saddle back, angled arms and turned legs of the “Recamier” lighten up and feminize this sofa even though the seat and front rail are tufted in covered buttons a la Chesterfield.
Even softer is the ultra-glamorous velours-covered Chester with spool feet, a trio of loose seat pillows to plump it up and an elaborate horizontal tufted treatment on the seat rail with a frame of nailheads.
Emerald was the 2013 Pantone color of the year but the style of this velvet sofa is retro with a distinctly European flavor. What makes me say that? The deep diamond-tufted back and seat combined with a pleated skirt is a most unusual hybrid. The rolled arms are lower and the fabric on the front of them is pleated. And there isn’t a nailhead in sight.
Sofa or settee? The small format puts it in the latter category but the vernacular remains. Here, the back grows taller, the girth of the scroll arms is diminished and the wood frame is exposed. So-called deconstructed upholstery — currently in vogue at Restoration Hardware – features linen which looks like calico or muslin usually used beneath upholstery fabric. And instead of decorative nailheads, we get black tacks – the kind I remember workers in my Dad’s upholstery shop nailing into the frame (today, fabric is most often staple-gunned to furniture frames).
Slimmed-down rolled arms make the thickly tufted back and seat of this dainty seafoam settee look exceptionally plush. Turned legs help lighten the scale as well.
The Edmund sofa, from the trend-setting furniture house bddw, lifts the Chesterfield from onto stylized pad-foot legs reminiscent of graceful Queen Anne furniture, poking some fun at both historical styles. The cheeky treatment continues with plain rolled arms set back from the front edge. For me, the modernizing elements are the smooth seat and low overall silhouette. This sofa could easily be a statement piece but right at home in a minimalist space.
Some claim a single seat cushion makes a settee awkward when two sit down. I disagree because I invariably wind up on the crack between the seat cushions. If the lovely tufted back were simplified, this sofa would be straight from the George Smith mold – down to the turned legs and low rolled arms. But I think the combo works, particularly in a somber charcoal gray fabric, due to the decorative tufted pattern.
Another unusual gem, this Rococo revival settee has a gilded frame and crested tufted back in combination with three loose seat cushions. Merely eccentric in white it could be tweaked to full boho mode a pattern fabric. Also, I wish the woman who owns this sofa would hang up her clothes so we could see it better!
(Source: Horchow, ruemag, juellphotography, restorationhardware, bddw, terrain, facebook)
Met Monday