The living room has become the center of family life today. Huddled around the warm glow of a high definition TV, people enjoy spending time with loved ones. It’s an environment that is securely grounded in the notion of “comfort.” But at some point, the idea of comfort started to spin out of control. A perfect example of this can be seen in the centerpiece of the American living room, the sofa. In exploring the principle of “Informal Meets Elegant” in regards to the sofa, we ask: “Has comfort gone too far?”
The Sofa has had many incarnations over the years. In Colonial through Victorian times, there were rather uncomfortable versions of the sofa that were decorative, but only slightly padded. They served the function of providing a place to sit, but they were as stiff and formal as the people who sat on them.
Then the Arts and Crafts era arrived and the focus was on honest materials, craftsmanship and the home. Sofas took on a new life with broad arms, plush leathers and human proportions. Stickley sofas became a mainstay in bungalows and prairie homes around the country. Over time, furniture changed with the trends and a quick succession of Deco, Modern and Post-Modern designs flooded furniture showrooms. Each of the iterations took something from the former--even if comfort wasn’t always the top of the list, style and elegance were often present.
After World War 2 on through the 90s, Americans started to approach home life with a new eye towards comfort. With the easing of social moirés, busier career lives and the additional stress that followed, Americans wanted home to be a safe haven where they could kick off the shoes and just relax. This notion explains the rise of decorating with plush carpets, lots of pillows, and eventually, overstuffed furniture.
So where’s the problem. The idea of comfortable furniture is not a bad one. No one wants to go back to the days of rock hard sofas or non-ergonomic chairs. The problem is, that it’s gone too far. It’s become all too prevalent a notion that a sofa has to be so overstuffed for it be considered “comfortable,” that it loses any sort of style or elegance altogether. Sofas are now offensively obese with their mounds of stuffed folds, one piled on another until it looks like you’ve got an upholstered Jabba the Hutt sitting in you living room. Comfort has overshadowed Elegance.
So what is the answer? Principles adhere to the notion of moderation and balance. The Principle of “Informal Meets Elegant” says that comfort is important—you should be able to sit on a sofa and feel the weight of the day lift off of you. Yet, that sofa should also be proportional to the size of the room that it’s in, as well as the people who sit on it. Human scale is as important in furniture as in the house it resides in. Its design should compliment the overall scheme of the rest of your décor, acting in a unified way. Its presence should add as much to your physical comfort as to your aesthetic comfort. Some examples of sofas that have comfort and style include:
• Stickley Prairie Loveseat
• Crate and Barrel Upton Sofa
• Pottery Barn Addin Leather Sofa
• Chia’sso Manhattan Sofa
Depending on your price range or décor, any of these options provide comfort and style together. There are many other options out there, just remember to think beyond the mounds of material and consider the look, the size, the overall scheme of a piece of furniture before settling for one feature, alone. Keep in mind, it’s not called a “lazy” boy for nothing.
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