When we made the Margot, we realised we’d stumbled on something quite interesting: there are, broadly speaking, two kinds of sofa. Which one are you?
When we developed the Margot, the idea was to make something with some of the same extraordinary comfiness as the Vesper… we’re talking deep eight-way hand-tied springs, impossibly soft down cushions, all natural, huggable upholstery… but without those great high Knole-style arms.
The Vesper, if you’ve tried it, is a sofa that wraps itself around you; a sofa for nesting in. Absolutely unbeatable for reading or disappearing into on a lazy afternoon.
The Margot, on the other hand, is a more open affair, with lower arms, so you can more easily reach for your coffee and chat to the people across the room. So while being just as deliciously comfortable, it has a more sociable air.
Anyway, after it was done we realised we had made not so much a second version of the Vesper as a different kind of sofa. And that led us to the realisation that there are, we think, two broad tribes of sofa.
The first is the cocoon...
This gathers you in and has an enveloping quality, thanks to higher arms and a deeper seat. A cocoon sofa is not necessarily antisocial, but it lends itself to privacy. So, perfect for hiding away solo, or creating a little place of retreat when in company. You might say it’s the sofa equivalent of drawing the curtains in the middle of the day.
The second is the sociable sofa...
This one has lower arms and easier access. Its more open posture makes it a sofa for conversation and gathering (typically, someone perching on the arm for a minute and then staying for a few hours).
Or, put another way: the cocoon says ‘settle in’; the sociable sofa says ‘come and join us’.
Neither type is intrinsically better; it’s a matter of personal inclination. But perhaps a question to ask before choosing any sofa, as well as ‘what is it made of’ and ‘how does it look’, is ‘what do I want this sofa to do?’
So, are you a cocoonist, or a socialite? A Vesper...
...or a Margot?
Read more about how we design from the heart of the sofa here.
(The paintings above are Day Dreams by Alfred Walter Bayes (cocoon); and Le lecteur by Hubert François Bourguignon Gravelot (sociable) - both in the public doman via ArtUK.org)
The Cocoon Sofa and the Sociable Sofa
When we made the Margot, we realised we’d stumbled on something quite interesting: there are, broadly speaking, two kinds of sofa. Which one are you?
When we developed the Margot, the idea was to make something with some of the same extraordinary comfiness as the Vesper… we’re talking deep eight-way hand-tied springs, impossibly soft down cushions, all natural, huggable upholstery… but without those great high Knole-style arms.
The Vesper, if you’ve tried it, is a sofa that wraps itself around you; a sofa for nesting in. Absolutely unbeatable for reading or disappearing into on a lazy afternoon.
The Margot, on the other hand, is a more open affair, with lower arms, so you can more easily reach for your coffee and chat to the people across the room. So while being just as deliciously comfortable, it has a more sociable air.
Anyway, after it was done we realised we had made not so much a second version of the Vesper as a different kind of sofa. And that led us to the realisation that there are, we think, two broad tribes of sofa.
The first is the cocoon...
This gathers you in and has an enveloping quality, thanks to higher arms and a deeper seat. A cocoon sofa is not necessarily antisocial, but it lends itself to privacy. So, perfect for hiding away solo, or creating a little place of retreat when in company. You might say it’s the sofa equivalent of drawing the curtains in the middle of the day.
The second is the sociable sofa...
This one has lower arms and easier access. Its more open posture makes it a sofa for conversation and gathering (typically, someone perching on the arm for a minute and then staying for a few hours).
Or, put another way: the cocoon says ‘settle in’; the sociable sofa says ‘come and join us’.
Neither type is intrinsically better; it’s a matter of personal inclination. But perhaps a question to ask before choosing any sofa, as well as ‘what is it made of’ and ‘how does it look’, is ‘what do I want this sofa to do?’
So, are you a cocoonist, or a socialite? A Vesper...
...or a Margot?
Read more about how we design from the heart of the sofa here.
(The paintings above are Day Dreams by Alfred Walter Bayes (cocoon); and Le lecteur by Hubert François Bourguignon Gravelot (sociable) - both in the public doman via ArtUK.org)