Camouflage The Chaos Part Two

Friday nights are an important time in our family. We often light Shabbat candles, have some wine, order pizza, and watch a family movie. We all love movies; recently we’ve watched “Bend It Like Beckham,” “The Pink Panther,” and “Chupa.” To enjoy watching a movie, it is my belief that you need a really comfortable sofa.

Your sofa needs to be three things: comfortable, functional, and good looking. We had only one of those with our 9-year-old, 8-foot-wide sofa from Restoration Hardware. It was comfortable. Down feathers were constantly escaping from the worn Belgian linen and our living room looked like a chicken coup. The pillows were shapeless and the seat cushion had expanded and hung over the base of the sofa. Below is a picture of our sofa in 2017, before it got bad.

At first, I thought to just reupholster. The frame was in good shape, and I liked the timeless English scroll arm. But eight feet of sofa is a lot and I wanted to create a shape that was fun and playful. We added a wave detail to the backrest to create a bit of movement along the wall. We also integrated a curved chaise so at least one or two of us could really recline. We kept the down fill but added a foam core to the inside so it’s still soft but doesn’t collapse.

I wanted the sofa to have a more modern twist. We scrapped the skirt and constructed the bottom of the sofa to look like two pieces of curved cushions stacked on top of each other. The feet are hidden so the sofa looks like it is floating. The seat cushion is sewn into the sofa so it cannot move and always looks put together.

I wanted to brighten up the room, so I chose Bloomsbury from Clarence House because it has so much energy and color. This double weave is very durable too. I paired it with a neutral boucle from Kravet. I added three oversized throw pillows with a jumbo fringe and two bolsters which create little seating sections. They also help camouflage the chaos of having two small kids, one small dog, and busy lives.

I love our new sofa. It can survive anything, it’s comfortable, and I’ve never seen a piece of furniture like it.