Red Sofa (again!)
cobi's house • colour • decorating • Comments (8)
14 years of use and abuse….it was time for a new sofa.
Let me just say, I believe in buying furniture that lasts and 14 years is probably not that long in terms of the life of a ‘good’ sofa. I know, because I have one upstairs that my mother bought in the 70’s and short of being reupholstered, it’s in great condition.
But our sofa was bought from a trendy store in the 90’s and it’s main attribute at the time was the oversized styling and denim fabric that was all the rage rather than it’s springs and coils. Suffice to say, after a few years, I started to wonder if it had any.
Anyway, we lived with (and on) it through babies, 2 houses, new slip covers, sick days home from school, 2 dogs, movie nights, tv dinners, the whole gamut and to be honest, it owed us nothing when we put it by the curb and watched a couple in a truck drive off with it a few minutes later destined for cottage country.
The funny party of the story is what I bought. I definitely wanted a well constructed sofa this time - I guess I’ve grown too old to tolerate style without substance - and so I headed for a tried and true brand, one that’s made right here in Canada, where I can actually stand and watch each coil being tied if I want.
I knew I didn’t have the time or the cash to redecorate my whole living room (plus, I like it!) and so I needed something that would work with the carpet and paisley wing chairs and my beloved kilim covered ottoman. I considered leather for its practicality and I do think a well styled, chocolate brown leather sofa is a classic in any room, but it just doesn’t have the ‘cozy factor’ that I know my kids loved about ‘ol’ red’.
I headed to Barrymore Furniture in Toronto and chose the style within a few minutes. Neater and tidier than 14 years ago, but stuffed with premium fill that sinks when you sit down and has enough body to come back up when you get up (they call it ‘memory’) and most important of all, long enough for a tall person’s afternoon nap.
The other thing I loved about this sofa was the 3 cushions in the back. I had them upholstered in a beautiful woven pattern but they can be done in a solid like the rest of the piece. Because this sofa has a lot of depth, they work perfectly if a non-tall person sits down and needs more back support. They can also be put on the ends if you want to lay down, but look neatly lined up when the sofa isn’t in use. Brilliant.
Anyway, after going through the racks and racks of gorgeous fabric samples, yes, I decided to upholster the sofa in a durable (it will take 78,000 rubs before it shows!) garnet red almost identical to the last one. I guess I’m just destined to have a red sofa. It reminded me of a woman I knew who decided to buy a new sofa after 20 years or something and shopped and shopped and finally decided on the same chintz that was on her old one. The sales people at Barrymore tell me it isn’t that unusual for people to do - who knew? I guess some of us just really know what we like.
What I love about a red sofa is that it’s solid looking but not too dark. It hides the dirt. It works with lots of other colours. It looks great in the winter (and we don’t use the living room much in the summer). And best of all, I can leave my floor and walls neutral and the room still has personality, which I think is the key to happy decorating.
Anyway, our friends and family likely won’t even notice the sofa had changed - they just won’t sink to the floor when they sit in it the way they used to! The most important thing is that it passed the kid test - they were skeptical I could find anything as comfortable as ol’ red. And as you can see by the picture, the dog gave it two paws up too.
For those interested, here are the deets on my new sofa:
Sofa style:
Barrymore’s own Broadway Collection style #2722 with Feather Delux fill and spike legs in Dark Walnut finish.
Fabrics:
Kravet (26761-9) Ribbed Ott: Venetian Red
Robert Allen Kaleko Inn - Cashew
ol’ red
new red
Comments
We have a red sofa too—a sectional though: Ligne Roset’s Togo—quite a different look!
I fell in love with it when I was about 9 years old after two different sets of family friends bought Togos. I vowed that the I would buy one too when I moved out of the house, and I did. I bought my first Togo as a grad student, and now, 20 years later, my husband and I have bought our second. It is the ultimate for couch potatoes! We plan on getting something more formal and friendly for people who prefer to be higher off the ground (Axel Vervoordt maybe), but our kids and pets have loved it as much as we have.
Came across this wonderful red sofa and think it would pair wonderfully with your kilim-covered ottoman. This place was actually used as the home of a detective on a French tv series:
http://www.parisattitude.com/apartment.asp?numProduit=929#
I’m glad you like the red sofa - for some reason I don’t find red a scary colour at all.
I love the idea of a cotton twill or natural linen slipcover for summer, that will be the next step…and in fact is part of the idea behind a new line of upholstered furniture I’m dreaming of.
I think the box cushions on this sofa are a terrific idea to shorten the depth of a deep sofa and as I said, they are a little easier to keep neat than toss cushions - at least in my house! I would just measure your back cushions and make them about 2” smaller in width on both sides (4” total) but considerably less high, you don’t want it to be super short like just a lower lumbar support, but you also don’t want them so big they become pancakes. They need to have some fairly firm fill in order for the ‘box shape’ to hold, mine are about 3” thick. Picking the fabric is the fun part ~ there are so many options!
Cobi.
Hi Cobi,
That red sofa is really cool. I have seen one on http://www.spacify.com/ i think yours is more attractive.
Hi Cobi,
Is that the sofa that was slipcovered in a print which appeared in the CH&H magazine a few years back? I had saved that photo as an inspiration for my recent sofa and living room reno. I purchased a rust coloured sofa which is in a microsuede fabric since the “person” that sits on it the most is our dog “Olive”. It had to be able to hide the dirt that she tracks in. Isn’t it amazing how your pets and kids have a large affect on your decorating choices? Even our duvet on our bed is chocolate brown to hide some of the dirt Olive brings in as she seems to think this is her bed too!
I love red. Every single room in my house has a bit of red.
I love your red couch. After reading your site, it is almost like I have permission to have the red sofa that I have always wanted but too scared to invest in.
My decorating - very loosely termed that - has certainly evolved to include only the things that I love. The things can be brand new, from an auction, Kijiji or from family. A red couch would be the perfect touch to that philosophy and likely why I couldn’t really find a couch that I just had to have.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Cobi,
So glad to see that you have brought the “soul” I always appreciated in print and TV into the new media.
I have a sofa similar to yours, in spring green instead of red. It is a Whittington 4600 and I love it. I bought it because I loved it the moment I saw it, but also because it was long and deep enough to be comfortable for sleeping in—not enough guest rooms here. The problem is the depth—too deep for shorter people like me to sit in without slouching or curling my feet up on it. I loved the extra cushion solution. My sofa has only two cushions, so extras would be quite wide. Do you think making two extra cushions is a good idea—would they look right and do you have recommendations for dimensions? Loved seeing the dog looking so comfy on it.
Hi Cobi,
Our sofas is almost identical to yours but has is a William Birch style in red chenille and I had a slipcover made in offwhite cotton twill and love the versatility of both. White for all seasons and red for Christmas! It’s interesting that you talk about the depth. I wish we had gone with a little deeper but at the time we were going to make the dining room the living room and vice versa and did not have the space for a nice deep sofa.
Your kilim covered footstool/coffee table is stunning with the new red!
It’s great to see you back and we are grateful here at Kravet that you are using our fabric in your home.
Brian