Jonah by James Harrison

I can’t pretend that this is the most ground-breaking piece of furniture on the market, but I am struck by three things of the Jonah sofa by Elle Decoration award-winner James Harrison.

Firstly, this sofa is in proportion with most modern homes, which is often not the case with furniture, especially from the high-street retailers… I mean, how are we supposed to get these things in to our homes – take the windows out?!

Secondly, £499. Need I say more? This is such good value for money and yes, I have sat in it and was pleasantly surprised. I am not going to say that it was the most comfortable chair I have ever sat it, but we’re all on a budget right so that Eames alu chair is going on hold.

Third, this sofa is made in the UK. Hurrah. I am a big fan of this label as we’re keeping people in manufacturing jobs, keeping skills alive and helping our economy just that little bit. We all want things to be cheaper but there is a cost that comes with that, so I am really pleased that Made.com have managed to make this product in the UK for a great price.

If this doesn’t replace the awful Klippan that, as a nation we seem to love so much, then I’ll be sorely dissapointed.

The Jonah seating collection consists of 7 pieces – two armchairs, three 2 seater sofas and two 3 seater sofas, available in berry red, warm grey or origami pattern. They are constructed from a solid wood frame with foam and fibre filling.

Made.com say “We champion the best in fresh, homegrown design talent. As soon as we met rising star James Harrison, we knew he was one for us.

To celebrate British design with a unique seating collection made here. In trademark style, James drew on retro lines and shaped them into something new and original – a modern classic.

The key is a clean look. So our makers build the cushioning into the structure, and craft a single seat cushion. They then clad it in linen mix fabric or cotton blend jacquard, with minimal seams to keep it crisp. Right now retro.”

Long Live my Ercol studio couch

I have owned my Ercol Studio Couch for about 5 years now and if I think of all of times spent sitting, lounging, sleeping, entertaining and working on that sofa, it has been a real workhorse. A little creaky when you sit down on it, which worries most visitors, the wood is flexible enough to take 4 people comfortably sitting alongside each other.

Nowadays they sell for anything from £1685 to £1970 at British retailer TwentyTwentyOne, although I picked mine up from eBay for a mere £285. What a steal!

Designed by Lucian Ercolani, the Studio Couch was first introduced in the late 1950s. It was designed to function both as a large sofa and an occasional single bed for guests. It features characteristic steam bent arms and is made from solid elm and beech in our Buckinghamshire factory. It was available in a choice of over one hundred different fabrics.

In a recent interview with Architonic, British designer Matthew Hilton described Ercol as ‘one of the very few good British furniture manufacturers around today’.

Whilst Ercol seem to have been a company that have struggled to find their voice for the past decade, the decision to create a ‘classics’ collection for those that remember the old style well is a great decision. Although much of their designs have moved on and become more traditional in style, appealing to the mass-market, there is still a core of followers that want to see the classics back on the shop floor.

Even the British designer has got in on the game, producing a knitted version of the studio couch which softens the wood even further than it was before.

Long live Ercol and the studio couch!

Gardeners’ sofa & table by Eva Schildt

Having just moved in to a garden flat, I am now in the market for decorating a room I have never had to consider before… the garden. Luckily, I stumbled across Design House Stockholm’s gardeners’ sofa & table. Whilst not a big seller for the design company that has its roots in discovering new designers, this sofa has appealed to me for some time due to its organic shape and how it appears to grow out of the ground like a modernist plant.

A garden bench or a trellis for plants and flowers, or both? And a tabletop with a birdbath on a stick. Eva Schildt’s Gardener’s Sofa and Table transform classical outdoor items into light objects that are easily anchored for stability.

Jens Risom by Benchmark and Rocket

One of the first designers to bring the traditional Scandinavian values of function and craftsmanship to the United States was designer Jens Risom. As part of a new vanguard that helped establish post-war America’s leadership role in the world of modern furniture design and manufacturing, Risom (born in Copenhagen in 1916) was highly influenced by his award-winning architect-father who encouraged Jens to pursue academic studies in business and contemporary design.

After completing two years at the Business College of Niels Brock in Copenhagen, Risom worked briefly for Danish architect Ernst Kuhn and he created several furniture designs for Gustav Weinreich.

You can read more about Jens Risom at Wikipedia.

At 94, Risom has collaborated with Rocket gallery and Benchmark, who have jointly secured the European rights to reissue his 1950s and 1960s furniture designs.

This first collection of nine pieces has been creatively directed by Jonathan Stephenson of Rocket and made by Sean Sutcliffe and Terence Conran’s Benchmark Furniture company in their Dorset and Berkshire workshops – with the close involvement of Risom himself.

Risom has also worked for Ralph Pucci to create a collection of furniture… this work is an evolution of Risom’s work and it is clear to see that as needs have changed in design, so has this designers work.

Still with some of his signatures but with a greater amount of upholstery and cushioning, these pieces are suitable for today’s homes.

The Lusk Sofa by Orla Kiely

There are not many products that catch my eye, and I’m really not a fan of Orla Kiely… her prints are ubiquitous and there are many more print-makers that I would rather spend my cash on.

But whilst browsing my favourite online retailer, I came across a fab sofa for Heal’s that really did catch my eye. The dark wood legs, set off by the bright colour upholstery are a respectable combination.

Orla Kiely Lusk Sofa for Heal’s, available at mydeco.com

I have a phobia of large furniture, I have never lived anywhere that can accommodate anything larger than a small 3-seater sofa, so when faced with most that the high-street has to offer I run screaming.

I am also a huge sceptic on quality, particularly when the price is too-good-to-be-true, but in this case I have a great respect for Heal’s and the price is not something that I can drop in one day’s shopping so all is looking good so far.

On top of all of this, the colour is really beautiful and in a room with muted colours this would really zing!

Enjoy…

Chesterfields 1780

I love Chesterfield sofas. When I was growing up we had two blue fabric sofas in our living room. I always liked them, especially how large they were and that I could lounge out very comfortably. I do recall we had matching cushions which were a little humble looking, and now that I look back I cannot for the life of me imagine why we had them.

I was always unsure where the name came from, and there are uncited resources that say the name originates because of the Earl of Chesterfield which dates back to 1628. Of course, there is a company called Chesterfields which has been in existence since 1780 who in my opinion are the current owners of this style, whether they official are or not.

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