Items16The creator’s order
  1. 1Chesterfield sofaChesterfield sofaThe oldest shape here, and the one many later entries react against. What makes a Chesterfield is simple: arms the same height as the back, wrapped in deep buttoning. Where the name comes from is genuinely unclear; the link to an 18th-century Earl of Chesterfield is repeated everywhere and…0
  2. 2Le CorbusierLe CorbusierBorn 6 Oct 1887LC2 Grand Confort sofa, by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand, 1928 The idea still startles: a polished steel cage on the outside with the cushions simply dropped in, so the frame a sofa normally hides becomes the whole design. Seen from behind, as pictured, the three-seater…0
  3. 3Børge MogensenBørge MogensenBorn 13 Apr 1914Spoke-Back Sofa, by Børge Mogensen, 1945 The clever part is the end: one side drops down on leather straps, as in the picture, turning a slim wooden sofa into a daybed. Even the cushions are tied on with visible straps. Designed in 1945, it did not go into production until 1963, and Fredericia…0
  4. 4Vladimir KaganVladimir KaganSerpentine sofa, by Vladimir Kagan, 1950 A sofa as one long wave: an exaggerated semicircle that swells at one end, with a sinuous back long enough for eight or nine people. It made Kagan's name, bringing commissions from Marilyn Monroe, Lily Pons and Gary Cooper. This is a room-defining piece…0
  5. 5Florence KnollFlorence KnollBorn 24 May 1917Florence Knoll Sofa, 1954 Pure geometry: tufted cushions set in a slim polished chrome frame, the restrained architectural look that shaped countless modernist offices and living rooms. Knoll has kept it in production. The standard model is crisp and fairly shallow, good for posture rather than…0
  6. 6Charles EamesCharles EamesBorn 17 Jun 1907Sofa Compact, by Charles and Ray Eames, 1954 The Eameses' answer to the small modern home: a slim upholstered sofa on a thin metal frame, so practical that it first shipped as a flat pack, with a back that folded down. Today's version stays upright, and Herman Miller is its only maker. It is the…0
  7. 7Irving HarperIrving HarperBorn 14 Jul 1916Marshmallow Sofa, by Irving Harper for George Nelson's studio, 1956 Eighteen round cushions fixed to a steel frame, and the most cheerful silhouette in furniture. It was long credited to George Nelson; Harper, working in Nelson's office, is now recognised as its designer. Herman Miller made only…0
  8. 8Arne JacobsenArne JacobsenBorn 11 Feb 1902Swan Sofa, by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen, 1958 The two-seat sister of the Swan chair, made for the suites and lounges of Copenhagen's SAS Royal Hotel. It is one moulded shell under a layer of foam and upholstery, with no straight lines anywhere, its arms rising from the seat like folded wings,…0
  9. 9Mario BelliniMario BelliniBorn 1 Feb 1935Camaleonda, by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia, 1970 Bellini made up the name himself, and the idea is in it: a chameleon of a sofa, built from deeply quilted modules joined by a system of cables, hooks and rings, so the seat, back and arm pieces can be unhooked and rearranged. B&B Italia reissued it…0
  10. 10Studio 65Studio 65Bocca sofa, by Studio 65 for Gufram, 1970 A pair of giant red lips you can sit in, and the most instantly recognised sofa of the pop era. Many people know it as the Marilyn, after Monroe, and it takes its cue from the red lips sofa Salvador Dalí made from Mae West's mouth. Gufram has made it since…0