Your Forever Sofa: How to Pick a Design That Ages Beautifully

It’s undeniable. The sofa is one of the biggest, most important furniture buys you can make for the house. It’s on constant display in a shared space and a key point of contact for guests, as well as being physically larger than most other objects in the living room, and positioned centre stage. And that’s without getting into how it functions, hosting entertainment, relaxation, conversation, leisure… In short, the sofa is a setting where life itself is played out.

Choosing which sofa to buy is hard. It’s an important, expensive, long-term decision – not one that you want to repeat over and over again. We all know the iconic classics that have stood the test of time. Florence Knoll’s 1954 Florence sofa. Mario Bellini’s 1970 Camaleonda Sofa. Michel Ducaroy’s 1973 Togo. So, how to choose a sofa that’ll age as beautifully as you will? One, though it is years old, looks as if it were designed just yesterday?

First, lean towards silhouettes composed of clean lines and neutral curves with simple arms, and avoid overly fussy or trend-led designs, so the sofa hovers in the ethereal I’m-not-sure-when-that’s-from era. Consider a seating system that can be added to with modules and accents, rather than a static piece, so it can adapt its shape and size to suit multiple spaces and lifestyles.

Invest in high-quality materials. Leather and densely woven or specialist fabrics. Hardwood or metal frames. High-resilience foam cushions. And think about washable or replaceable covers. You’ll thank yourself later.

For maximum timelessness, colours should be versatile. Neutrals and muted natural tones are the most enduring – remember you can jazz things up with throws and cushions, and change these with the zeitgeist (and your mood).