what is hidden

The show lasted longer than expected, and the cabbie seemed to have taken the long way around.  Your friends from the burbs missed the last train and have now become your house guests for the night.  The inevitable is delayed through two nightcaps, “you mean we’ll have to sleep on the floor”?  Though your own bed looks pretty welcoming, sharing it might not be such a great idea.  The sofa isn’t quite long enough to really stretch out from end to end.  As you casually walk over and begin removing the seat cushions, all doubt is eliminated.  Someone is definitely getting stuck with a makeshift mattress on the floor.

A good friend, and a better host wouldn’t allow such a junior-high-sleepover-option to be entertained.  Not to mention the fact that you can’t remember the last time you vacuumed.  Knowingly, you reach down into the body of the sofa, pulling up and out.  Unfolding until the full length of the wooden slatted bed is revealed from within the double agent of a couch.  The seat cushions find their place at the head of the bed.  While still holding your empty glass, you motion to your pajama pal, indicating that they can now make themselves at home.  Cappellini’s Cuba sofa offers the terrific, added value of replacing the creaky, wire springs found in most lesser sofa sleepers with steam bent birch slats.  By day, a quiet seat, by night, a quiet, and comfortable bed.  Who knew?

slow and low

You found the perfect new home, and in this economy the perfect time to grab it.  Now what?  The furniture you have been dragging around since moving out of that ratty apartment you rented with your dorm buddies is ready for the chipper.  Sure that hammock chair you picked up in Palau has it's place in your heart, as it should. Pieces collected over time and travels can successfully be edited into your life.  The sofa, however is usually the last thing to be considered.  It is the biggest thing in the room and it deserves to be appreciated.

Think about the first thing you want to do when you get home from a long day.  Crack a cold one and take a load off.  Unfortunately we frequently never make it past the counter stools in the kitchen.  Move past that urge, and take your Half Acre into the living room.  Your day was most likely spent sitting in an awful desk chair or running between appointments.  This is your time. Time to change your position.  A low profile sofa provides that change.  Your perspective is different 12" above the floor.  Legs are extended further, circulation is eased.  Low sofas also emphasize more dramatic sight lines especially in high rises, and well designed, contemporary homes. It may take more effort to get out of, but you'll be more relaxed.

hold everything

Like many sectional sofas, Cassina's Mex offers multiple elements to work with.  The steel frame structure is designed for super easy configuration and assembly, and the actual seats can be lifted out.  This makes the chore of vacuuming under the couch an absolute breeze.  Sitting on the Mex is enjoyable too.  The chaise in particular provides the perfect place to lounge with a  finger of single malt and a William Gibson book, or to fall asleep to Miles Davis' On The Corner.  Plenty of room for two.

Visually, the Mex family, which includes interesting bookshelves, cocktail tables, and the Mex Cube, is straight from Piero Lissoni's drawing board.  His perfect sense of proportion and geometry are present in the solid back structure and optional low shelves wrapping around the arms.  Who wouldn't want a handy place to keep their magazines and scotch within reach?

open up

Your aged unit may have recently been sterilized by a well meaning developer who has opened up the square footage.  Living in an open plan home where the kitchen and dinning room are exposed to the lounge area means you will need to use the furniture to define the areas.  This sounds easy to pull off, but requires a thoughtful solution to be successful.  Fortunately, the majority of well designed contemporary sofas are composed of various seating elements.  This offers a much wider choice of configuration which leads to better use of your space.

More choice is almost always good thing, but choose well.  Think through the ways you hope to present and use this part of your home.  Will this be the main entertainment area, mostly for watching movies, and Mad Men?  Surely you will be spending time here after dinner with guests debating the merits of Angola Soundtrack vs. Brandt Brauer Frick's latest album.  Hopefully, too, you expect to spend more intimate, quiet time gracefully chatting about nothing at all.

size matters, really

Depending on the dimensions and orientation of your living room, placement of the sofa will determine how your space will function.  Vintage buildings typically have nicely divided rooms, although they may be a bit snug.  The sofa most likely will need to hug a wall, perhaps flanked by built-in bookcases, a fireplace, or windows.  Architectural details are fantastic to work with.  They add so much character and provide a framework to build on.  Your guests should be intrigued by your home.  The lucky person who slides in next to the books may discover something new about you from the titles.

room for everyone

Making the move from the dinning table to the living room is a great time to mix things up a bit.  Your guests all need a little stretch and a good excuse to shuffle their company.  Hopefully they weren't sitting next to their partner at dinner and enjoyed intriguing conversation with a new friend.  Couples will be ready to reconnect, and the new friends, perhaps, are looking for a casual opportunity to get a little closer.  Typically the last one to the couch is a rotten egg, which very well may be the host.  That's okay, though.  Your job is to make sure everyone feels comfortable.  They may not all fit on the sofa but having the right piece here makes all the difference.

There is no shortage of sofas out there.  Fantastic new designs are introduced regularly.  Since it is the largest thing in the room, and maybe even in your entire home, you won't find yourself in the market for a new couch very often.  It's a big deal, and finding the perfect one can be intimidating.  Considering all the young talent designing furniture today, paired with forward thinking manufacturers, shopping for a new sofa can also be a ton of fun.  Color and size are definitely not the only aspects to be aware of, though both are good places to begin.

back to the drawing room

Shortly after the plates have been cleared and the remains of dessert are still fresh, your guests will  begin to realize that your dinning chairs aren't the most comfortable seats in the house.  They will catch themselves leaning on their elbows, chin in hand.  As the conversation dips, they secretly contemplate licking the raspberry gelato from the rim of the bowl and finishing the last sip of moscato that was somehow overlooked between courses.  It's time to migrate to a more accommodating locale.

Even the most intimate of urban homes should be equipped with a serviceable seating area.  Our need to lounge is innate.  Most of us can't resist the urge to kick back even before dinner, or during if you're my brother-in-law.  Most certainly after a good meal with friends, though.  The activity is up to you.  Is it movie night and everyone wants to remind themselves what the original TRON was all about before the new one comes out?  Are you playing charades after another bottle's opened?  Even if everyone opts for hot tea and ginger your sofa needs to be inviting.  Style is personal and comfort can be subjective, but if your guests would rather stand next to your fiddle leaf fig (ficus lyrata for you biogeeks) with their hands in their pockets you've not succeeded as a host.