Schmatta Asks: What Is Your GOAT Couch?
Best couch picks from very cool design people.
Out of all the pieces of furniture required to outfit a home, the couch is a purchase rife with domestic fraught. It is THE piece to define a space. After all, the sofa is public; it is the framework for your best first impression and a primary spot for socializing. Also, sofas are expensive. When I was in my early twenties and living in a windowless room in Williamsburg, BK, I met a man who told me he had just bought a new couch. From this, I inferred a very important thing: this was a man who lived alone, without roommates, hence: marriage material. (Didn’t last, whatever.)
A couch, when properly selected, is BUE (Big Upholstered Energy). For many of us, we purchase couches that are…fine. Couches that cost more than a month’s rent or mortgage, but are perfectly….okay. On the other side of the coin is the dream: the couch for when you win the lottery, the divan of one’s dreams.
And so, I’ve asked some “cool design people”: What is your GOAT couch? (GOAT standing for Greatest of All Time, which I didn’t fully understand the meaning of until maybe a year ago. I always though it was like a goat, as in an animal, and goats are cool?)
Jill Singer, co-founder, Sight Unseen
“This is a subject that endlessly delights me, and to be honest, my idea of a perfect sofa tends to change every time I find a new one to love. In the past year alone, I’ve been obsessed with an SCP one with asymmetrical skirting, the super deep Josef Frank–covered one at the Toteme store in Soho, and a Mario Bellini Duc sofa reupholstered in green and white striping by the Chicago vintage dealer Dial M for Modern. I prefer traditionally structured sofas over curved ones, and I’m into visible framing, like on the Kiki sofa for Artek or the Gianfranco Frattini Sesann sofa for Tacchini. But I still want my couch to be super plush and comfortable. One of the only ones to tick all of my boxes is this custom version of the Mooner sofa by David Thulstrup for Common Seating, which Thulstrup designed for his own Copenhagen apartment. To be honest, the commercially available version of this sofa doesn’t even do it for me, but the custom version — with its teddy-bear sheepskin upholstery, tomato-red framing, and juicy thick arm cushions — is unbelievably good.”
Frances Merrill, Reath
“There was a vintage floral Bambole from a few years ago that is ‘the one that got away.’
Or the vintage floral Togo that we did get to buy (photo below). The combo of an old fashioned traditional feeling floral with a classic modern playful shape makes me feel like I don’t have to choose a lane and can have all the things I like in one piece!”
of Deeply Madly
“At this point, my all-time dream sofa is likely custom. Definitely modern in design and even built-in. A ‘70s-style conversation pit sofa with a contemporary twist for an entertaining space.”
of A Tiny Apt.
“I do really like the Remi from West Elm...it's modular and comes in some decently nice fabrics/colors.
I hate a trendy sofa, but this [Roche Bobois] one is just GOOD:
I love sofas that have soft corners, so if you needed to push it up a few flights of stairs, like a lot of city dwellers do, it can make those tight corners.
Jasper Morrison's soft modular sofa [produced by Vitra] is pretty perfect, too.”
David Michon of
“Two sofas compete for PERSONAL FAVORITE, one is hyper specific the other more READY FOR YOU TO GOOGLE. The former is the BELLINI 932 as sold by FORMAS in Los Angeles, for its wildly successful multifabric, which is, like, so rarely executed with such charm (and mainly just by the Roche Bobois Maj Jong).
The other is the Tobia Scarpa BASTIANO, 1962, which is kind of somewhere in the blurry middle between WOODSY and LOFT-ish, which means one needn't commit. HIGHLY ADAPTABLE while not being Blank-Neutral. And, the exceptional WILLETT, we happen to know, has been using the Bastiano quite skillfully as inspiration for some upcoming new seatery. So, we are feeling the Bastiano re-relevance.”
Cliff Fong, designer (Matt Black) and co-owner, Galerie Half
“This [Jean Royère sofa] has been one of my favorite pieces of historically important design. Not only does it represent the principles and philosophy of one of my favorite talents, Jean Royère, but its is incredibly comfortable, and functions within many different design aesthetics, from Art Deco and Art Nouveau, to mid-century modern, transitional, contemporary, and beyond. It looks amazing from every angle, and is so iconic, it potentially validates any room’s aesthetic. And if one is not able to purchase an original, or license edition, there are some many designs that have been influenced by Jean Royère and this sofa in particular, that someone could easily emulate this style in their home at nearly any price point.”
of Ground Condition
“BACHELORETTE PICK: Anything vintage B&B Italia that's low to the ground—no spindly legs!—and modular. I had two pieces of a Afra & Tobia Scarpa caramel leather sectional on loan for five years from Monica Khemsurov. (The entire thing is huge, and Monica has been lending pieces of it to her friend network for a decade-plus.) The only correct mode here is LOUNGE. I guess that's true no matter what your domestic situation. Why would you want to sit upright on a sofa? Anyway, this one is rare—it's called the Elogio. The Erasmo is similar but not as L-O-W.
FAMILY ERA PICK: I have found, with two small children, that our sofa needs have evolved (even though "lounge mode" switch is still flipped on). For one, it needs to be heavy enough that it won't slide around on the floor. Two: Arms and a back, preferably pillow-y, are crucial. Basically it needs to be comfortable enough to support eight hours of nursing a day, children who have recently learned how to bounce, and/or an entire family watching Mary Poppins. I recommend the HAY Mags Soft Low sectional sofa to anyone entering the early phase of parenthood. The upholstery is stain-repellent, the colors are great, and it checks all of the aforementioned boxes while looking tidy and modern. They come in various arrangements (two-seater, narrow sectional, huge sectional, one-arm) to fit most spaces.”
, founder, Design Milk
“I love De Sede’s Terrazza couch because of its form. It’s clearly inspired by topography, which makes it feel less like a piece of furniture and more like a natural landscape. Plus, it’s super expensive, so you don’t see it frequently. Whenever I encounter one, it feels special… like finding a four-leafed clover. It’s pretty comfortable, too but I’ve not been able to see if it passes the nap test yet. Maybe one day!”
And finally, me, Leonora Epstein, of Schmatta
“So, part of the curse of being a design editor is that you are constantly confronted by what’s new and next and it has a way of confusing you, especially when it comes to sofas. In the past five years, we have had a West Elm sectional (bought used), a Lulu and Georgia green velvet sofa (purchased with press discount), a Floyd sectional (comped), and we are now on a Sixpenny Neva (also comped) and have changed out its cover from beige to “sweet potato” (new cover also comped). I love Sixpenny but now I’m aching for something else — something that feels more vintage. I will say: After seeing Benny Blanco’s AD tour, I fell in love with his gold velvet sofa, which I assumed was vintage. But according to AD, it is a new sofa, an ‘oversized sectional from Holly Hunt, reupholstered in Mokum Velvet.’ Nothing on Hunt’s website appears to fit this description so…IDK.
Otherwise, Arflex’s Marenco is so sexy.
PLEASE PLEASE tell moi: What is YOUR G.O.A.T. (“greatest of all time”) couch? COMMENT, LIKE, SUBSCRIBE! xoxo.
These are all so good! This makes me want to light my couch on fire. Also made me think of this post by Sami Reiss about why no one has good furniture anymore! https://snake.substack.com/p/why-doesnt-anybody-have-good-furniture?utm_source=publication-search
A +1 for Bastiano—love how adaptable it is depending on the frame and upholstery choice. This whole list is sublime!