Soft cell: we’ll take a lockdown any day to cosy up on the hottest new sofas

Plus, we celebrate 20 years of Wallpaper* and delve into the archives to trace the most iconic sofas created in the past two decades. Pull up a pew...

By Rosa Bertoli
last updated

Black sofas above metal mesh boxes

(Image credit: Thomas Brown)

From left, ‘Paul’ sofa, from £4,879, by Vincent Van Duysen, for Molteni & C. ‘Mosaico’ sofa, €1,935, by Yonoh, for Sancal. ‘Freeman Lounge’ sofa, from £5,080, by Rodolfo Dordoni, for Minotti. ‘Kerman’ sofa, from €8,100, by Philipp Mainzer and Farah Ebrahimi, for E15, from Viaduct.

Interiors: Matthew Morris. As originally featured in the October 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*210)

Grey seating in dim lit room and smoke coming from vents


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From left, ‘Isabel’ sofa, from €9,204, by Carlo Colombo, for Flexform. ‘Beam’ sofa, from £5,520, by Patricia Urquiola, for Cassina. ‘Viktor’ sofa, price on request, by Draga & Aurel, for Baxter. ‘Peggy G’ sofa, from €7,680, by Roberto Lazzeroni, for Ceccotti Collezioni. ‘Mia’ sofa, from €2,184, by Francesco Bettoni, for MDF Italia

Black and grey sofas on metal vents


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From left, ‘5047 Mellow’ sofa, £8,500, by Océane Delain, for Bernhardt Design, from Brands Ltd. ‘Drive’ sofa, £8,065, by Carlo Colombo, for Giorgetti. ‘Allison’ sofa, from £7,997, by Andrea Borgogni, for Porada. ‘Édouard’ sofa, from £5,523, by Antonio Citterio, for B&B Italia

Poster showing different models of sofa


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Sofa so good: we look back at 20 years of iconic sofas...

White seating with wheels and high back


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1996: 'Neoz’, by Philippe Starck, for Driade

Wooden framed sofa with white cushions


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1997: ‘Zanzibar’, by Flexform

White sofa with built in lamp


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1998: ‘Lazy Working Sofa’, by Philippe Starck, for Cassina

Wide cream coloured sofa with metallegs


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1999: ‘Elan’, by Jasper Morrison, for Cappellini

Abstract shaped blue sofa


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2000: ‘Victoria & Albert’, by Ron Arad, for Moroso

Reclining purple seat


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2001: ‘Glide’, by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, for Cappellini

Abstract shaped bold blue sofa


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2002: ‘Lewitt’, by Rodolfo Dordoni, for Minotti

Bright, bold blue sofa


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2003: ‘Hal’, by Norway Says, for Hjelle

Dark grey sofa with four metal legs


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2004: ‘Argo’, by Francesco Rota, for Paola Lenti

Cream corner sofa


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2005: ‘Tufty Time’, by Patricia Urquiola, for B&B Italia

Long orange leather sofa with black legs


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2006: ‘Kennedee’, by Jean-Marie Massaud, for Poltrona Frau

Grey curved sofa with pouf


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2007: ‘Moon’, by Zaha Hadid, by B&B Italia

Dark blue sofa with five different shaped and coloured cushions


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2008: ‘My Beautiful Backside’, by Doshi Levien, for Moroso

Pink fluffy sofa


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2009: ‘Cipria’, by Fernando & Humberto Campana, for Edra

Padded sofa on red metal frame


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2010: ‘Ruché’, by Inge Sempé, for Ligne Roset

Off white coloured sofa pads with dark wooden frame


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2011: ‘Rive Droite’, by Christophe Pillet, for Ceccotti Collezioni

Orange padded sofa with high back rest and arm rests


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2012: ‘Residential’, by Architecture & Associés, for Knoll

Bright, bold orange two-seater sofa with red metal frame


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2013: ‘Traffic’, by Konstantin Grcic, for Magis

Grey sofa with high arm rests


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2014: ‘Mariposa’, by Barber & Osgerby, for Vitra

Wooden based seat with grey cushion pads


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2015: ‘Grid’, by Pool, for Petite Friture

Rosa Bertoli

Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.

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