Where do you recall those Sundays lying on Grandma’s old sofa; the entire family was in the living room, each member trying to find their favorite spot on that old and comfortable sofa? Which one of them appeared to be telling a story and as if the story is written into the fabric of the garment? So, without further ado let’s go back in time and discover how furniture in general, and the sofa in particular, were designed in the past and how they are designed nowadays, with a touch of the past.
This was just another day and I was simply browsing through some of the latest designs in the market for a sofa set when I was in for a surprise. Having worked in the furniture industry for eight years I though that I knew the worst that can happen. Yet the zippers at the back of this sofa got my attention more than anything else. No, not the ones that are concealed, but zippers that are loud, functional zippers. It was almost like discovering something which was right there but was invisible.
I found out that the zippers were not just an aesthetic design on the bags. They allowed for the attachment or detachment of the sofa’s arms— a perfect marriage of today’s living and the age old art of furniture making. This design choice made me feel like I am going back in time when furniture was made with a lot of effort, when each furniture is made to serve a lifetime. In the past, modularity was not a buzzword it was really needed in order to create efficient software. The furniture was made in a way that some parts could be substituted or fixed in case of damage, for this reason, it was durable.
