Furniture Trends: Decadent Comfort

Over the past year there has been a definite trend towards decadent comfort. Fully upholstered chairs, deep seating and extra comfort, particularly using luxuriant materials.

Additionally these chairs often have accentuated stitching, fluted and button-back upholstery, piping or studding details and metal caps on chair legs for added opulence. In IMM Cologne we also noticed the appearance of tassle fringe trim at the bottom of upholstered chairs. More is definitely more in furniture design at the moment.

Furniture trends: Velvet, velvet and more velvet

The demand for velvet upholstery, which has been popular for some time, is only intensifying. Popular velvet colours include rich greens, terracotta and Millennial pinks. This trend for extra comfortable seating in a decadent style is reminiscent of 1920s furniture and is in line with the rise of Maximialism and the popularity of speakeasy-style bars and restaurants.

These furniture styles are reminiscent of the Bibendum Chair, the 1926 design classic by Eileen Grey whose circular padding was inspired by the Michelin Man and Le Corbusier's 1928 Club Chair - where large cushions are boxed in by a thin geometric frame. Both chairs have metal frames with cantilever bases, which was the cutting edge of furniture design in the 1920s. A venues at the forefront of this revival include the magnificent Sketch which is a masterpiece of decadently comfortable pink furnishings and Neighbourhood, Manchester pictured above. You can view more images of Neighbourhood here or if you're Interested in furniture styles from different eras check out our handy infographic with examples of furniture trends from each era.

Menagerie Manchester

Menagerie Manchester is about as decadent a venue as you'll find outside of a private members' club in Mayfair. Metallic gold velvet armchairs with marble tables, floral feature walls and origami birds suspended from the ceiling. The banquettes in deep green velvet and metallic gold leather are fluted for extra effect and maximal comfort and the gold velvet Matador Armchairs have studded detailling.

View more images of Menagerie Manchester.

Loafer Armchair

Designed for the lobby of the plush SAS Royal Hotel in Copehagen you can't get more luxuriantly comfortable than a fully upholstered velvet armchair. Described as a "comfortable design that would somehow also make you feel protected. Sitting alone or in a group, without feeling too exposed” the chair effectively envelops the sitter in a snug velvet cocoon.

View the Loafter Armchair.

Swan Lounge Chair

A cantilever chair inspired by the chunky form of 1920s club chairs, the Swan Lounge Chair is a contemporary take on a decadent classic.

View Swan Lounge Chair.

Bubble Wood Armchair

Brass capped feet on chairs became extremely popular in 2017, and additional features such as piping were also on the rise. The Bubble Wood Lounge Chair has an blissful blend of both these features as well as an eye-catching design caused by the contrasting wooden shell and upholstered inner seat back and pad.

View the Bubble Wood Lounge Chair

Inspiration from Cologne

Handpicked delights from IMM Cologne 2018, that feature decadent comfort, as snapped by the team.

Free Furniture Style Guide

Learn more about what's trending in furniture design right now, download our latest Furniture Style Guide. Including botanical velvet fabrics, spreads on Gatsby style furniture, geometric patterns and terrazzo.

Hospitality Furniture Knowledge book

Searching for table sizes, wood finishes, researching chair materials or simply wondering what furniture will work best in a restaurant or hotel space? This book is packed with over 10 years of knowledge from the contract furniture industry.

What you'll learn: