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.