Chair? Ottoman? Sofa?

Between modular, convertible, configurable, fold-able and expandable, the lines have been considerably blurred between sofa, chair, ottoman, bed, table, chaise, bench, lamp, lounge, armchair… Home inventories could soon start to cite ‘seating apparatus’ or ‘surface element’ among the lighting fixtures and rugs.

Here are a few examples of pieces we understand but can’t quite qualify…

A sculptural cross between a Mondrian and a Malevich, artsy duo Muller Van Severen’s ‘Future Primitives’ series provide seating, storage and lighting all in one angular composition I’m sure Charlotte Perriand would approve of.

Matali Crasset, champion of small spaces and shockingly bright colors, is an adept of the modular, extra space for a sleepover kind of sofa. Here are a couple examples of sofa-chair-ottoman-beds designed to come apart and be put back together, and repeat.

Another creation for Campeggi, ‘Sosia’ by Emanuele Magini is a covered guest bed cum armchairs cum secret sofa that may be a little bit difficult to imagine in your living room, but would certainly start a conversation or two at your next party (on the downside, you may find people hiding in there the next morning).

Who says all-in-one furniture needs a fancy-futuristic organic shape? ‘Triple Objects’ by Frederik Roijé includes a clearly defined chair, table and lamp which happen to share the legs they stand on.

Another Lamp/table/chair, by Carina Van Den Bergh, is part of a family of furniture called ‘Naif’. Different modules line up to create a furnished landscape of recognizable but slightly perplexing elements; a little bit like the first mutation in the evolution of furniture from separate pieces of rectilinear furniture to all-encompassing organic blobs.

If it’s all too much, and you’d prefer to go run and hide somewhere soft, you can always turn to Freya Sewell’s felt pods. Useful for napping, working, or general alone time, this fugly pixie dwelling does not fall under any known category… besides maybe children’s forts?

I wonder if Zaha Hadid was hesitating between architecture and biology for her college major…  She certainly has a flair for the built organic. The intriguing upholstered shapes pictures here are ‘Zephyr’, a sofascape inspired by erosion patterns.  

Although it has a bit of a ‘took-me-five-minutes-to-construct-in-CAD’ look to it, the ‘Dual cut’ chair/table/ottoman by Kitmen Keung for Sixinch is a model of efficiency in the ‘waste not want not’ department.

by Claire Toussaint