In fact, some English rolled-arm sofas have arms so low as to appear to be armless (not the case with the version featured to here.Ĭharacterized by tight back and large, plush, loose seat cushions and distinctive rolled arms slightly lower than the back, the English roll-arm sofa is a timeless piece that’s perfect for a formal living room or parlor, but also coordinates well with any modern furniture. While similar to the bridgewater, it’s distinguished by the tautness of the upholstery and low arms. Upholstery is tight throughout, yet decently cushioned all over, including the arms. The English sofa (aka English roll-arm) is known for low arms in relation to a high back. In addition, the newer materials made for easier upkeep and care. It wasn’t unusual to see the same basic style of Mid-Century Modern sofa in a choice of vinyl, wool or velvet fabric.Ĭontrasting blacks and whites, along with colors ranging from neutral to bold, formed the simple geometric designs found in Mid-Century Modern furniture. Mid-Century Modern sofas and other furniture featured sleek, clean lines and both traditional and non-traditional materials, sometimes utilized in the same piece. Advances in technology also allowed for the creation of new materials, such as plastics, Plexiglas and Lucite. Their newly built homes called for coordinating furniture. In addition, the booming postwar economy created a class of prosperous Americans who began to escape the inner cities and develop a unique suburban lifestyle. As German designers immigrated to the United States during and after World War II, they brought their Bauhaus style with them. The Mid-Century Modern style in America can be traced to previous popular European styles, such as Bauhaus from Germany, which also influenced the American International style. In her 1984 book, “Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s,” Cara Greenberg became the first to officially name the style. Popular from the mid-l930s to roughly the mid-1970s, the Mid-Century Modern design movement was characterized by elegance, practicality and simplicity. It’s designed to look good and be comfortable - they got it half right - it’s not the most comfortable furniture, but coupled with the right home design, it can look fabulous. This style of sofa is all about minimalist design and clean lines. It’s making a comeback and looks like it will continue on as it has now passed the test of time. Learn more - read our 38 Types of Sectional Sofas articleand discover 10 sectionals under $500 here.įrom the 1930’s to the 1970’s mid-century modern furniture reigned supreme, but don’t count it down and out yet. Oh yeah, sectionals are great because they’re easy to move… I learned that the hard way - read my first sofa buying experience at the end of this post. The early Victorian-era sectionals were primitive as they were two or more sofas that were pushed together to form a larger sofa. While you probably know the sectional sofa became popular and evolved into its present form in the 1950’s with the advent of mid-century furniture design, sectionals were build in the Victoria era.

Two common configurations are L-shape and U-shape. Some are huge and can span large rooms while others are much smaller. Ideally, any sectional you purchase will include fixtures that connect the pieces to keep them from separating.ĭue to the massive and growing popularity of sectionals, there are many, many styles, designs and materials to choose from. The more pieces, the more configurations. It can be arranged in a number of configurations. Common number of pieces are three and five. The sectional sofa is a multi-piece sofa. You may be cringing at the thought of a sectional in your living room - many people don’t like them, but I do.įortunately, there are many sofas styles to choose from. A mid-century modern sectional is my favorite couch. I’m a big fan of mid-century modern and sectional sofas. There many kinds of sofas out there - where do you start? Since then we’ve spent many hours browsing furniture stores checking out the different types of sofas with respect to sofa design, comfort and style (along with all other types of furniture). We still laugh at how we actually spent much of a date in a furniture store. Our furniture store date led to more dates and ultimately to getting married.

I doubt the store staff liked it all that much, but they were polite. I love trying them, shopping for them and, of course, sitting in them. All that was missing in the place was a coffee bar. I can’t remember how we ended up there, but we did, and before we knew it we had spent over two hours chatting on comfy sofas throughout the store. True story: my wife and I spent the lion’s share of one of our first dates browsing and chatting in a furniture store.

Sofa couch