apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

you go, boy!!!

How can you not love a sofa that looks like a mille-feuilles.

I liked it all along. It has a classic French country house vibe.

I actually really dig the couch. Where did you find such an unusually unique piece?

I need a picture of someone sitting on it, reading a magazine, drinking a cup of coffee, watching their 7th straight hour of Olympic coverage, and expressing their annoyance with Bob Costas to a spouse who stopped listening in 2003.... THEN I can judge the sofa.

I just don't see how you can sit up on it.

I think it's cute but it looks sooooo uncomfortable. It makes my back hurt looking at it.

I can appreciate your defense -- It is important that people stick to their guns when they find a piece they like regardless of anyone's opinion. The new photos show it in a new light - I appreciate the texture.

I really like this sofa in theory, but i can't imagine it being comfortable in practice! Don't the cushions slide to the front when you sit on it?

@Julianna: okay, GUFFAW!!! That's totally me and my Olympic Fever.

Your home should reflect your creative side and who you are as a person. So I'm glad you defended your sofa because its part of who you are .

Sort of bohemian looking and comfy casual. I like it though it is not one I'd pick for myself. Beautiful throw pillows, but I'd like to see a big thick bolster for more comfortable seating and back suppot when not being used as a daybed/lounger.

@Julianna--that's what I asked the first time. Still looks like the world's luxest cat bed.

I think I have to see a picture of the sofa next to a boxspring with three futon mattresses on it. That is the only way I will be convinced it is not the exact same effect.

But I think it is awesome you guys love it, and different strokes is what makes the world go 'round. We all know how bored we get when everyone has/loves the same thing (see: Keep Calm and Carry On, MCM in general).

I use a daybed as a couch. So... this seems normal to me. : ) Besides... who "sits" on the couch anyway? I'm always laying on it. : )

But how much fun for Ursula to pull off the cushions and roll around! Just like gymnastics mats.

I personally prefer a shallower, high backed sofa. But I'm not you, and that aint my living room. It certainly looks comfortable, and works with that space.

Question: what are those 3 "cushions" piled on the sofa? did they come with the sofa, or did you add them?
Question: Is the sofa backless? and you just put regular pillows on it?

OK - its not ugly, i like the linen look. Its just that it looks like a college futon with a bunch of pillows on it. It looks comfy to lay on, but not to sit on. Its like a chaise but with no arm, and i far prefer a comfy chaise to a stiff sofa.

I think this would be a terrific sofa for sofa for an outdoor bungalow, but I can't say I'm on board with it as a living room centerpiece. Perhaps it's just the context of the room that throws me; all the other furniture is so structured (the rocking armchair, the wooden credenza) and the decor features so many sharp contours/edges (square rug, picture frames). Maybe it's all that that makes me think at first glance that someone raided the linen closet then forgot to put things away. Or maybe it's just a difference of taste. To each his own I suppose.

These are definitely better photos, and they highlight the beautiful linen texture.

It still looks like a mattress to me, but I'm glad you love it, and as vjm wrote, how boring would it be if we all loved the same things.

Sorry Maxwell -

Call me stuffy - but even though its covered in linen, made in France and probably cost the moon, it's not a sofa.

Nice mattress/daybed tho - and it doesn't look nearly as bad as the first pix.

It does look better this go round, the textures are nice, very gaiamy, but I'm still inclined to agree with vjm on this. Of course, I'm a trad kinda gal and am more of a fan of the comfy, cozy PB charleston type sofas.

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p053/popup.cfm?tool=vLarger&fromrgl=0

Yes, I'm aware of how cookie cutter and massively reproduced Pottery Barn is, but still looks like a great tv watching, napping, reading, making out sofa.

Here's the thing: the sofa is interesting and unique, and apparently high quality. However, like many pieces of furniture possessing such qualities, it raises questions of comfort and practicality. 1) It seems that when you sit in it, it forces you to lie waaay back, given its deeep seat area. And yet when you do, the back of your is going to smack up against the wall, since there is no back--and the cushions don't offer much buffer. So you either have to lie back with your head against the wall, or sit bolt upright with no back support. How comfortable would that be? 2) For those reasons, it doesn't seem very welcoming for a tired person. Don't you just love it when you can fall back into your big couch with substantial back and arm support, and feel it cradle your body like a hug? You can't do that with this sofa. Will your guests feel very welcomed? Doubt it, with all the careful positioning they have to go through to sit on the thing. 3) You can't lie lengthwise very comfortably like you can on a more traditional couch, with your head propped on the arm. Sure you can pile pillows but without that rigid support, it won't work very well. But I'm glad you like the couch! Guess it works for you despite all these apparent impracticalities. Sometimes compromise is worth the aesthetic.

Shabby chic. yes. But pet sofa... haha!! Too funny.

At IKEA they sell a 'bedbase' that is often used to display a stack of mattress pads that are light blue/grey/white combos..that is what I thought this was in the original post! And actually, I liked it better before the close ups of the rough looking fabric and pin tucks...

But, it does look like it would be great in a lounge room...or for large gatherings of people who wouldn't mind sitting on the floor.

I like it!

It looks like a stack of feed sacks to me, but I am not upset by other people's couches (I liked the earlier link to the couch showing lots of colors and patterns better, personally). It is not ugly, which is more than can be said for many many furnishings on the market.

I think it looks really comfy, but in a would-always-end-up-laying-down-and-taking-a-nap kind of way, which could be quite dangerous...

Do you really feel the need to defend your purchases online? I can understand showing off a little, I can understand asking opinions--but the second post about your couch just seems...silly.

I loved the sofa the first time around, but thanks for the great photos so that we can appreciate it in all it's glory.

P.S. RQinGeorgia,
Wow, I just clicked on your name...a lot of nastiness there. Try to say something nice once in a while. It'll make you feel better. Or...if you hate AT so much, don't read it.

.....

When I first saw this I thought it was a box covered and Ikea mattress put on top. Now I learn its the actual couch I'm at a lost for words.

Though these photos are better, they still don't capture the luxuriousness of this sofa which strikes you immediately when you see it in person. Caravane did an amazing job in combining bohemian comfort and Parisian elegance. Congrats on such a gorgeous piece--tres chic!

I agree that the photos make the "sofa" look much more luxe and there is beauty in the detail. I still think that it looks uncomfortable, and agree with others in saying that it looks like it might be a bit deep to sit on normally. I guess it depends on how much you sit on your sofa. I enjoy mine because it has a nice comfy back and is shallow enough to not hit my knees but deep enough that I can sit indian style. Different strokes for different folks though, if this is what you enjoy and it makes you happy does the blog community's opinion really matter?

There are more seductive shots of this divan on caravane's site.

Just beautiful!

Yeah, it still looks like a mattress with some uncovered duvets on it to me.

Not functional as a sofa, but an *extraordinarily* comfy place to nap!

this is a very sophisticated design that does not have the sofa design elements that some people can relate to. and that is not a negative judgement, just an observation. we each have design references in our memory banks that click yes or know. and let's call this what it is, a beautifully made daybed with wonderful details and honest materials. i did see pieces like this at calypso and liked them right away. so enjoy maxwell, i hope you and your guests have many pleasant moments lounging on this daybed.

It really looks like a day bed with a few pillows on the back (not enough pillows really)
Not the kind of sofa I would ask the PTA to sit on during a meeting! Or any woman in a dress either.
It is nice looking though.
I agree my back would start to hurt if I had to sit up on it for a while.

I don't get it. That's a bed.

I can totally visualize you Ikea hacking the "sofa" (especially since you're so damn creative!)

I think you should just embrace your inner desire to have a daybed in your living room and call it what it is!! I rather like it - especially against the hot pink rug. The little brown animal throw thing, though - not so much.

I don't like it for this room. It feels like it belongs in a summer house.

patrickmc - interesting observation about design references in our memory banks. My associations with the look of a daybed being used as a couch in this way is with impoverishment, not being able to afford a proper couch, lots of people living in the same space and furniture needing to be beds too. Or makeshift, like student housing. So, yes, it is very associated with past references and memory for me. I don't think it had anything to do with the previous photos you showed of it. The materials look really beautiful, as do the pillows, but that's how the overall image strongly hits me. Plus, as others have said, it looks very uncomfortable to me for a couch.

It's interesting what a strong response this got from so many people and in contrast to what you feel about this yourselves.

looks like a sofa with no arms, or a mattress. and then someone threw a couple of burlap sacks on top of it. It looks a little funny in the room, but hey, it sure is different. I don't know if thats a good thing, but the most important thing is that you are happy and comfortable with your home.

although i can understand where a lot of the hmmmnotsomuch posts are coming from, the only thing that really matters is that this piece works for you and your family. if one day you decide that it's not the appropriate piece of furniture for day-to-day seating, you can always give it a new life in a different room or in your summer home.

I have to say it's refreshing for a poster (much less the founder of the site) to own up and reflect upon the shabbiness of a previous post and confront the negativity of the comments, even if it stands up for the original sentiment. This is not the sofa for me, but I even like that you managed to post the exact same item as last week without acting like you didn't. Whether or not I like an item, I appreciate some expression about this post that is unlike the usual canned prose and precious clichés, brief little thoughts about some lame-ass plastic crappy tree or whatever we found made of hangers or corks. I wish you would encourage the rest of your posters to actually make such an effort. As I said, whether or not I like an item, if the writing and pictures can "sell" the item, make me look at it a different way, it's more enjoyable to read the blog.

I think it's a lovely sofa. I wish I had the space for one like that.

It's looks like a comfy daybed and if it also works for you as a sofa then good on you. It's a bit to unstructured for my taste.

This post reminds me of many AT posts from a few years ago--record numbers of comments!

(1) No arms - a big drawback for me; (2) way too deep for a short person like myself to sit comfortably; (3) no back support.

I'm sure it's great to lie down on, but for that, there are beds. And I find it more shabby than chic in the burlap-style linen, sorry.

Totally love your new sofa. And I'll never get over the volume of haters on the web who'll make you defend this kind of thing.

When I first saw this I thought a 'Princess and the pea couch', and low and behold. Anyway, I think it looks nice and unique and possibly comfy to lie on. But I wouldn't be able to pay much for it.

It look like a really long ottoman with cushions on it. It doesn't look like it would be good to sit on, because there's nothing supporting one's back. and because there isn't much to it (which makes it look neat I admit), I just can't imagine it being so expensive...

The comments make me giggle

It's your furniture and if you love it, that's all that counts. It is funny, though, because I have been thinking of doing something very similar in my guestroom/office with a stack of futons I already own. Good to know I have fancy French style!

I don't think there's any way of photographing it that won't make it look horrible, but if you're happy, whatever.

It's a lovely piece of furniture. And if it makes you happy and proud to own it then all the better. If it's comfortable and you can relax on it, then it also suits its purpose. You shouldn't feel that you need to justify your choice or taste to anyone. Just enjoy it -- that's why you got it, right?

i agree with vjm. it still looks like a bed to me. maybe if the pillows were larger? it just looks like a bed with very nice linens and some throw pillows on it, like something you would find in a college grad's first studio apartment.

I love it - but I couldn't make it my "main couch" since it looks like it would kill my back...that said...

Invite me over for tea and cookies so I can take a quick nap and really form a strong opinoun. ;)

I disagree with the notion that bloggers shouldn't have to justify their likes and purchases. I don't think they should have to be defensive about it, or in some cases, pre-emptively and apologetically so, rattling off a list of why they should hate it but don't. But rather than slap some picture of something they just bought and expect everyone to agree with them, a blogger should have some way of putting their tastes into words. The words should also sound like their individual voice, and be interesting to read. We should be able to grasp why someone might choose an item, and that can be popular or unpopular, but I appreciate getting a sense of how this look belongs to them or inspires them.

A lot of the complaints arise on posts using "we" too much, that don't go in depth, that are the same thing as another poster did recently, that just seem like an afterthought, that scrape up something fug to fill a space or a quota, but mostly that seem more focused on material acquisitions over substance, including in my especially least favorite category, the delusion that a given task will be more fun if you buy something new.

At least this is a sofa someone actually bought, they actually wanted for a long time, and are happy and proud about it. I know Maxwell has a lot of work to do with the emails and overseeing the business and the rest of the subs, but he took time out of his day to say he was sorry (for his own sake) that he put such a weak post out, and went with the do-over approach, giving a more personal short photo-essay.

As much as I don't like this sofa, at least some have agreed it's "sophisticated." I would tend to argue that a look isn't sophisticated or exotic just because someone said it is, but we are looking at a different upholstery set-up than was displayed on the link in the last post about it. I could like this "look" in a different upholstery that was more "me," and being somewhat Bohemian, I'd still say Maxwell's sofa is a little too far down that path than I am. I'd also say that looks a little too obviously "kid-in-the-home" for my taste, but that's a different issue that comes up from time to time.

I guess that's to say, I try to put in words, too (some longer than others), how each piece or article affects my senses. Nobody has to agree, but I find when the commenters elaborate somewhat on a personal opinion, either positive or negative, I get more out of reading them than I do out of plain loves or hates.

It still looks to me as if it would fit best into a dorm room or a graduate student's first apartment. Sorry :(

I have to say I originally thought this was the "before sofa purchase" photo... and I was anxiously awaiting Max's new addition! Goodness me -- this is IT! Like a stack of pet beds on an ottoman. Kid friendly (I think), but definitely not my style. Different strokes for different folks... so no need to defend a choice.

I thought (at the first post) that this was the "before"-state of the living room. Kind of reminded me of my makeshift-sofaloungermattressthingie when we'd sold all out furniture and all we had were a couple of pillows and a guest mattress...

But in defence, the fabric is gorgeous! And it looks a lot nicer on the website, with patterned fabrics.

And maybe this sofa is for guests. You know, siitting and talking, not slouching?

Nope, looks like a dorm room, mattress on the floor and grandma's old feather beds on top/we bought the place and now we have no furniture! Been there too - for a year in Germany our only living room furniture was whatever I could build out of packing boxes (turned out to be quite a lot)...but I didn't call it design, just creative poverty.
However, ain't this what makes AT so fab - real people, real stuff, loads of ideas whether you love them or not?

"So we now ask you, dear jurors, in light of all this new evidence, Is this sofa not fair?"

Maxwell specifically asked readers to comment on the sofa, so it's hardly surprising that we chose to do so, and it doesn't makes us haters if we say we don't like it. It's not like we're questioning his value as a designer b/c of his choice for his own couch.

This couch: 1) makes me want to take a nap; 2) makes my back ache just thinking about sitting on it; and 3) doesn't seem to match the rest of the decor very well.

Obviously you purchased this couch for a reason... you were drawn to something about it. You should never feel the need to defend your choices or seek approval.

Much better pics the second go around. Still not my cup though...

I really don't like it. Perhaps in a smaller room but there is something I don't like about it being the main piece. But chances are, someone here wouldn't like my couch. It works for you and your family and I think that is the most important thing. I had a friend tell me the other day that my Eiffel chairs that I love are "stupid" and "uncomfortable" as he banged his legs against the metal, continuing to focus on their "flaws". I guess you just have to go with what works for you.

p.s. so many judy ross pillows in a row, i'm drooling!

I like this as a an ottoman or in my bedroom for sitting on to get dressed or something. For my main sofa? No way. I don't like the stacked cushions that you sit on and to me it would always look messy. I just don't like it where it is, in the role it is playing.

ok, i have to say yea to sydney , and it looks to me like i feel in an old pair of sweat pants. yes,.. it kinda looks comfy in that, "i dont feel like getting dressed and facing the world today" kind of way.. but its really what you like that matters (btw i would hate to know what you guys thought of my room. or my many pieces that begs criticism)

i saw it here, yes it def looks like a glorified pet sofa.

also.. the 'linen' look, looks snagged to me. i think you paid too much. way to much, thats all i will say...

oh.. but yes, the light helps it a bit

everydaydiva said it best. "..but I didn't call it design, just creative poverty. " thats how i describe my life! too great . i love this site. and some of the comments are so true.


but i do have to say congrats on getting something that made you happy, i know all to well how it feels to want something for whatever insane reason, and not get it. so i envy you on that. if you like the sofa/daybed/thing then great. its not that bad. i wont put the futon/couch thing that i bought on here, i would get ripped to shreds.. oh what the hell i just might.. lol ok this is my last comment off to bed.

Thanks, Faymilla - like you, I love AT for the unpretentiousness of the articles and the comments.
As my Mum used to say: "If necessity is the mother of invention, I am that mother!" It was great training to be determined to make a nice home on next to nothing, and some of our attempts were pretty out there, I can tell you. Like the time we decided it would be much more designerly to saw the headboard off her bed. After congratulating ourselves (2 rousing choruses of "I am woman" followed by the "Cos I'm a woomaan, W-O-M-A-N" dance, we collapsed giggling on said bed, which also promptly collapsed, causing my Dad to tear himself away from "Match Of The Day" on the telly and dash upstairs roaring "What the hell are you two doing NOW?"
So I don't recommend you trying to "designify" your futon by sawing bits off, heehee

Glad you love it. That's all that matters.

I think you could make it look more sofa-like with a big, long bolster pillow running along where the back would be.

It's very cute! But as others have said, I wouldn't use it as my main living room couch. I think it would look wonderful in a den or a guest bedroom/office. I AM part of the young&poor crowd (new college grad) though, so that might further qualify it for the "hipster/dorm" category!

I think its hideous but that is MY own opinion and if you love it that is all that matters really.

It looks cute to me, and it doesn't look like the kind of furniture that makes you nervous about even sitting on it - least of all on a Sunday morning, hungover, hair up in a bush-style mess and sipping cold tea!

I'm nearly 40 and still like the laid back, easy living look for my furniture - not saying that's necessarily what you're trying to do here, just that this sofa doesn't make me feel inadequate, rumpled and tense - which is not so much to ask is it? LOL!

Is it super comfy? Makes me think of the Princess and the Pea.

1. Much betters pics this time around.
2. I love the Judy Ross pillows.
3. Still don't think it's a good choice for a living room.

If I imagine this day bed in my own space, we have an extra room in our apartment that we use as a guest/pet/movie watching room that I could see this working well in (we currently have a futon), but it seems expensive for that. I don't think my guests (most of them anyway) would be well served by a piece like this in the living room. Like others have said, no back and no arms makes for some awkward sitting. And linen! I have linen drapes and I do like tight linen upholstery sometimes, but this looks like it would wrinkle and drive me crazy.

I love the linen, I love Caravane designs, I think it is a beautiful piece, but it strikes me as an uncomfortable piece, and not really suitable as the primary sofa in a small apartment.

I ditto quark's comments above... as I guest, I would avoid it, and make a beeline for the rocking chair... It just doesn't provide good seating options, in my opinion...

Agreed; the new photos do the sofa justice ! I would have a difficult time sitting though; I would want to recline immediately. Lovely.

just doesn't seem like a sofa to me. Does it not slip forward when you lean against the wall?

I think the problem here is one of style--the sensibility of this sofa---which, like many things in life, is neither good nor bad in and of itself---has nothing to do with the rest of the room you put it in. There's a coziness, a sense of luxurious improvisation to its style, and this doesn't mesh with the style of the room. Nothing else is stacked anywhere, for example, to acknowledge and echo the sensibility.

The sofa has sophisticated reference to seraglios and gypsies, for example. A few touches would integrate this look, instead of making the sofa look embarrassed!

I love your sofa! Never thought dumpy at all!

After all of these posts, mine seems unnecessary, but I'll give my two cents anyway.

I love it. Lounge-y and cozy. I understand other's comments about comfort (sitting up straight and all), and I empathize...but if you're comfy on it, go for it. Not to mention it encourages you to get up and move around every so often. That can't be a bad thing.

I would not want this piece of furniture in my house.
But I think the biggest problem with it is calling it a "sofa".
It is a daybed. And as a daybed it is not that ugly.
But bepsf already said that quite well.

if you love it, you can rock it!

It's not even a daybed. It's an upholstered mattress.

ok yes SOME of these photographs make the thing look better...but ugh gosh super close ups i can see all the burrs in the fabric like its been worn and washed in a bad way, and the crooked seam on the corner of the base which for fancy expensive design whatever should be straight! lol