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    Eight living rooms dominated by giant sofas

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    From a curving couch in a Parisian apartment to an extra-wide settee in São Paulo, our latest lookbook collects eight living rooms where oversized sofas take centre stage.

    The sofa may be most people’s favourite place to sit and relax, but it can also make a bold design statement.
    Below, we highlight eight living rooms where couches, which are significantly more substantial than standard furniture, serve as the focal point.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more, see previous lookbooks featuring living rooms with paper lamps, sculptural furniture and 1970s decor.
    Photo by Denilson Machado (also top)DN Apartment, Brazil, by BC Arquitetos

    An olive-green sofa in the shape of a broad sickle, courtesy of designer Jader Almeida, commands attention in the open-plan living room of this home in São Paulo.
    Part of a 1970s building, the apartment was renovated by local studio BC Arquitetos and filled with classic Brazilian art and furniture, including a Petala coffee table by Jorge Zalzupin bearing a bronze head sculpture by Florian Raiss.
    Find out more about DN Apartment ›
    Photo by Giulio GhirardiCanal Saint-Martin apartment, France, by Rodolphe Parente
    Interior designer Rodolphe Parente overhauled this classic Haussmann-era Parisian apartment to celebrate its original features while showing off the owner’s contemporary art collection.
    Nowhere is this juxtaposition of styles more pronounced than in the living area, where a sculptural vintage sofa wraps around a pearlescent coffee table in the centre of the room, with a black-and-white graphic rug beneath its feet.
    Find out more about this Canal Saint-Martin apartment ›
    Photo courtesy of Hotel Valley HoHotel Valley Ho, USA, by 3rd Story
    The suites at this mid-century hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona, feature generous U-shaped sofas with colourful upholstery.
    As part of its renovation, Anissa Mendil of architecture and interiors firm 3rd Story sought to introduce contemporary furniture that would complement the building’s modernist architecture.
    Find out more about Hotel Valley Ho ›
    Photo by Fran ParenteGale Apartment, Brazil, by Memola Estudio
    From the double-height ceilings to the mosaic wall and the extensive artwork collection, multiple elements compete for attention in the living room of this São Paulo apartment renovation by local firm Memola Estudio.
    Anchoring them all is a super-long sofa along one wall, which ensures that the room’s overall colour palette remains neutral despite the vibrant wall hangings above.
    Find out more about Gale Apartment ›
    Photo by Serena EllerG-Rough, Italy, by Gabriele Salini
    Italian hotelier Gabriele Salini wanted this Rome hotel in a 17th-century palazzo to have a rough-yet-refined feel, fusing historic elegance and Italian modernism.
    In entertaining spaces in the rooms, an extra-deep sofa that can also serve as a spare bed provides an intriguing focal point.
    Find out more about G-Rough ›
    Photo by Julie SmorodkinaRadikal Klassisk, Spain, by Puntofilipino
    Radikal Klassisk is a Madrid apartment conceived by local studio Puntofilipino as an unusual take on Danish design, with an intense colour and material palette that creates a brooding atmosphere.
    A curving couch from Danish brand NORR11, composed of three separate parts upholstered in different fabrics, dominates the sparsely furnished living room.
    Find out more about Radikal Klassisk ›
    Photo by Brett BoardmanBreezeway House, Australia, by David Boyle Architect
    A built-in sofa lines the living room wall in this holiday home on the Australian east coast designed by New South Wales studio David Boyle Architect.
    The generous seat is reminiscent of patio or garden furniture, playing into a theme of ambiguity between the indoors and outdoors that is continued throughout the house.
    Find out more about Breezeway House ›
    Photo courtesy of Design Space AlUla 2024Design Space AlUla 2024, Italy, by Sabine Marcelis and Cloud
    Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis and architecture studio Cloud created a lounge to promote Saudi city AlUla during this year’s Milan design week.
    At its centre was a massive modular seating area by French design studio Hall Haus that bears striking similarities to Pierre Paulin’s never-produced Ensemble Dune from 1970.
    It was not the only design of its kind in Milan this April. Another installation, which explored the future of the living room, featured a yellow sofa platform made specially by design studio Panter & Tourron.
    Find out more about Design Space AlUla 2024 ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring living rooms with paper lamps, sculptural furniture and 1970s decor.

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      Panter & Tourron and Davide Rapp create “speakeasy-style secret lounge” in Milan

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      Experimental furniture and nostalgic films combine in Diurno, a Milan design week installation exploring the past and future of the living room.

      Curated by Gianmaria Sforza, the show features the work of Lausanne-based design studio Panter & Tourron and Italian video artist Davide Rapp.
      Purple curtains framed an octagonal roomIt saw a Milanese studio apartment transformed into a “speakeasy-style secret lounge” where a limited number of guests were invited into an octagonal room surrounded by purple curtains.
      Once they had swapped their shoes for slippers, guests were encouraged to get comfortable on a yellow sofa-bed hybrid. Here, they could chat to other guests, enjoy a drink and watch the montage-style videos playing around them.
      Guests wre invited to sit on a yellow sofa-bed hybridRapp produced three videos, with hundreds of clips that show living room interiors depicted primarily in Italian cinema.

      Each film focuses on a different piece of furniture. The sofa, the television and the bar are all featured.
      “Diurno is an invitation to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Milan’s design week, a speakeasy-style secret lounge where guests can relax in a setup that oscillates between nostalgia and science fiction,” said the design team.
      Other furniture included a tubular floor lamp, a curved display shelf and slender vasesPanter & Tourron founders Stefano Panterotto and Alexis Tourron developed six pieces of original furniture for the space.
      As well as the modular sofa platform, the Hall collection includes a lightweight chandelier, a tubular floor lamp, mirrored stools, a curved display shelf and slender vases.
      Drinks and snacks were served on mirrored traysThe duo hoped to draw attention to the changing nature of lounge and passage spaces in the home.
      The project has an affinity with another of their recent works, Couch in an Envelope, which imagines a sofa that can be folded up and carried from place to place.
      “Looking at the decors from gathering spaces like entrance halls, lobbies and lounge rooms, the pieces in the collection function like a reenactment element, questioning the evolution of these places today and our relationship to shared environments at large,” they said.

      Form Us With Love and Samsung replace the sofa with textile “watching platform”

      Drinks and snacks were served on matching mirrored trays, on linen cocktail coasters embroidered with the Diurno brand logo. These were produced in collaboration with La Colombarola.
      Danish textile brand Kvadrat, Italian steel manufacturer Fittinox and material supplier Formtech also donated materials to make the event possible.

      One of the videos featured movie clips of scenes that centred around a sofa
      This isn’t the first takeover of this apartment. Under the name Studio di Pittura, it is primarily an art space with the goal of facilitating collaboration between international and local creatives.
      Diurno was one of Dezeen’s pick of the 12 key installations on show for Milan design week.
      Diurno was open by appointment only from 13 to 20 April. See Dezeen Events Guide to discover our Milan design week guide, or for more architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      in Rooms

      Eight living rooms where low-slung furniture creates a casual lounge atmosphere

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      Low-back sofas and armchairs play a key role in our latest lookbook, which explores how low-slung furniture can make living rooms feel more relaxed and less formal.

      When lounge furniture sits low to the ground, it can make a big difference to the mood of the room.
      Low-back seats are typically more generous in width, so the sitting position doesn’t have to be as upright. This means sofas can sometimes feel more like beds.
      This type of furniture works well in open-plan interiors, as it can divide up the space without making different areas feel too separate. But it can also be used to soften rooms that are heavily decorative.
      Read on for eight examples, including a London loft renovation and a California home.

      This is the latest in our lookbook series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, other recent lookbooks feature colourful bedrooms and kitchens with tiled worktops.
      Photo is by Mariell Lind HansenSt John Street, UK, by Emil Eve Architects
      The aim behind this renovation of a former warehouse space in London’s Clerkenwell neighbourhood was to make it feel more comfortable without losing its industrial character.
      A low-slung, L-shaped sofa helps to create that mood in the living space. Other furniture elements are also set low, allowing the exposed brickwork walls to be the key focal point.
      Find out more about St John Street ›
      Photo is by Salva LópezCasa Vasto, Spain, by Mesura
      This converted factory apartment in Barcelona’s El Poblenou neighbourhood doubles as a gallery, so it plays host to an ever-changing roster of collectable art and design pieces.
      Low-lying furnishings help to enhance the apartment’s high, vaulted ceilings, creating an optimal setting for display.
      They include a modular sofa system that can be arranged in different ways and an equally low coffee table made out of construction waste.
      Find out more about Casa Vasto ›
      Photo is by Lorenzo ZandriHouse by the Sea, UK, by Of Architecture
      The open-plan ground floor of this seaside house in Cornwall includes two lounge spaces. One is designed as a snug, with a high-back sofa and a hearth, while the other has a more casual feel.
      The sofa in this second space is a modular L-shaped piece, upholstered in beige marl fabric.
      Its low back helps the space feel connected with the adjacent kitchen and allows views across to the expansive sliding windows, which offer a view of Newquay’s picturesque Pentire Steps beach.
      Find out more about House by the Sea ›
      Photo is by Joe FletcherSausalito Outlook, USA, by Feldman Architecture
      The living room of this renovated 1970s house on San Francisco Bay features an iconic low-slung seating design that was launched around the same time.
      Designed by Michel Ducaroy in 1973 and produced by Ligne Roset, the Togo chairs and sofas look like slouchy, oversized cushions, but their foam filling is surprisingly supportive.
      Here, they create two seating areas that can be used for reading, watching television or looking out at the sea view.
      Find out more about Sausalito Outlook ›
      Photo is by Joe FletcherTwentieth, USA, by Woods + Dangaran
      Generous, low furniture pieces are a recurring theme in this three-storey house in Santa Monica, which was designed to be practical for day-to-day life and able to host parties and gatherings.
      The most striking example is a set of four club chairs with swivel bases, organised around a polished stone coffee table in one of two ground-floor living rooms.
      Find out more about Twentieth ›
      Photo is by José HeviaNZ10 Apartment, Spain, by Auba Studio
      Low-back furniture can work well in rooms that connect indoors with outdoors, where the atmosphere is typically less formal. This apartment in Palma de Mallorca is a prime example.
      Located in a converted bakery, the home features full-height sliding doors that connect a rear lounge space with patio terrace. The room is furnished with a casual, low sofa that extends all the way along one side.
      Find out more about NZ10 Apartment ›
      Photo is by Giulio GhirardiApartment Canal Saint-Martin, France, by Rodolphe Parente
      The living room of this renovated Haussmann-era apartment in Paris centres around a sculptural vintage sofa, upholstered in mustard-yellow velvet.
      The piece has a formal, geometric shape that complements the building’s period details, while its low shape offers a contemporary feel that is echoed by other playful artworks and furnishings in the room.
      Find out more about Apartment Canal Saint-Martin ›
      Photo is by Read McKendreeSag Harbor 2, USA, by KOS+A
      Sunset views were a priority for the owners of this waterfront house in the Hamptons, the popular retreat destination for New Yorkers.
      The waterfront facade is largely glazed to maximise views, so it made sense to choose unobtrusive furniture. For the family lounge, this meant a low-slung L-shaped sofa and a curved club chair.
      Find out more about Sag Harbor 2 ›
      This is the latest in our lookbook series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, other recent lookbooks feature colourful bedrooms and kitchens with tiled worktops.

      Read more: More