Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Modern Icons: The Barcelona Couch
Mies van der Rohe's Sleek, Low-Profile Daybed Works in Any Room
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
If you are a fan of Mad Men, the piece of furniture I'm about to show you may remind you of Betty Draper chain smoking at her therapist's office while lounging atop it. This iconic daybed was designed by Bauhaus master Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and is called The Barcelona Couch. Mies started this line in 1929 to furnish his iconic modern building, the German Pavilion at the Barcelona International Exposition, but the Barcelona couch was not designed until a year later.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Architect Philip Johnson was instrumental in helping the Barcelona couch gain popularity, using it first in his New York City apartment, and later making it a star in The Glass House in New Canaan, Conn. Philip Johnson's Glass House is now run by The National Trust for Historic Preservation from May-November; check out theglasshouse.org for more information.
|
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
I imagine the daybed would have looked smashing in the original pavilion; it's a shame Mies hadn't designed it in time. Even though the exposition ended decades ago, you can visit the pavilion, or at least a recreation of it built in 1959 in Barcelona.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The daybed's low profile keeps spectacular views of Lake Michigan open. This apartment is in one of Mies's iconic Lake Shore Drive apartment buildings in Chicago. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| I wish I had a nickel for each time I've spied a Barcelona couch on a modern house tour. This one was in a contemporary condominium in Atlanta. This room shows how well it can work with a variety of furniture styles; a burled wood coffee table works with it just as well as a more expected chrome and glass table would. |
|
by Stacie Velten
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This daybed can transform a tight office or library space into a guest room. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A range of colors are available; this caramel leather version is a warm piece that blends in with other furnishings; it stands out more in black or white. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This room is an ode to Mies, with a wink to Frank Gehry. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This designer has dressed the bed a bit, softening it and helping it blend with the layered textures in this contemporary room. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
It's no surprise that the tufting pattern creates a grid, as the grid was the basis for Mies's modern architectural masterpieces.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A white version with coordinating Barcelona chairs is a good choice for this light-filled contemporary penthouse. I wonder if they have a view of the Seagram Building, a Mies/Johnson masterpiece. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The piece works very well in versatile spaces, providing boundaries and a variety of uses. This room also contains a few other icons you might want to learn more about: Eileen Gray's side table, and Arne Jacobsen's Egg Chair. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A pair of Barcelona chairs and a Barcelona couch create an extra seating area in this large and minimal bedroom. Their low profiles keep the views open. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
While many cheap knockoffs exist, a licensed Barcelona Couch is manufactured by Knoll, and will be marked as such. Consider the purchase similar to purchasing a piece of art.
More: Modern Icons: The Barcelona Chair
Flexible Furnishings: Great Ways With Daybeds
Modern Icons: Marcel Breuer's Wassily Chair
More: Modern Icons: The Barcelona Chair
Flexible Furnishings: Great Ways With Daybeds
Modern Icons: Marcel Breuer's Wassily Chair
Ideabook updated on Aug. 17, 2011.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
i love the barcelona couch. i have one mixed in with gorgeous oriental pieces of my dad's design. there's something about white leather and stainless mixed with carved teak and rosewood that just seems the perfect mix to me.
thanks for another great ideabook.