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Trend Alert: The Modern Chesterfield Sofa
Tufted and traditional or modern and modular, the chesterfield sofa is reappearing in home interiors everywhere
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design. I just completed my first remodel, turning my crumbling 1941 kitchen into a beauty of grays, whites and natural wood. If I could, I'd sleep on the countertop. That's how much I love it.
You can also read my parenting blog on Baby Center http://blogs.babycenter.com/author/sschoech/
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel... More »
The chesterfield sofa is enjoying a major comeback. Once seen as the sofa of choice for the sherry-in-the-library set, it's now a fresh, elegant way to bring a sense of solidity and tradition to a modern room.
The classic markings of a chesterfield sofa are tufted cushions, and arms and back of the same height. Traditional versions have rolled arms and sit on tooled wooden legs.
Designers these days are pairing traditional chesterfields with modern icons and decor, and using updated versions of the sofa. The new chesterfields play with proportions, colors, textures and lines, making nods to tradition but busting out of the mold at the same time. They are especially popular in modern eclectic rooms, where a mixture of eras and styles is essential.
But chesterfields are the chameleons of the sofa world: They fit in pretty much anywhere, providing you chose the right one.
The classic markings of a chesterfield sofa are tufted cushions, and arms and back of the same height. Traditional versions have rolled arms and sit on tooled wooden legs.
Designers these days are pairing traditional chesterfields with modern icons and decor, and using updated versions of the sofa. The new chesterfields play with proportions, colors, textures and lines, making nods to tradition but busting out of the mold at the same time. They are especially popular in modern eclectic rooms, where a mixture of eras and styles is essential.
But chesterfields are the chameleons of the sofa world: They fit in pretty much anywhere, providing you chose the right one.
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A pretty traditional chesterfield with a bench seat, tufted upholstery and nailhead details looks both inviting and grand in this modern room and helps bridge the gap between the modern decor and the more traditional architecture.
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by Leib Designs
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| A very traditional velvet chesterfield brings coziness to this open, spare space. |
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| This leather chesterfield is mostly traditional — the bench seat, the leather, the proportions — but its lines are straight and modern as opposed to curved. It adds softness to this concrete-heavy room, but it also mimics all the straight lines. |
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| A masculine, flared-arm chesterfield sits pretty next to its fluffier neighbors. |
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A very midcentury modern take on the chesterfield. It is what makes this eclectic room modern.
| Another chesterfield with straight, modern lines. |
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by Room & Board
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| Another very midcentury modern version of the chesterfield. So very Mad Men. |
by Gus* Modern
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The modern, modular chesterfield. The arms and the back are not the same height, but the button tufting is a nod to the traditional design.
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| Why not go bright? |
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Why not go pink? There is no rule that says sofas have to belong to the brown family.
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| All the traditional markings of a chesterfield but with clean, modern lines. |
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Modern but with gentle curves.
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A relatively affordable version with modern chops and soft curves. Full disclosure: I just bought this in yellow.
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A diminutive version — warm but delicate.
Ideabook updated on Jan. 18, 2013.
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But they are a high-maintenance upholstery style because of the built-in dirt traps.