Category Archives: Design

10 Best Couch Designs from ICFF 2014

The nation’s best design in furniture and home decor is found each year in New York City during the month of May. Last week we got to attend Brooklyn Designs, Wanted Design, (both, amazing shows) and the grand daddy of them all: ICFF, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. ICFF brings out all of the big names in furniture design. There are celebrity designers, press, parties…it is a big show, held at the Javits center, and it doesn’t disappoint. Tables, chairs, clocks, other home decors such as wall decals and other designs, fabrics, and all of the latest new materials can be found there. It is simply the venue to experience the most timeless designs alongside the most cutting-edge styles in furniture and accessories. With too much great stuff to show, and in the spirit of our unique passion for what we do, here are our favorite couches spotted this week at ICFF, 2014.

NUMBER 10 best design at ICFF

Ito Kish

This is a couch that makes a statement – amazing in an entry way! by Ito Kish

NUMBER 9 best design at ICFF

Alex, by Jephson Robb

You know a piece of furniture is special when it has its own legitimate name. Meet Alex, by Jephson Robb

NUMBER 8 best design at ICFF

Off the wall

I’m not sure this actually qualifies as a couch…but it should…Only at ICFF

NUMBER 7 best design at ICFF

Miles & May

A tasteful use of mixed mediums. Leather and wood, in a construction we’ve never seen before

NUMBER 6 best design at ICFF

Crazy Couch

Only at ICFF will you see something like this, from A lot of Brazil

NUMBER 5 best design at ICFF

Cabana Couch

Not sure what to say about this–but its pretty amazing that someone built it

NUMBER 4 best design at ICFF

by Extremista

Not exactly a couch, but wow! Made efficiently from one sheet of material, cut, bent, folded, beautiful…and sustainable

NUMBER 3 best couch design at ICFF

Sectional by Danao Living

A killer combination of fabric and real wood. This unique sectional by Danao Living is almost too pretty to sit on

NUMBER 2 best couch design at ICFF

By Vitra

Love these well-executed fabric sofas with zippered corners by Vitra–an institution in modern furniture; Swiss

NUMBER 1 Best couch design seen at ICFF, 2014

Purple, by Naula

Mmmmmmm. Above all, a couch should be comfy. Just looking at this one makes me want to cuddle up

As always, ICFF was inspiring. Go yourself! I am always humbled by the level of talent apparent at shows like this one. Our company, Lovesac, has never shown at ICFF, or any other furniture trade show for that matter, but we certainly gain inspiration from the best there. The only place you can find Lovesac couches are in our very own Lovesac stores, or website. We kind of like it that way.

While a couch is good for kicking back in during your downtime, they’re not the ideal form of furniture for being productive in. If you really want to get some serious work done, you’ll want to look at ergonomic office chairs instead. Combine one with a desk and you’ve got a home office! Check out the options available online to see if you can match the office furniture with the existing style of your home. But it would be nice to have one of these couches to go and chill on when you’re on break.

Walking design shows all over the world is both humbling and reassuring…there is still nothing like Sactionals, by Lovesac. In my humble opinion, Sactionals may be the most revolutionary design in couches within the last century. Mostly because of all of the crazy things you can do with Sactionals (not to mention, they are “Lovesac” comfortable)….But then, I am kind of biased.

M Lounger by Lovesac

Could it be possible that the real number 1 best sofa design is not to be found at ICFF?

Let me know which one of the above you liked best, and why! (Don’t worry, you won’t hurt my feelings.) If you’re looking to invest in a stunning couch like these, make sure you have professional Bissell cleaning equipment to maintain it.

— Shawny

@Shawny_Nelson

Insider’s Guide to Blanket Forts

There is something just so timeless about blanket forts. I think blanket forts are actually really, really important to our lives-but are often dismissed as just another day in a kid’s life. A blanket fort is like a right of passage. I feel like a blanket fort is somehow one of those “truly American things” but its not….it is even bigger than America. Just like our LifeOnACouch, the blanket fort is an international phenomenon. The blanket fort knows no boundaries-not geographic, not demographic, not political, race, or religious. Kids love blanket forts. College students love blanket forts. And-admit it or not-adults love blanket forts too.

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“Ask not if your furniture can become a blanket fort, ask if your blanket fort can become furniture.”

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Its close cousin, the couch fort, is essentially the same thing, but depending on the materials at hand, some couch forts can be constructed by using couch cushions alone. A true couch fort can be as simple as two or three couch cushions balanced on one another providing shelter against threats as such as: monsters, light, darkness, dogs, or even little brothers. Using ropes, pipes, and other devices some have bastardized the art form in order to create these more sophisticated blanket forts. Call me idealistic, but this somehow violates my own childhood definition of what a blanket fort should be. I believe that a true blanket fort should be impromptu, and unplanned. The couch cushions are the bricks and the blankets the mortar.

According to Wikipedia: “A blanket fort is a construction commonly made using blankets, bed sheets, pillows, and sofa cushions. It is also known as a couch fort, pillow fort or sheet fort.” Notice, there’s no mention of ropes, stands, pipes, etc. Tools are for hacks. Everyone should aspire to have a blanket fort, especially one that is clean. Before attempting to build one, you may want to think about having a look for the best upholstery steam cleaner on the market so that your children can have a lot of fun, all without being surrounded by dirt or stains. Which means they can stay in their blanket for a lot longer. Make sure that all of your blankets, bedsheets, and pillows are also clean for maximum experience. For an added special touch, why not use Your Photo on Blanket? Yes, you really can do that now!

The Advent of Sactionals – A New Material for Blanket Forts

Sactionals

Some may say that advancements were made with sectional couches, but I would argue that the first organic technological advancement of this decade made in the blanket-fort-building industry came part and parcel with the advent of Sactionals-a clearly superior piece of furniture for blanket fort building. I know that I’m biased on the topic, but just think about it…

  • Sactionals are solid when connected but easily reassembled,
  • Sactionals are movable,
  • Sactionals are rectangular-making them configurable in different ways,
  • Sactionals are stackable, and
  • Sactionals are beautiful sofas as their day-job, but really earn their money as a 2-for-the-price-of-one blanket fort builder.

While I may be a purist as to the construction of blanket forts, I am a liberal in terms of what can happen within.

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Kids will do strange things in there….mostly, they just like to take things in there. Its kind of like their first apartment. They get to “decorate it” themselves. They get to choose their own appliances, and amenities. Like mini interior designers, they delve into lighting, flooring, wall hangings, the whole composition becomes their domain.

Speaking of which can you remember when you moved into your first property? Some friends of mine have just found an amazing apartment in Toronto and are currently preparing for moving day! It turns out that if you are looking for short term rentals toronto is the place to go! I cannot wait to hear all about how they settle into their new apartment! Let me know about your first home in the comment section.

Back to blanket forts now though. College students do all kinds of things inside a blanket fort-typically taking it to a whole new level. The TV, the X-Box, the Wii, the PS2, they all go in. There’s evidence online of some upper-classmen living in blanket forts for weeks on nothing but pizza and beer. And who knows what else goes on in there? I will say that the Blanket Fort episode of NBC’s Community, will likely never be outdone in terms of capturing the soul of blanket forting for the adult age group. Epic.

We Secretely Want Our Own Fort

Finally, we have the parents-like myself. Are we really building these forts for our children with blankets, with couches, with sectional sofas, or with Sactionals? Aren’t we just waiting “by the phone” for our sons and daughters to ask us? Don’t we secretly all just want to crawl in and cuddle up in there with random items that we love? Based on some of the blanket fort masterpieces I’ve seen on other blogs, for the non-purist, that is, he who can accept a blanket fort using more permanent materials, it is possible for the best of them to withstand a minor hurricane. But as for me in my house-we shall only use Sactionals bases, cushions and blankets. This discipline in blanket fort construction certainly limits the size and stability of the fort, but in the end-were blanket forts really meant to last? I know my friend did something similar with his kitchens and their custom photo blanket blankets.

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Maybe like our fleeting childhood blanket forts were just never meant to last. In the immortal words of Robert Frost, “Nothing gold can stay.”

— Shawny

Founder, Lovesac

SHOW ME YOUR BLANKETFORT. TAG IT WITH #LIFEONACOUCH IN ANY SOCIAL MEDIA!

Follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/Shawny_Nelson

Crafts Crafts Crafts

Every morning before 7am our 5-year-old daughter, Lucky, is up and at em. It was lovingly annoying when she used to climb into bed and try to cuddle, or share her meandering dreams from the night before. But somehow (maybe she took the hint) she has taken to spending more than an hour each morning–completely on her own–making crafts of various sorts downstairs at the kitchen table. Here is what I discovered when I returned home from an early morning run today:

Letters to her friends

Letters to her friends

I’m really pretty amazed that with iPads and iPhones, TVs and toys all over the house, Lucky chooses to spend her time doing stuff like this. I’m pretty sure I would have been watching cartoons.

 

Early morning crafts

Early morning crafts

She may be at the kitchen table…but this kind of thing is what I mean by #LifeOnACouch

— Shawny

How to Make Room for the Tree

I find that the Christmas Tree always takes up so much more space than it seems to in my head. This is how we used (or un-used) our Lovesac Sactionals to make room for the tree in my own home….

Christmas is coming

Sactionals by Lovesac are easily moved, stacked, and stored to make room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

— Shawny

A (good) Life on a Couch

Today would have been my grandpa’s 98th birthday. He loved Lovesac. Every time I’d come around he’d do a little dance and sing, “The Lovesac’ll getchya if you don’t watch out…” He was so proud to see me & my cousins building a company together.
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As my grandpa got older and eventually passed away a few years back, it gave me pause to reflect on my own life and what I might become. His funeral was packed. Sure I come from a huge extended family, but I didn’t even know half of these people. But I did know that every one of them had one thing in common for sure: In life, my grandpa had most certainly had made them laugh, smile, or just feel great about themselves. What legacy would I leave? That’s a tough act to follow.

My grandpa was an entrepreneur – but he never really “made it.” My grandpa was an entertainer, a vaudeville singer and dancer, a natural (completely untaught) master on the piano – but he never went pro. My grandpa built housing developments, once had his own TV show, was the state bowling champ, tried his own info-mercial, and generally drove my grandmother crazy. But regardless of whatever “successes” he had or didn’t have in life, when I saw the genuine emotion on the faces of so many people who would miss this character-of-a-man-despite his having never achieved any real fame or fortune in life-I realized how much more it meant that he had just led a good, good, good life. He had lived a life of service, a life of joy, a life full of laughter, and full of love.

By the time I really got to know him as an adult he spent most of his time on the couch. I most often caught him on his avocado green barca-lounger watching golf, or football, or reruns of old BYU games (I suspect he might have had a bet on a site like ATS.io every once in a while too – I suppose you gotta do something wild every now and then!). I finally came to kind of envy him. I was being run ragged by a crazy business that made no money and sucked up my entire life. But he had made it. He had just made it to the couch. He could rest easy-having never materially damaged anyone and having never sacrificed his fundamental principles. That was enough.

Just making it back to retirement on the couch in an old body-worn out from a life of service and love. That’s #lifeonacouch.

I should be so lucky.

— Shawny

03c family (7)

The New Kitchen Table

We all have a life on a couch-every last one of us. Much of the joy that underlies our natural attraction to our life on a couch has nothing to do with the couch at all, let alone the book, TV, movie, laptop or whatever other form of entertainment might be consumed there. The real joy comes from the time spent there in the company of those who matter to us most. I suppose this is what makes the couch so special as a fixture in our lives. It is not a chair-it is a shared chair. It is wide, and soft, and low and inviting. It is beautiful. It is not furniture-it is a platform for living-one, that despite having a thousand years of history, was seemingly designed especially for this era, for our way of life.

The couch is the new center of modern civilization. For better of for worse it has replaced the kitchen table as the place where people come together, where people communicate in person, where people enjoy shared experiences-which by the way, is the definition of intimacy. Some people sit there together, facing the center and chat. Some people sit in parallel, focused on the same screen ahead. Some sit close, others apart, some cuddle, some lay sideways, some build forts with kids, some pile-on with friends, and some make-out with lovers. Some hold hands, even as others text, surf, shop, work, or game in solitude-yet often they are still “connected.” But regardless of how they do it-people spend time together on the couch…and that is a beautiful thing.

As a culture, we are more aware of, and more fascinated than ever by how others live. Whether celebrities, or whether just “the Jones’s” next door, thanks to modern media we have access to more personal information than ever-and this helps bring context to our own lives. It is my personal mission to shine a light onto this “life on a couch” that we share-one by one, story by story-in hopes to further our mutual awareness and respect, both as a people and as a generation. That we might recognize: regardless of our income level, social status, marital status, or personal travails, we are all just in this together, trying to make it work, trying to enjoy life, to find meaning, to contribute in some way, and to connect with those who love us. Even I go through marital problems especially regarding our sex life and elevating the experience. We get through this though… together

This is life on a couch-and it is interesting, because you are.

— Shawny

My life

…nearly every night