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.
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 ›
Canal 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 ›
Hotel 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 ›
Gale 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 ›
G-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.
Radikal 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 ›
Breezeway 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 ›
Design 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.
