It’s hard not to start a post here with something like “Hey EHD world, it’s Arlyn and I’m back with another post on XXXX.” Is everyone okay if I just launch into a thing? Yes? Good, because you know when you learn, say, a new word, and then soon after, you see and hear it everywhere and you wonder if you were blind to it all along or if everyone also just learned that new word, too? This happens to me a lot, and a decade or so ago, I did a lengthy internet search on this marvel.
It’s called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, or if German isn’t your thing, you can also refer to it as frequency illusion. So yes, it actually has a name! I could write a whole post on it (I actually did a really long time ago on another site!) but basically, it’s a cognitive bias that affects how we think and process information, making that thing we learn feel more common than it actually is.
Except this time, I think I’m onto something. Not just because of my own Baader-Meinhof moment, but because I like to believe I have a knack for these things. (Don’t worry, I’m getting to the sofa trend part of this post, just go on this journey with me, please).
Back in my days as a magazine editor, I went to a lot of trade shows where hundreds of home brands would exhibit their newest products. When you walk 20,000 steps from booth to booth to booth, you learn to quickly pick up on things, particularly trends. The publication I worked for covered uber-luxury design, and if you know anything about trends, you know they start at the tippy-tippy top. I got very good at calling a thing years in advance to hitting the mainstream market. All that to say, I’ve spotted a new “it” piece and I’m fairly obsessed with it.
While working on a shopping piece for another website recently, I popped into a custom-sofa boutique in Beverly Hills called The Joneses. (If you’re local and on the search for a sofa, GO THERE. It’s amazing.) I walked all the displays and kept coming back to the Beanbag sofa above. Something about the soft curves that meet in a peek in the arms was magnetic to me. I even went so far as to request a quote from the wonderful salesperson for this in a gorgeous mustard velvet but scaled down to better suit my living room (for the record, I’m not looking for a new sofa but I couldn’t help myself).
Then…I started seeing more and more of those arms everywhere I looked. In design publications like Domino, on my favorite designer’s Instagram feeds, in the catalog of great furniture stores. “I think I’m seeing a new trend emerge,” I said one day to Jess in passing, who encouraged me to write about it here.
The only problem was, I didn’t know what this was called. I started my Google search with “beanbag style sofa” and got some interesting hits but no exact dice. It wasn’t until I reached out to the incomparable Reath Design for more information on a photo I had saved of a living room with a rust velvet-colored sofa that I learned what this is: the Marenco Sofa by Arflex.
Designed by Mario Marenco in 1970, this sofa style is on par(ish) with the other ’70s sofa design that became WILDLY popular in the last few years: the Camaleonda Sofa by Mario Bellini re-released by B&B Italia. You couldn’t open Instagram without this pebble-like piece being front and center. It was endlessly knocked off by more affordable retailers. You could even get a pretty badly made version for about $800 on Amazon. That’s when you know you’ve reached peak furniture trend.
What I find most interesting about the Marenco line is the feeling that these big, tufted cushions are just floating. The cushions *are* the frame of the sofa, which makes it playful but also inviting. And while it’s a pretty unique silhouette, it’s still simple and sleek. I’ve seen similar styles but a bit toned down at other e-comm sites lately, and in any iteration, I’m smitten with it.
Let’s take a look at a few photos of the real deal in some different colors and fabrics:
All of these photos are just catalog shots from the brand that makes the sofa, so they’re a little bit lifeless, yes. But here’s the photo I referenced earlier by Reath Design, in a real (albeit very grande) home:
It’s the kind of piece that fits into a more traditional aesthetic like the room above (I think because it’s a vintage design rather than a new one) but it also modernizes whatever classic or even basic pieces surround it. And all the curves and fabric creases really accentuate the fabric choice, particularly in velvet.
If the Marenco sofa isn’t your speed (yet!), you might like this modified version in a room by Abbie Naber of A Naber Design. (I believe this is the Jones sofa from Maiden Home, which I linked below in the product round-up, too). It’s more in line with the framing of an approachable mainstream sofa design with the added touch of that interesting arm and upholstered base.
Also from Maiden Home is this less bulbous but equally striking design, their Bond Settee. What I’ve noticed is a lot of brands have taken the hallmarks of the Marenco (like that arm style) and mixed them into something a bit more straightforward. So while the *exact* design isn’t being replicated everywhere (again…yet!), there are whispers of it everywhere.
Whether I’m right or wrong about this Marenco-style sofa trend, I do know one thing for certain: it’s a fabulously interesting furniture design that I’m going to keep my eye on for whenever the time comes that I’m ready for a new sectional.
And before we go, I pulled together nine options in a range of prices that give me the vibes I’m most drawn to of the original sofa.
1. The Jones Modular | 2. Copious Performance Velvet Sofa Cognac | 3. The Bond Settee | 4. Double Seat Sofa – Orange | 5. Marenco-Style Three Seater Sofa | 6. Cambria Green Velvet Sofa 96″ | 7. Clyde Modular Sofa | 8. Studio Sofa | 9. Jolt Ltalian Home Row Leather Sofa
I’d love to hear what you think here. Love it? Hate it? Undecided? If you’re anything like me, it might take a minute to warm up to the idea but just wait…like me and mushrooms, you may find yourself craving it soon enough.
Your friend in design (and sofas and funghi), Arlyn
Opening Image Credits: Design by Abbie Naber/A Naber Design / Style by A Naber Design/California Casa/En Shell Space | Photo by Charlotte Lea Photography
Arlyn,
Great article. Was happy to hear from you because I wanted to ask if you’d consider researching/ writing an article on : lessons learned from people who bought used cabinets on marketplace or a habitat for humanity restore place (like Em’s used ones). I see some good finds but have no idea what the learning curve/tips would be to decide if it’s wise or worth it to proceed. I know you rent but seems like an article that would suit your content. Thanks for considering.
Omg, great idea! Would love that kind of post.
I just recently donated my old cabinets, and the person who took them ended up being a contractor. The cabinets were going to be difficult for most DIYers, because they were custom from 1986. The contractor took a lot of measurements and made sure he could modify them. I think the key for an easier install is to find standard size cabinets, rather than custom, so you can arrange the pieces in the configuration you need. And even then you need to choose sizes that work with the layout you’re hoping for in your kitchen. But I agree this is a great topic to explore more in a post, particularly to see how someone makes it work.
I love it, but I can’t imagine it would hold up well.
I think any cheaper knock off likely wouldn’t, but the real one would (though it better at that price).
Love your writing, Arlyn. And your posts/topics; they’re always interesting even if they’re about something I’m not personally into (e.g., these sofas, though I do love mushrooms).
Thanks Molly!
These are really pretty but I would be concerned that the pillow-y style would lose it’s shape and I would end up smacking the couch all the time to reshape the pillows. I currently have a down filled pillowy sofa that is working my last nerve. It looks amazing after I’ve worked it over like a punching bag, strategically placing pillows and blankets to cover the part that didn’t get just right, but only lasts until I sit on it again. There’s a certain sacrifice to be made for trendy furniture.
Came here for that issue and support, the back kind. I love to sprawl, which these look great for, but how are they for just sitting? If you have a lot of guests and older people over are they truly comfortable?
I hear you. I have a down-wrapped foam sofa now and it’s typically misshapen. Even with the foam interior. That’s why I could never do one of those cloud sofas. They’re too sloppy looking for me. I think the real version of this is constructed in a way that would hold up, but I can’t speak for the others!
It looks like someone attempted to DIY a couch – ha! I do really like the “adapted” versions like that one from Maiden Home
This made me laugh out loud.
i’ve been stalking this type of sofa for about 2 years now (i think someone else that contributed to EHD in 2020 may have had one? i can’t recall) and am so glad you shared this background info/suggestions for where to buy! also, unrelated to sofas, i love both your writing style and the topics you pick, arlyn!
Thanks Lily! Appreciate hearing that.
The shape of these couches are fun, but maybe not timeless. A quality couch is too much of an investment for something this trendy. Would I still like it in 3 years? Probably not.
This is just what I was thinking! For many of us, the sofa is an investment piece that we need to last for years. Even if it is still “in” – I worry that I would tire of it.
I hear you. I think there are people who like to gamble on something a little dramatic for their sofas and others that like to keep it more timeless. This kind of gives me an idea for a post though. Like, does timeless always have to mean basic/straightforward? Considering this sofa was designed in the 1970s and it still feels “now” and modern, maybe it’s also timeless, just not everyone’s taste. Hmm…got me thinking!
Italian design of the 60s/70s IS timeless, please do a post on that era, it’s vastly underrated. (Sorry, I just made “vastly underrated” sound pompous!)
This style falls into the lovely to look at, wouldn’t want to own it. I can just see me, my bum cheek, my remote, my coffee cup etc sliding right, left, and back all the time. It just doesn’t look supportive. Although it is very pretty and I agree it looks gorgeous in velvet. It’s likely more practical than the Togo from Ligne Roset but then again, maybe not? Does every couch need to suit old people, pets and people who eat in their living rooms? Nope. Just mine.
I think something like the Togo is HYPER specific where an adapted version of this sofa style is maybe a bit more practical. The original version is definitely highly stylized, but I do think it has some legs!
I love this style, especially the first photo you showed in the LA shop. I would have been stalking it, too. I’m glad you shared what the original design was called–it’s helpful to know, and it’s important to give acknowledgement to the original designer, of course. It was also really interesting to hear that trends start from the top. It works that way in fashion, so I don’t know why I never put that together for interior design. Ha! But what a fun gig to work at a magazine like that and be able to spot the trends you know are coming.
Loved this post, Arlyn!
Having purchased Mario Bellini’s Le Bambole in the very late 80s I’m still in love with it’s shape. The one you talk about here is reminiscent of Le Bambole, in a good sculptural way. Same era-ish. And good insight you shared here. Feel free to dish out more insights 😉
Still like my traditional Ethan Allen sofa which is quite similar to Victoria Beckham’s couch (the dark green velvet couch) in the Netflix series about her husband. Unfortunately, mine is aging and would love to know where her couch is from. Probably can’t afford it anyway.
Loved your article but not the couch styles.
It’s gone viral –
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/shopping/victoria-beckham-s-sofa-is-trending-for-this-reason-and-we-re-obsessed/ar-AA1iQ1RZ
How high are the seats on those schmancy sofas when you plant your tush on them? I’m 74, and getting up from a low seat is not just a pain, it’s frankly a personal embarrassment. My sofa is a Klaussner Burbank and it suits my living room style well, plus I can get up off it without looking like am aging cripple.
Frankly I didn’t see the most important question answered. Yes, it is stylish but is it comfortable? Doesn’t look like it has enough structure to be really comfortable, like you would sink in pretty low and then the arms are pretty high. It is nice to look at but I agree with others that a more classic sofa is more practical for your average household. Still it’s fun to see what might be up and coming.