Ok, so this is my sofa.

It’s by Peter Hvidt for France and Sons, late 1950s. It would be nicer if I recovered it in grey velvet or something, but it’s handsome isn’t it? A genuine design classic off eBay. The back and side cushions lift off and it becomes a comfortable bed for one. Only thing is, as a sitting down watching 4 hours of Made In Chelsea sofa it’s deeply, achingly, medical-bill-inducingly uncomfortable. I’m getting complaints.

So what to do? I admired my friend’s 1950s style sofa from a high street retailer. ‘Is it comfortable?’ I asked. ‘God no.’ was the reply. So… the midcentury modern style that I love seems to be universally uncomfortable. But I watch so much Made In Chelsea that I’m prepared to go for something I don’t love the look of as much if it’s comfortable. But where to start? Sofa retailers probably don’t want you doing a four hour test stint on a sofa in their showroom. The only other way to find out what sofas are comfortable seems to be to ask you, dear readers. Can you help? Recommendations not just welcome, but begged for with a doctor’s note in hand.

My desk: The Flower Appreciation Society

Relative newcomers to the world of professional flower arranging, Ellie Jauncey and Anna Day of The Flower Appreciation Society, are gaining a vast and tasteful audience of fans who love their signature displays of bloom-filled swan planters and floral head dresses, as well as their distinct branding (you must see this). They met a year ago while […]

Taxidermy tuesday

I managed to catch the tail end of a documentary, What Do Artists Do All Day, shown on BBC4 last night. It’s not on iplayer yet, but look out for it. The focus of last night’s episode was taxidermy artist Polly Morgan, who seems to live and work quietly from a vast warehouse somewhere in London. […]

Ana Kras and her Bonbons

Just read the latest Curio magazine, and the cover story was about Serbian designer and artist Ana Kras. The story was about her Bonbon lights, and the intro described her as ‘beautiful furniture designer Ana Kras’. Once my envy subsided I visited her website. There’s lots more to her than being beautiful her lights, but […]

Lace concrete

Morton Young and Borland is a textiles company specialising in Scottish Madras and Lace. Founded in Ayershire in 1900, by the three gents below, it’s now the only producer in the world manufacturing with original Nottingham Lace Looms. Some of its work was used in Django Unchaned and Lincoln, among other films and tv productions. […]