The Only Sofa You Ever Need Buy

Note: Originally published at the 2Modern Design Talk blog.

The Jean-Michel Frank sofa.

You might not be familiar with the name, but you are familiar with the look. It is everywhere. It is classic and clean and works with most modern (after 1930) interior design. If you own this shape sofa, it will fit in almost anywhere, though it might not follow the other lines in your furniture designs, it will not interfere, stand out too much, or compete. It possesses straight sides; is not too puffy, and depending on the chosen upholstery, also not too unusual.

Jean Michel Frank [1895-1941] was born near the end of the 19th century. Consider what furniture movements were around at that time and you can see how this shape would have been considered highly unusual to some or extremely pedestrian to others.

The proof of this design as a classic style and the fact that it plays well with others is that almost every major furniture retailer has a similar style in their core collection, such as:

• Room & Board: Dean, runner ups: Essex, Winston
• Crate and Barrel: Axis, runner ups: Lombard, Cameron
• Restoration Hardware: Austin
• Pottery Barn: PB Square
• Macy's (as close as it gets) Corona
• IKEA (close but not it) Karlstad
• DWR: (close) Portula

For more on Jean-Michel:

• Jean Michel Frank: The Strange and Subtle Luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco Period, by Pierre Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, $64
• Architectural Digest Design Legends: Jean-Michel Frank
• Architonic: Products

Note: Jean-Michel never licensed his designs. The only way someone can guarantee that they have one of his pieces is if it can be documented that it was a part of an interiors he designed for a client's home.