We found the sofa in our living room in Scotland, still in its original orange tweed with the 1960s receipt and fabric swatch carefully preserved by its previous owner. The colour was amazing and very of its time but against the rich tone of the timber ceiling it felt too strong.

Marcus and I (after much deliberation) decided to reupholster it in a deep blue tweed, it’s calmer and sits more comfortably with the rest of the room.

The sofa is a ‘Form’ modular seating system designed by Robin Day for the British manufacturer Hille, first introduced in the early 1960s.

Robin Day (1915-2010) was one of the most important British furniture designers of the post war period. After studying at the Royal College of Art he established a studio in London and went on to design a number of highly successful pieces for Hille. Day was particularly interested in modern manufacturing methods and in furniture that could adapt to changing ways of living.

Robin Day

The company that produced the Form system, Hille, was based close to A Fold of Chairs in Watford, Much of the company’s design work took place at Hille House, their headquarters designed by the architect Ernő Goldfinger, who is also known for the iconic London tower blocks Balfron Tower and Trellick Tower. 

Hille House, Watford

Hille House became an important centre for modern British design during the 1950s and 60s, where designers, architects and manufacturers worked closely together on new ideas for modern living.

The Trellick Tower, West London

I love that this particular sofa travelled all the way to Scotland with its original owners and has now found its way back to Hertfordshire again, not far from where it was first designed.

One of the things I admire most about the Form system is how simply it’s constructed. Each section is essentially a square timber platform frame with webbing stretched across it. All of the bases are the same size, which means they can sit next to each other in any configuration.

Some units have backs, some are open seats, and there are also square tables that slot into the arrangement. Because everything shares the same footprint, the layout can be changed very easily.

The cushions sit on top of these timber platforms, which gives the sofa its distinctive low horizontal line.

Since installing it we’ve discovered just how adaptable the system is. The sections move easily, so the arrangement changes depending on how the room is being used, sometimes a long sofa, sometimes a corner, sometimes broken up with the table between. Over the years we’ve had all sorts of midcentury sofas in this space, but this one seems to encourage something slightly different. People naturally sit facing each other rather than lined up in a row.

That, in many ways, is exactly what midcentury furniture was about.

Design in the 1960s and 70s moved away from the idea of formal  ‘best’ rooms filled with furniture you weren’t really meant to use. Instead it reflected a more relaxed way of living, spaces where people could gather, talk, sit comfortably and spend time together.

That spirit is one of the reasons I love midcentury design so much, and it’s very much what we try to share through the pieces we restore and sell at A Fold of Chairs. Furniture should be lived with, not just looked at. 

- Caroline