Au revoir Habitat and thanks for the memories

Although Habitat opened our eyes to a whole new style of furnishing and interior decoration it will always be unfairly associated with kelims, chicken bricks, Germanic state-of-the-art electrical goods, Philip Treacy armchairs, Eames chairs and Breuer chairs. Unfortunately, whilst Habitat stocked a broad range of merchandise over the years, people only remember the iconic pieces. What’s often overlooked is Conran’s contribution to the re-emergence of the Chesterfield sofa. Chesterfield sofas were always popular, but they had by the 60s gathered something of a crusty, fuddy-duddy reputation: they never looked out of place in traditional settings, but sat uncomfortably in modern stark surroundings. He took the traditional 18^th century Chesterfield settee shape and gave it a contemporary edge and feel. Conran made the Chesterfield sofa sexy again. His team of designers smoothed out some of the angular edges and the stiff upright buttoned backs, and gave the classic sofa softer and more rounded curves and more graceful flowing lines. His re-edition of the classic upholstered Chesterfield sofa became a Habitat staple. Although it’s no longer available through Habitat, it is still sold in his other store, the Conran Shop. Without Conran’s input we probably wouldn’t have such a variety of Chesterfield settees and furniture on sale today. So we at the Chesterfield Sofa Company salute you Sir Terence.]]>