A SOFA THAT EXAMINES OUR MOST BASIC HUMAN NATURE

Swedish designer Ellinor Ericsson creates the world's most comforting piece of furniture

Whoever said that Noridc design was cold and uninviting? In Our Nature by Swedish designer Ellinor Ericsson might be the comfiest, most inviting sofa/bed/seating apparatus to ever exist. Ericsson, a recent graduate of Copenhagen’s Danish Design School, wanted to create a piece that provides a still point in a spinning world but that also engages the senses and nevertheless adapts to our increasingly mobile lifestyle.

The wooden oak frame is strung with woven cotten braids and comes with detachable pillows, three different blankets, a carpet and a textile table. Each blanket has its own texture and material: a pleated wool blanket, a wool smock blanket and a larger cotton blanket that drapes over the furniture, even spilling over to the floor. The small round table of stiff wool and wood is lightweight and designed for flexible use, whether on the sofa or the floor. All of the different elements are designed to respond to the blurred line between work and home by allowing users to define and redefine the piece of furniture. The carpet can be put down for work, a specific blanket laid out for socializing and another chosen for sleeping, etc.

“This is a heavy furniture in contrast to the mobile and the nomad trend. I believe we need a stable place a point to come back to when we travel a lot and everything is mobile around us. A place we call a home,” explains the designer. We can’t think of a better piece of furniture with which to brave the long winter months ahead.

Originally presented as the designer’s master project, it was recently on display at Tent London as part of the London Design Festival.