Corner Couches For Sale: The History Of Corner Couches

 

When you see the sign “corner couches for sale”, have you ever thought about where they come from? Have you ever wondered about the evolution of furniture we use on a day-to-day basis? If you are interested in the history of corner couches for sale then keep reading as we cover the interesting origin of the corner couch design.

 

5 Star Furnitures’ couch range has transformed and become something of a contemporary interior establishment, and if you do not own one, you definitely know someone who does, it fits perfectly into a corner, with some additional add-ons making it into the desired shape you would like.

 

Couches now can be seen as the centrepiece of a living room. The couch has to be comfortable as well as functional, but welcoming and aesthetically pleasing. Ticking all these boxes is not an easy task – however, if you are on the lookout for a couch that is both versatile and comfortable, look no further than the modular sectional couch.

 

If you are currently indecisive when it comes to the design, just like many of us are, then this corner couch for sale is perfect for you. It consists of various individual pieces put together like a jigsaw puzzle; modular couches are not only flexible but adaptable as well. You can split the couch into separate parts, which can be continuously recombined in various ways, giving you the ability to rearrange your living room easily.

 

 

The Victorian Origins Of The Corner Couch

 

The sectional/modular couch, also referred to as the L-shape couch, consists of numerous parts of seating, which includes a longer chaise lounge resembling a section at its end. Often the words sectional, modular, and corner couches are used to refer to the same type of couch design. The corner couch can be traced back to the 19th century, although its popularity was only regional at the time.

 

As stated by Hunker, the sectional couch originated in Virginia. As a result of the region’s heavy military influence, furniture needed to fare well on the battlefield – where it needed to be easily portable, easily separated, and able to move from camp to camp – turned out to be suitable for the home as well. Thus, the beginning of the production of the early corner couch was underway, although corner couches for sale back then were still limited.

 

Even though the military origins of corner couches were purely utilitarian, they took on the wood-carved ornamentation and tufted fabrics typical of this period, when they entered into households. The Victorian design more often than not was meant to showcase lavish wealth, as this was a period of prosperity for not only England but its colonies as well. The design of the Victorian period drew inspiration from the Medieval motifs and the Gothic Revival and rooms were heavily decorated. Since this era of economic prosperity, the middle class could also participate in these displays of grandiosity.

 

During the Victorian era, the loveseat and chaise lounge dominated the living space, however, over time the couch trend in Virginia would witness the loveseat and chaise lounge combined to form the sectional couch. The sectional couch would persevere to be a mainstay in many living rooms across the Western world for years to come.

 

 

Modern Design As A Reaction To World War 1

 

The first World War punctuated the end of the Victorian era, and along with WW1 came a significant economic and social shift across the world. This in turn affected how people viewed art and design. The Bauhaus School of Art is one particularly influential reaction to WW1, it was founded by Walter Gropius, who was a German architect. Following the destruction of WW1, Germany decided that it had to adapt to the ever-changing governing structures of Western Europe.

 

Accompanying this ‘driving out of the past’, design and art were transformed. This luxurious decorating of the past had been somewhat destroyed, there was now a desire for objects that were both beautiful but also served a purpose, whilst also representing this new world. The main goal of the Bauhaus group was to begin from scratch. This would essentially lead to the minimalistic and sometimes brutalist aesthetic we now know as modern design.

 

The sectional couch remained uncommon up until the turn of the century; the fairly new design saw an increase in demand in the 1930s and 40s. An important figure in the newfound popularity of sectional couches was Gilbert Rohde, an American who was a designer for the pioneering modern furniture company Herman Miller. Gilbert was influenced heavily by the Bauhaus school and the Art Deco movement.

 

He was a crucial figurehead in modern design, and defined his philosophy of modern furniture as “an expression of the simple and ancient desire to make useful and beautiful things, suited to their purpose and the tools and materials and their availability”. Gilbert would go on to heavily influence many designers of future generations.

 

 

Continued Evolution

 

Living room options were not always like Antonio Citterio’s brand-new Suita. The modular couch – is commonly referred to as the corner couch. The corner couches for sale you see today have been said to be invented by an American designer Harvey Probber in 1944. The Brooklyn-born Probber had little formal training, and on the side was a cabaret singer.

 

He was able to avoid the type of fame his slightly older contemporaries achieved. They included; George Nelson, Ray Eames, and Charles Eames. His widow stated in his New York Times obituary “He was shy; it’s why he wasn’t better known”. The US magazine of Interior design published an article in 1979 stating that his invention was one of the most influential developments in modern furniture design. Despite this, he has gone unrecognised for a long period.

 

In the 1970s corner couches for sale like the modular went mainstream, which helped create the earlier UK versions, which led the way with their 1971 Duo range. No one wanted to live all huddled up around a fire as their parents did, so the new generation began knocking through walls; thus, the couch became conducive to styles in the house.

 

The system of modular furniture now means that now more than ever, couches can be utilised to determine the layout, function, and mood of a space. Combined with other design elements that are characteristic like contemporary rugs, these corner couches for sale can inject individual elements of your personality into your home. Your unique modular sectional layout is a couch like no other – literally.

 

These multifaceted couches can adapt to your needs and enhance your living room area. Regardless of whether you are seeking to create a more sophisticated seating area or a comfy family-orientated couch, the modular couch permits you to design, redesign, and rearrange as much as your heart desires.

 

The hippie movement during the late 1960s and 70s witnessed the corner couch take on a groovier shape, into the less modular built-in conversation hole, that consisted of a sunken living area completely lined by an arrangement of sectional couches.

 

The sectional couch could now be found in new geometric shapes and bright colours. The main intention of the sectional couch stayed as a way to invite conversation, and increase the entertaining and hosting ability of furniture, whilst providing a beautiful and comfortable design.

 

The Corner Couches We Know Today

 

 

From the 1980s and onwards, the living room slowly moved away from entertaining guests to receiving entertainment from the TV. Furniture followed suit and the TV became the new focal point of the living room. With the shift of focal points, the need for modular furniture pieces which could be transformed to accommodate conversation between people decreased in necessity.

 

The couch became a solid constant between its moving guests, instead of an object that can be moved. Thus, its design became deeper, larger, and more solid, and it lost some of its modular capability, resulting in the bulky L-shaped couch we know today. Often covered with florals, crushed velvet, and drab neutrals, the corner couches for sale had lost their original appeal, and now are representative of a place to flop down on and watch TV with others, or by yourself.

 

Corner couches popularity carried into the new millennium because of their ability to fill a large space quite easily and for their comfort. During early 2000, corner couches were featured with dark bolster suede or leather to match the weathered and dark elements of “faux Tuscan-style décor”. From the 2000s to 2012, the corner couches for sale were available in beiges, light greys, and whites as a staple of the Farmhouse and Californian design.

 

Corner couches have proven to stand the test of time, and they are still in high demand. Hopefully, the next time you relax on your corner couch you will feel and remember the extensive history behind it, and start to perceive the furniture in your space as an interaction with and reflection of your day-to-day life and not just simply an object in front of you.

 

About 5 Star Furniture

 

5 Star Furniture consists of a dynamic team who have been selling beautiful furniture for the past 16 years. Not only is the furniture affordable but most products have been produced locally. This means that the furniture you buy will not leave you a penny less and you are supporting a small South African business at the same time. Thus, further contributing to our economy.

 

5 Star Furniture is an amazing delivery service that has unique furniture pieces, and good quality furniture. If you are looking for corner couches for sale, look no further and visit your nearest shop today.