Sofa Classics: B&B Italia

Thanks to a contemporary interior that she’s been updating for a decade, modern architect Abigail Turin has learned to love her traditional 1925 San Francisco home. Rather than indulge her impulse and strip away the home’s traditional flourishes, Turin embraced the dark in her striking living room—the deep paint is Le Corbusier’s 4320J from Les Couleurs Suisse. An iconic Arco lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos, Charles sofas by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia, an Extra Big Shadow floor lamp by Marcel Wanders for Cappellini, and a painting over the marble fireplace by Martin Barré shed a little light.

In the loft’s living area, Marcovitz sits on a Charles sofa by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia, in front of a Jean Prouvé Potence Lamp that has been reissued through Vitra.

Antonio Citterio’s 1997 design for B&B Italia is now well into its second decade of popularity, with a pair of successful updates—2003’s deeper Charles Large and 2010’s polypropylene Charles Outdoor—already on the books. “I try not to copy but to perceive and assimilate aspects specific to the work of great masters,” says Citterio of the Charles’s nod to the Eameses, but he notes that the similarities between his sofa and the couple’s mid-century designs “are more in spirit than in fact.” Charles Sofa (1997) by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia bebitalia.it

In the living area, a Tufty-Time sofa by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia, a Soft Grid blanket by Established & Sons, and a wood-burning stove by Stûv keep her comfortable.

Grunbaum was unafraid of a little color, as his living room (above) proves. It includes a coffee table by Mockett and a Tufty-Time sofa by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia.

The floor is new and the brickwork has been whitewashed to create a cleaner feel, but the beams supporting the gallery were left in their original state, as were the paint-splattered iron railings. The Tufty Time sofa is by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia, and the acrylic tables are from Kartell. The prints are from Hindman's personal collection.

Atlas shelving provides the framework for Farnham’s entertainment center. Almost 100 square feet of Patricia Urquiola’s Tufty-Time sofa for B&B Italia provides ample space to stretch out.

Tufty-Too Sofa by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia $9,306 bebitalia.it “You can put the sections of this piece in any direction and it works. Big, deep, low sofas are good for casual settings. For a living room that will be used for conversation, look for a shallow design with an 18-inch-tall back to create an intimate feel. Whatever the mood, dedicating your budget to anchor pieces that you’ll keep for a long time is important.”