Sofas are likely to be one of the biggest purchases you make for your house, and it’s easy to assume that once you’ve got one in situ, it’s going to look pretty much the same for the (hopefully) decades you’re going to own it. Getting a sofa re-covered, after all, is a big project. But sofas are thankfully easy to style in different ways, and changing up the cushions or adding a beautiful throw or antique textile over the back of it are easy ways to get a new look. Recently, though, we’ve been seeing a new idea pop up that can easily give your sofa a fresh look, while also suggesting that a clever stylist has been at work: the sofa topper.
At least we think that’s what it’s called, as the internet doesn’t quite seem to have reached a consensus yet. You may have to hunt for sofa mattresses, or even (unappealingly) sofa pads, but whatever name they go by, we think they’re super fun. A relatively affordable way to add interest to your living room scheme, they are available in a wide range of colours and materials: Caravane’s velvet numbers are perhaps the original and best, but Zara’s linen version is rather sophisticated, and there are plenty of block-printed and striped versions out there for a softer look.
‘You can’t beat them,’ says interior designer Victoria Barker of Studio Faeger, whose own sofa in her former home in Oxfordshire (pictured top) is our favourite reference. Victoria’s comes from the French company Tensira, who have a brilliant range of striped, checked and gingham options. For her, it’s not only an aesthetic choice, but a practical one too. “The covers can be easily removed and washed, which makes them perfect for messy dogs or little chocolate covered fingers,” she says. “It not only adds a comforting layer in the countryside, but also helps prolong the corduroy upholstery on the seat cushions.” We’d also add that if you are the kind of person who eats meals on your sofa (as apparently nearly 80% of us regularly do), then the sofa topper might just save you from the stray bits of pasta sauce/red wine/chocolate that seem to make their way onto upholstery with grim inevitability.
These pieces are particularly versatile as you can easily take them off the sofa for a smarter look, and they can also make great floor cushions for movie nights or occasions where large dogs, small children or miscellaneous guests might need a place to recline. You could also change them out seasonally, with a beachy cotton stripe for summer and a cosier velvet option for winter. Most of them are thin enough to fold or roll up when not in use, so they won’t pose any annoying storage conundrums. We predict that sofa toppers are only going to be on the rise, so get in at the start of the trend.
