Poliform Bristol sofa

Deep cushions, thin arms

The whole character of Bristol is the gap between the two halves of it. The seat and back cushions are generous and soft, the kind you sink into rather than perch on; the arms are drawn as thin as the structure allows. From the side the sofa looks light, from the front it looks like something to spend an evening in, and that contradiction is the design.

It exists in a fixed version and a modular one. Fixed is the simpler purchase: a defined sofa in a defined width. Modular is where the system earns its name, because a chaise, a corner or an ottoman can be added later without the seam showing. In an American living room with a fireplace on one wall and a television on the other, the modular version is usually what solves the room.

The Bristol coffee tables came in 2015 and repeat one idea: two planes stacked on top of each other, with metal supports that cut through the upper top and stay visible. The lower plane can be lacquered or in wood, the upper one also in marble. Placed in front of the sofa they finish the composition; placed alone they still work, which is why people order them without the seating.

The bookcase and the sideboard carry the same metal detail and are what turn Bristol from a sofa into a room. If the budget only reaches part of the family, the sofa first and the tables second is the order that looks most deliberate.

Metal supports cut through the upper top and are left visible. That detail is the collection's signature.