Laid-back Luxe with Loaf

[Paid partnership with Loaf]

I remember about six years ago when a friend had ordered a Loaf sofa for her newly renovated home, feeling an unfamiliar pang of sofa jealousy, so it was with great excitement that I dragged, I mean took my husband and kids along to our local Shack in Shoreditch to choose one of our very own back in April. After all, a Loaf sofa is a ‘proper’, grown-up-sofa-for-life kind of sofa. Sofa goals you could say.

The Hall family are creatures of comfort, so lounge-ability was a big consideration when choosing one of Loafs many beautiful designs, but I learnt quickly that Loaf sofas are all designed for exactly that, so you’re totally spoilt for choice. Comfort is key - they don’t call them loafing machines for nothing!

What I also realised when sitting on them is that I wanted a low slouch-back kind of design, rather than a more upright one, and that one design that had been on my favourites list, was actually too deep for me (I’m 5’4” ish), and therefore not a comfy sit. So I quickly figured out what I did and didn’t like comfort wise, and was able to narrow it down to the Boho and the Slim Jim designs that I liked equally, although they’re very different style wise, the Boho being a modern take on a Chesterfield, and the Slim Jim being, well, slim, with lovely narrow arms leaving maximum sitting space.

In typical contrary fashion, Edie instantly fell head over heels in love with the Crumpet sofa, proclaiming ever-lasting love and vowing to one day own one herself when she has her own place. Start them young right?

Baxter however,  was more interested in the giant Teddy Bear and Jelly Bean vending machines than having an opinion on which sofa we should choose, and Ed was rather taken with the Boho sofa too. So decision made, right?!

Ah well for most people, probably, but over the coming days I decided that although I do indeed love the Boho, that its high arms were not right for the intended spot in our living room, and in the end, I pulled rank, and went for the Slim Jim that was my first choice when initially browsing the website. Sometimes your first choice is the best, but it’s definitely worth going through the process to make sure!

So obviously with the style decided, the colour choice would be easy! Not…

I change my mind. A lot. I’m fickle, and what I love and can’t live without one day, I might be completely over within months. Weeks even. I blame the constant bombardment of products and interior imagery in my job. So what I have learnt over the years is that for me, especially when it comes to things that are harder to change like flooring, tiles, and large pieces of furniture, that classic is best. Although I do have a constant internal battle with this too, as I don’t believe that you should always go for the sensible option. Just sometimes.

That said, the selection of beautiful muted blues and greens really were calling me and the Rose Quartz Clever Deep Velvet is absolute pink perfection. However, I decided that either Fawn or Mint (both from the Clever Velvet fabric collection), were indeed THE ONES. In fact, I even did an instagram poll back then to help me decide - on both the sofa design (between the Boho and Slim Jim) and the colour (between Fawn and Mint).

If I had listened to Instagram, I’d be writing about the Boho Sofa in Mint Clever Velvet right now. But obviously I did’t listen…

In fact I ended up discounting both fabrics, deciding they were too dark, and started my fabric selection again from scratch, much to the bemusement of my family.

I looked at the gorgeous linens (falling particularly hard for the Natural Linen and Grey Daybreak Clever Laundered Linen), and then realised that I had completely disregarded the paler grey velvets because ‘I’m not a grey person’. Am I?

I’ve always maintained that pale grey is a classic neutral, and you just can’t argue with the credentials of Loafs Clever Velvet. As soon as I realised this fact I gravitated towards Smoky Grey, and this time it really was THE ONE. It’s pale but not so pale that I panic when the cat or children go near it, and it’s just do damn pretty. And soft. So very soft and inviting.

Velvet has a good reputation for not being particularly interesting for cats to scratch, and while I’ve seen this disproven, Cleo hasn’t taken to clawing it so far, so fingers crossed that doesn’t change. It was definitely a big part of the decision to go with Velvet over Linen, though I’m actually so pleased with my fabric choice now, regardless of cat claws.

We’ve had our Slim Jim sofa in Smoky Grey Clever Velvet since early July and to say we love it is an understatement. The first thing I did after proclaiming that I definitely wasn’t going to spend the afternoon faffing around with cushions for it, after it was delivered by two very jolly gentlemen, was in fact lie on it and fall asleep instead! Oops! But that’s the thing, it’s the kind of sofa that you sink into and suddenly that thing you were going to do seems so unimportant. In a funny way, it has actually meant I’ve started taking more time to relax in the evenings because once I sit down, I just don’t want to get up. And usually don’t!

We went for the extra large size (a whopping 252cms long!) which not only fills the space but works with the proportions of the room perfectly. It’s no longer annoying if someone wants to snooze while you read at the other end, as there’s enough room for both.

This room has evolved so much over the last few years but I feel like I’ve finally nailed the laid-back luxe look that I love, with the sofa being the final piece in the puzzle. More importantly than the look of the room, it feels super inviting now, and like it’s finally where it’s supposed to be. I’m not dreading winter too much, knowing that we can all snuggle up on our new sofa and stay warm and cosy! All four of us can all sit comfortably on it, and that really is lovely.

I will admit that it did take me a little while to get used to it being a squishy sofa, rather than a structured one which I’ve always had before, but Loaf sofas aren’t supposed to look perfect at all times, these are sofas for lounging, and despite my short-lived initial fears, it fits in brilliantly with the look of the room, affording it more laid-back than up-tight vibes!

Of course, like any new thing, its arrival did cause a bit of a ripple effect that led me to taking down the monochrome gallery wall, having a huge art switch around in the whole house, and deciding that our colourful spot print would look great above it. And never one to take the easy option, I also decided that a block of acid yellow behind said spot print, would look even better. Of course I’ve had a cushion rethink too which will continue to evolve, but I do love the soft colour palette mixed with the acid yellow, ochre and lilac!

I can also attest to the ‘cleverness’ of the Clever Velvet as Baxter has been learning to skateboard and had quite a few tumbles before we enlisted knee-pads. He must have leant on the edge of the sofa one day and I didn’t see until the following day that he had left not an insignificant patch of (by then dry) blood behind. Eek! Too much information? But the point is I panicked first, then gently wiped it off with a damp sponge, and there is absolutely no trace of it. PHEW and WOW in equal measures.

I almost forgot to mention our Gumdrop footstool! I didn’t realise I’d been missing a footstool in my life until this arrived, and now I do give Ed the side-eye if he’s already using it when I walk into the room, but first come first served, right? Thankfully my decision making process was quick and easy here - I loved the design of the Gumdrop, as it’s compact and cute, with the button detail and dark charcoal being the perfect contrast against the pale and more sleek sofa, while also tying in with the monochrome pattern on the recently reupholstered chair in the bay window.

Our new sofa is very much at home, and we all love it. Even Baxter’s lack of interest in the Shack initially, changed when he saw it in the house and he called it ‘epic’ which believe me, is high praise indeed as are his running dive-bombs into it at any given opportunity.

I really can’t speak highly enough of our Loaf sofa, so check out their many styles (some new ones have just been added to their site too - I’m a bit in love with the new Smooch sofa!) when you’re in the market for a proper grown-up sofa.