WAS THE NEWSLETTER #92

I’m Paige Wassel. WAS the Newsletter is your weekly dose of design inspiration, where patterns are my everything. 

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (PRINT)

For the past umm 3-4 years, the “it” sofa was a white boucle cloud. Fine, yeah, that style made for a nice neutral palette, but no one could accuse it of being interesting. Instead, that blank space (baby) was a magnet for red wine, Cheeto dust, and BOREDOM.

Spoiler alert: your couch shouldn’t make you anxious to sit on it.

You all know I love a good pattern. Couches in plaids, florals, and stripes. I’m in. In fact, AD just did a feature on how the patterned sofa is now the life of the party. It’s about damn time.

Here’s the thing about patterns—they aren’t just decor. They’re a whole personality. When I run across a couch in an aggressive check or a grandma floral, it says to me, “Someone interesting lives here.. and they are down to clown.” I love a piece of décor that looks like it has opinions.

Designers are also leaning into the boldness of it all. CB2 is doing stripes. Lulu and Georgia is flirting with cranes and checks. Vintage dealers are serving up ‘70s florals and velvets like it’s Studio 54 all over again. Out in the wild, I’m seeing ikat, toile, and bananas-on-botanicals, and I’m here for all of it.

What I love is that these couches aren’t just louder, they’re smarter because they consider that people actually live in their homes. What a concept, right? Pattern hides the evidence like a great friend who has your back. I’m talking about concealing coffee spills, doggy detritus (RIP, Goo), and nights when you mayyyyyybe shouldn’t have had that last glass of vino.

The inspo photos here prove this point: the plaid sofa that looks as sharp as a tailored blazer. The floral sectional that feels like lounging in an overgrown garden (where is Laura Ashley nowadays?). The striped number is basically summer in furniture form.

You want to transform a room with minimal effort? This is how you do it. Get your ass to the re-upholsterer.

IDK if you’re ready to ditch the beige and let your living room breathe again, but if you’re game, I suggest you start with a patterned sofa. It doesn’t need to be precious. It just needs to be fun.

Remember, the best rooms aren’t the ones that look like everyone else’s. Instead, they look like they’re uniquely yours… which makes them the ones you never want to leave.

DO / DON’T by Basma Alromaih

xx,
P