Know Your Sofas: The Terrazza

I love the sofa we are examining for this installation of Know Your Sofas.

Made in 1973 for leather furniture manufacturer de Sede, the designer Ubald Klug conceived of it as a heap of sand that had been sat upon. But Klug's onetime collaborator Willi Glaeser said, "He had the idea to produce a kind of mountain. In the Alps the cows walk around leaving horizontal terraces. You see these patterns in this sofa." Hence the nickname for this sofa: "The Terrazza," or terrace...to me, they have always resembled isobars. But the manufacturer of the sofa refers to it by its product name: the DS-1025.

Interior design by Claude Missir

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler

Interior design by Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Interior design by Yves Behar

It has an irresistible 1970s glamour about it. Mick Jagger was photographed lounging on a Terrazza, conjuring up images of Studio54-esque lollying and orgying. And like most famous pieces of furniture, it has taken its turn on the silver screen. It shows up in the 1976 sci-fi film "Logan's Run" with Michael York and Jenny Agutter. (Previously featured in film and television: the Elda chair and the Ribbon chair.)

While originals sell for steep prices at auction, you can buy a new Terrazza from de Sede in a wide variety of colors.

Happy designing!