Know Your Sofas: The Tuxedo Sofa

Originating in the Art Deco1920s and named for Tuxedo Park, a village in New York (where the likes of William Waldorf Astor, J.P. Morgan, and Dorothy Draper, previously here, partied!), the Tuxedo sofa is sharp and tailored; not only is the sofa named for the town but also the formal menswear suiting got its name here as well! A hallmark of the sofa is that the arms are the same height as the back. A true Tuxedo is tufted, as shown below. But what is the difference between a Tuxedo sofa and a Chesterfield sofa, previously covered here in Know Your Sofas? The Tuxedo is sleeker, with track arms whereas the Chesterfield is plumply overstuffed with rolled arms. Overall, the Tuxedo feels more delicate and the Chesterfield feels burly.

The pair of sofas below, the Powell and the Laguna models from Burton James, offer a classic Tuxedo silhouette. The Powell is presented with a bench seat that feels a little mid-century, but the Laguna is shown with two cushions, small nickel nailheads, and acrylic legs lending it a more Deco air.

Powell Tuxedo sofa from Burton James

Laguna Tuxedo sofa from Burton James

Bernhardt's Beckett sofa features traditional diamond tufting on the back and arms.

Beckett Tuxedo sofa by Bernhardt

Beckett Tuxedo sofa by Bernhardt

The extra width of the three-cushion Matteo sofa from Century is welcoming...they also make a four-cushion for additional seating!

Matteo Tuxedo sofa from Century

Matteo Tuxedo sofa from Century

Lexington's Camille sofa has a double row of nailheads...

Camille Tuxedo sofa by Lexington

Camille Tuxedo sofa by Lexington

...while the Byatt from Theodore Alexander has a row of nailheads inside the seating area which defines the tufting, making the design even more crisp and tailored.

Byatt Tuxedo sofa from Theodore Alexander

Happy designing!

Know Your Sofas: Tufted

Upholstery is a huge and varied topic, but for this installment of Know Your Sofas, let's look at an upholstery detail that can define a sofa: tufting.

Simply, tufting is passing a thread through a base, like a cushion, to make a depression. When done with thread only, this is often referred to as blind tufting. But the practice of adding a button to the depression is--you guessed it--button tufting.

Because it is without any ornamentation, blind tufting lends a more contemporary, sleek sense to furniture, especially if it is done in a grid pattern, like this sofa below.

But buttons can be unobtrusive and blend in with a mid-century modern look as well...

...this button tufted single row, below, unmistakably references mid-century modern.

On the other hand, a diamond tufted pattern really feels a lot more luxurious and traditional. It can look great on a camel back sofa...

...or on a classic Chesterfield!

Then there is another type of tufting that is executed in a row called channel tufting. This detail can speak to a few different time periods like Art Deco...

Pavel Vozmischev/Getty Images

...or the 70s!

Happy designing!

What Is Button Tufting?

There are some funny terms in interior design, and I believe the term "tufting" falls into that category. The word can produce a quizzical look on faces, but the concept is quite simple. Tufting refers to depressions at regular intervals on a piece of fabric or leather (such as a cushion or on a piece of upholstered furniture) by passing a thread through it. This can be left as thread, but most often this technique is seen as button tufting. The most famous example of this is on the classic Chesterfield sofa, previously featured here.

The iconic Chesterfield sofa features button tufting arranged in a diamond pattern which imbues it with a very sophisticated and traditional look. But if a button tufted sofa is arranged not in a diamond pattern but in a linear pattern, the effect is quite different. As you can see by the example below, what we end up with is a more contemporary feeling along the lines of a Mid-Century Modern piece of furniture.

Tufting can be also be used on headboards to add further softness and luxury to a bedroom...

...or on benches...

...or on chairs...

...and of course, on pillows and cushions!

Happy designing!