Dezeen Magazine

Sundae Lounges by Jason Ju for the chubby furniture roundup

Ten plump furniture designs including chubby chairs and bloated benches

Furniture designers are ditching the skinny look for plump forms that appear to have been pumped full of air. In our latest roundup, we look at 10 designs that represent the chubby trend.

Bloated curves, chubby upholstery and stout legs feature in a trend first identified by Dezeen columnist Michelle Ogundehin in her predictions for 2020.

"In perhaps a seemingly counter-intuitive twist to all this streamlining and sustainability, furniture is getting decidedly chubbier," wrote Ogundehin, listing plus-size products as one of her trends for the year.

"But then curvy, rounded and plump designs are the literal expression of comfort; when we seek solace, it is not to a stiff-backed chair that we intuitively turn."

This plumping-up of domestic furniture could be down to the need to feel cocooned, Ogundehin wrote. "In times of strife, we need to be able to sink deeply into our sofas and feel them cosset and surround us," she said, pointing to the rise of home offices as an accelerator of the trend.

"Even the resolutely trim'n'taut high-end Italian brands like Minotti have taken a punt on the fat side," she added.


Domna by Faina for the chubby furniture roundup

Domna by Faina

Two cushioned elements join together to form Domna, a chair designed by Ukrainian design brand Faina to echo the form of ancient divine feminine figurines.

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Orsetto 02 Coffee Table by Martin Masse for Sudio Twentyseven

Orsetto 02 by Martin Massé for Studio Twenty Seven

New York gallery Studio Twenty Seven commissioned Martin Massé to make Orsetto 02, a  coffee table with the cutesy style of an overstuffed teddy bear, despite being carved out of unyielding stone.

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Sumo by Maisondada for chubby furniture roundup

Sumo by Maisondada

Chinese furniture brand Maisondada's Sumo chair is a stout armchair with a wrinkled backrest that is named after Japan's famously bulky professional wrestlers.

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Pig of the Sea by Misha Kahn for chubby furniture roundup

Pig of the Sea by Misha Kahn

American designer Misha Kahn's Pig of the Sea is an oversized sofa made from amorphous shapes covered in brightly coloured cashmere.

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Panda Chaise for the chubby furniture roundup

Panda by Monica Förster for Modus 

Swedish designer Monica Förster created the Panda range for British furniture brand Modus, including this rotund chaise.

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Femna sofa by TAF

Famna by TAF for Svenskt Tenn

Swedish retailer Svenskt Tenn commissioned Stockholm-based design studio TAF to create Famna, a plump, low sofa inspired by an old-fashioned roll top bath.

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Ten young designers to watch from Collectible 2020

 Set No. 6 by Müsing-Sellés

New York studio Müsing-Sellés created this bench to look like a digital render, using white stone to create the chubby seat that's divided by an angled pane of glass.

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Studio Sain Bulbous lighting

Bulbous by Studio Sain

Austrian design duo Studio Sain worked with a traditional woodturner to create Bulbous, an aptly-named collection of wooden light fixtures that reference a Paleolithic sculpture known as the Venus of Willendorf.

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Sundae Lounges by Jason Ju for the chubby furniture roundup

Sundae Lounges by Jason Ju 

Sydney-based industrial designer Jason Ju created the Sundae Lounges seating range of pudgy chairs and sofas that are designed to be welcoming.


Andrés Reisinger turns Insta-famous CGI render into real chair

Hortensia by Andrés Reisinger

Hortensia began life as a 3D render, but when the picture of the cloud-like chair went viral, Argentinian designer Andrés Reisinger used 20,000 fabric petals to make it a reality.

Find out more about Hortensia ›