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Notes from the design workshop: Everyday Sofa

Here at Eva, we believe your home should be a space where everything is simple. That’s why we design furniture that has everything you need and nothing you don’t. 

The Everyday Sofa is the Lego of furniture. Easy to configure, easy to maintain, easy to take apart and start all over again. The secret: it was designed with modularity in mind.

At the very beginning of the design process, Tom (our Head of Design) and Lou (our Product Developer) each designed their own ideal modular sofa - separately. With two completely different ideas, they brought together all the best bits — the comfort and soft squishiness of one, with the high arm component and aesthetic of the other. The result? The perfect modular sofa.

“We essentially mashed our two ideas together. Merging parts of the two sofas together, it became more and more refined as we went on. It worked out in the end.” - Tom, Head of Design

From there, the design team set off producing the modular sofa that dreams are made of. And here in the heart of Brunswick, the idea for Everyday Sofa was born.

Hand drawn pencil sketch of the design for the Everyday Sofa
Sketch of the Everyday Sofa

Cleverly modular

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s quickly explain what modularity is. Modularity means something is made up of smaller parts (modules) that can be swapped, changed, taken away from and/or added to the whole. Modular (sometimes referred to as ‘sectional’) sofas are typically fully upholstered and integrate the cushioning of the back and seat into the modules, rather than having separate cushions for each seat.  

Our design team loved this idea, because it means your sofa is self-contained and works for you. Tired of having to readjust your cushions every time you sit down? Covered. Want to add a chaise component so you can stretch your legs? Check. Having a feng shui moment and want to move the sofa to another corner of the room? You can swap the L-shape so it fits the right way. Simple. 

“If you’re getting bored of one configuration, you can flip it” - Lou, Product Developer

For the majority of modular sofas on the market, there is a left and right option for the L-shape or chaise components. The design team wanted to make a sofa that can do both. Designing every component to be interchangeable between left and right was the biggest challenge according to our Head of Design, Tom - particularly when it came to the arm components. The solution was to design the wide arm components to be symmetrical, allowing them to fit on either side of the sofa.

Dog resting on arm component of the Everyday Sofa in Oat.

“We wanted it to fit seamlessly into people’s lives” - Lou, Product Developer

Durable

Next, the design team focused on the materials of the Everyday Sofa and their durability. Buying furniture can be fun, but free time is precious. We want your sofa to last, so you spend less time worrying about muddy paws or messy kids and more time catching up on your favourite show. 

Close up of a woman's hand feeling the fabric of the Everyday Sofa in Moss green

 The Everyday Sofa in Moss green.

The soft fabric used to upholster the Everyday is tested for durability using the Martindale test (also known as the rub test). This test consists of worsted wool or wire mesh continually rubbing against the Everyday Sofa fabric in a circular motion.

The fabric is inspected for wear and tear throughout the process, and the test ends when two yarns break or when there is a noticeable change in appearance. Test results are given as a score of 1000s of rubs and the higher the number is, the more durable the fabric is.

The fabric used on the Everyday Sofa fabric scores 94,000 on the Martindale test. To put this into perspective, a score over 30,000 is considered ‘heavy duty’ fabric, while decorative furniture scores around 10,000 or under. 

The frame of the sofa is sustainably sourced timber. It is built from a combination of strong hardwood and lightweight plywood that will last for years. It’s both incredibly sturdy but also light enough to move for when you decide to switch configurations.

Martindale rub test in use testing durability of fabric

The Martindale Test in action
Photo credit : Norrway Design via https://blog.norrway.com/

Comfortable 

A sofa that isn’t comfortable is like Christmas without the pavlova - just plain wrong. So with the foundations of the sofa figured out, we took those extra lengths to ensure the Everyday Sofa creates the comfiest corner of the room.  

Our design team sampled different foams with our suppliers until they found the perfect answer: multilayer foam that covers the full sofa, so you don’t feel any hard edges. It’s finished with a quilted duvet top, so you get the support where you need it and softness everywhere else - just like the perfect mattress.

The deep seats are dedicated to taking lounging to the next level. The wide armrests make ample space for everything from cups of tea to fur babies; because this is for your living room, not an aeroplane. The arm components can even become an extra seat - for those spontaneous gatherings that inevitably snowball into a party.

In a constant effort to reduce waste, we also try to minimise the leftover fabric from our sofas. The solution: producing scatter cushions with the offcuts. These cushions come complimentary with every sofa, so your back has that extra support and the planet does too.  

Prototype of sofa module without upholstery, showing full foam coverage

From the development stage, this photo was taken in our Melbourne workshop, showing the full coverage, multilayer foam interior of the Everyday Sofa.

Easy

As we mentioned, making things simple is pretty important to us, so we make sure all of our furniture can be put together without fiddly tools or complicated instructions you need a degree to understand. The Everyday Sofa is no exception. The simple two-step, no tool assembly was something the design team turned their attention to next; designing the sofa with straightforward connectors and clever brackets to ensure your assembly experience is easy.

The sofa arrives with the covers on, so it’s ready to go immediately. They velcro just like your favourite childhood sneakers. Plus, you can machine wash them, so kids’ sneakers are nothing to worry about.

“It’s not fussy, and I like that.” - Lou, Product Developer

 Close up of the Everyday Sofa connector at the base of the module

The Everyday Sofa connectors make it easy to slide your modules together and build your sofa simply. We gave ourselves a pat on the back for this one.

Good-looking

There’s more to life than being really, really good-looking… but we understand that it's important when it comes to your living room. The Everyday Sofa is designed to look both refined and inviting, complementing any living room style. It also comes in your choice of three colours: moss green, smoke grey and oatmeal.

A sofa made for every day 

The Everyday Sofa is the sofa you never thought you could have; because of messy kids, hefty designer price tags or just not finding the sofa that works around you. It’s got those problems handled, so now you can just sit back and relax on those dreamy deep seats. Try it for 100 days risk-free to see if you enjoy it as much as we do.

Questions? Please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer support team at hello@eva.com.au or (03) 6361 4382