Pallas Kalamotusis’ London flat
Michael Sinclair
Ask an interior designer their ideas on L-shaped couches and the reaction (a minimum of according to Pallas Kalamotusis of Studio Krokalia) may be precisely what you anticipate: “every customer'&#x 27; s dream and every interior designer'&#x 27; s headache”'. What &#x 27; s the factor behind this dichotomy? Well, as comfy as they may be for relaxing, using adequate area to curl into them and extend, they are just not as appealing as a classical couch. L-shaped couches put on'&#x 27; t have the variety of alternatives design-wise that a regular couch does and they tend to be big and rather ‘blocky’. However, as Pallas states, “interior decoration is not just about appeal, it needs to have to do with convenience likewise.”
She'&#x 27; s right– and it &#x 27; s a declaration echoed by the majority of the names on our Leading 100, including our Interior Designer of the Year at your house & & Garden Awards 2025, Rachel Chudley, who is securely of the mind that there is no point developing an area that you put on'&#x 27; t seem like you can put your feet up in. The amusing feature of Pallas &#x 27; declaration about L-shaped couches being an interior designer'&#x 27; s headache is that she has one in her own home. “I believe the important things to keep in mind is that the much shorter part of the couch which stands out must constantly have a much shorter back, so you get a sort of setting down area at the end” she states of how to make them work, continuing, “in this manner if your couch is extending into your space (as it does right in the middle of my square illustration space) then you can utilize it from all sides. In my case, it deals with the dining location, it serves as a ‘play location’ for my young child, whilst naturally belonging to the sitting space location. Without this information I would have struggled to unite 3 extremely various zones in one big square space. So as I stated, there is constantly a time and location for it, if you are smart about it …””
The L-shaped couch in Sarah Peake’s flat
Pallas is not the only interior designer who has one, and Sarah Peake of Studio Peake admits that she likes one in the ideal area. “The corner seat is my outright preferred area, cocooned within the cushions and my feet up. I had a fantastic one from Camerich in my old flat which I enjoyed. I invested a great deal of nights on it in 2020,” she includes. Nevertheless, when it comes to when they work, Sarah does recommend that “Getting the design and scale right is essential, they do not operate in all spaces. Counter intuitively, in my small flat it paid to choose something large, it deceived the eye into believing the space was bigger than it was. And the low back assisted offer the area a sensation of height.” So in a bigger space, or one that doesn'&#x 27; t requirement as much zoning as' Pallas &#x 27; open area flat, they put on'&#x 27; t work rather along with a regular couch would.
For interior designer Elizabeth Hay, who has actually utilized L-shaped couches in more than one task, they tend to work finest “in less official locations such as television spaces or playrooms.” Obviously, in these circumstances the concept is that everybody is dealing with the very same method, towards a tv therefore she includes that “a location I would not utilize one remains in an official illustration space or in a location which is exclusively utilized for hanging out as they do not produce the most social of seating plans when seated on them.” Furthermore, and maybe connected to their very nature as something utilized for convenience, they do not tend to have an official feel to them where something more fine-tuned, with more style alternatives and some curve to it would.
An Elizabeth Hay task with an L-shaped couch in a hectic print
When it comes to design, Elizabeth states “I usually like to utilize a pattern on an L-shaped couch so that it separates the plus size of the piece and feels less “bumpy”,” whereas both Sarah and Pallas chose a tidy neutral on theirs. In a clock home task by Salvesen Graham, the style duo went vibrant with a patterned L-shaped couch in the snug on a fuschia background, which ends up being the whole centerpiece of the space. It makes ideal sense in a space whose sole function is convenience and lounging. Whatever material you pick, it ends up there is a time and a location for L-shaped couches in interior designers' &#x 27; minds however it pays to be cautious about where you put it and how you utilize it and keep in mind, similar to a lot of things, they just put on'&#x 27; t fit every space.
