Small sofalogy

The sofa: There is probably at least one of these in every household. It is usually in the living room. But it can also be found in the study or guest room. At the end of the day, at the weekend or when we are sick, we spend a lot of time on the sofa. There are sofas for indoors and outdoors, there are compact sofas for two and XXL sofas for the whole family. And even sofas for pets are available. The sofa accompanies us through our lives and our everyday life. It is the communicative centre in the private home and also in talk shows. That is reason enough to pay a little more attention to this special piece of furniture.

Most of us call the upholstered furniture on which we all like to settle down after work a "sofa" or "couch". But few of us know where these terms come from. The term sofa comes from Arabic and means something like "upholstered resting bench". The predecessors of our cosy upholstered furniture, some of which nowadays even have a spring core, were far less comfortable. For the first "sofas" were wide loungers on which blankets or rugs were laid. The term "sofa" has only existed in the German-speaking world since the 17th century. Other terms are couch or divan. The term "divan" comes from Persian and means, strictly translated, "court, registry, office". This is because divan was originally the name for seating furniture that stood in oriental offices. (LINK to History of the Sofa)

Sofa and couch are of such central importance that sayings and idioms have developed around them. One of the best known is certainly "It's like Hempel's under the sofa". What is meant by this is that it is messy, dirty and untidy. Surely everyone has asked themselves who this Hempel family is. However, it seems that there never was a family of such a name. Rather, "grober Hempel" was already a synonym for an uncultured, simple-minded person in the 15th century.

Another well-known bon mot is the term "couch potato". The term originates from the US, but has now also become established in German usage. The term refers to a person who spends a lot of time on the couch, watching television and eating large quantities of fast food. Couch potatoes are considered to be poorly educated, unkempt and overweight. Among the most famous couch potatoes are Al Bundy and Homer Simpson.

The great importance of this upholstered piece of furniture is also shown by the fact that it plays a central role in numerous paintings and books. Toulouse-Lautrec`s painting "The Sofa" is only one of numerous portraits in which a soda can be seen. Literary figures were also inspired by the piece of furniture. Christine Brückner, for example, called her book, in which she gives a kind of account of her life so far, "My Black Sofa". The French author Crébillon the Younger, who was sponsored by Madame Pompadour, also wrote a book that is called "Das Sofa" in German.

At home, the sofa is usually found in the living room as the central piece of furniture. There are probably only a few private flats or houses that do not have at least one sofa in the living room. In addition, it is often used in the combined study and guest room. Modern sofas can often be transformed into cosy beds. And in teenagers' rooms, too, the sofa often replaces the bed: the piece of furniture can be used as a chill-out zone during the day and as a place to sleep at night.

So at home, the sofa is often a place reserved for family and friends. But sofas are often not far away in public spaces either: large companies like to design their lobbies with sofas and matching armchairs. Waiting areas and lounges in companies and schools are sometimes furnished with sofas. And they can also be found in some doctors' surgeries. In addition, the sofa is the star of many television programmes: Among the best known are certainly the "Red Sofa" of the NDR programme Das Abendstudio! and the guest sofa on "Wetten dass? One thing that all sofas have in common, no matter what environment they are in, is that they are used as a place for communication: At home, the sofa is the place to sit down with just family or close friends. In the company, employees can settle down on sofas during their break, relax and exchange ideas. Those who go to the therapist's couch also do so to communicate. And the sofa in TV programmes is the place where the presenter gets into conversation with his guests.

You can be at home and on the road at the same time with Couchsurfing: people all over the world who have a couch - or another place to sleep - to give away for a short time register on the internet platform for which a fee is charged. Members offer each other free overnight accommodation. It is absolutely forbidden to demand or pay money for the overnight stay. If the hosts offer their couchsurfers additional services, such as food or laundry, costs may be charged for this.

In recent years, the "living room in the grounds" trend has become increasingly popular. To make outdoor areas, whether balconies or terraces, homely, they are furnished (almost) like indoor living rooms. This also includes visually appealing and comfortable seating furniture. In addition to the classic garden table groups, outdoor sofas that are cosy and weather-resistant can therefore be found in more and more gardens and on balconies. (LINK to separate article)

Modern sofas have little in common with the original sofas, namely the loungers with blankets or rugs on them. Arguably, all modern sofas are more comfortable than the first seating that bore this name. However, sofas vary widely in quality, so there is something to suit every budget and every level of seating comfort.

Starter sofas are ideal for young people furnishing their first home. They are comfortably upholstered and usually inspire with a stylish design. If you place more value on seating comfort, choose a sofa with wave under-springing or innerspring. Sofas with adjustment functions are even more comfortable. Here, the armrests and headrests can be adjusted. In some cases, the entire seat unit can even be adjusted to the reclining position.

Other sofas are a bed and seating furniture in one. With different mechanisms, these sofas can be quickly transformed from a piece of seating furniture into a bed. In many cases, this combination upholstered furniture is also equipped with a bed base. During the day, bedding can be stored here so that it is not obvious that the sofa is used as a bed during the night.

The comfort of our own sofa is no longer reserved for us two-legged friends. There are now also special sofas for dogs and cats. These are specially tailored to the needs of the four-legged friends. Therefore, pet sofas are available in different sizes, heights and shapes. The covers are selected so that they can be easily cleaned. This is the only way to remove animal hair and dirt. Too much luxury for the four-legged friends? That may be. But a stylish pet sofa certainly looks more chic than a dog or cat basket. Because they fit seamlessly into the furnishing concept at home.

Most people choose their sofa based on criteria such as budget, comfort and design. But there is another way: hobbyists from Australia built a racing sofa that can reach top speeds of more than 200 kilometres per hour. This couch has thus secured itself a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

The sofa is certainly one of the larger purchases when it comes to furnishing the home. Many of us are happy to pay a large sum for comfort and design. But certainly not quite as much as the world's most expensive sofa: this one was designed by architect Ron Arad and cost the equivalent of 231,000 euros. And it's probably not very cosy either: it's made of stainless steel.

Anyone who has ever carried a sofa during a move knows: sofas are unwieldy and heavy. But certainly not as big or heavy as the following record holders: the presumably heaviest sofa in the world is made of Lego bricks and weighs 1.4 tonnes. The world's longest sofa, at 51.4 metres, seats 104 guests. This makes it the ideal piece of furniture for anyone with a real large family.