Decorating a downtown San Diego condo can definitely be a challenge. Space is minimal in many condos so efficiency counts. Buildings like Metrome, Alta, Atria, Sapphire, Gaslamp City Square, M2i and Union Square among others have downtown San Diego studio units.
Once you have purchased or rented a downtown San Diego condo, how do you make it liveable? How do you sit down? Where do you place your furniture? Generally condo owners start with the "sitting" pieces and the key piece is usually a sofa, couch, or whatever else it may be called. Who would have ever guessed there are a minimum of 9 different sofas you can decorate your condo with in a large or small space.
Love Seat or Courting Chair
At first you might think the love seat was designed for two people to sit close together for romantic reasons. Sounds good but the original love seats designed in the 1700's and 1800's were more designed to hold the wide skirts and hoops women wore. Once the dresses decreased in size, the romantic inclinations took over and love seat took on a new meaning.
Sofa
Prior to the creation of the sofa around 1680, people sat on straight backed chairs. The first sofas set off a design revolution because they were padded and had cushions. Of course the French embraced the comfort of the sofa. Today a sofa is basically a piece of furniture with 2 or more cushion seats.
Sectional Sofa
Where did the sectional sofa come from? Some designers will say the sectional sofa is relatively new, but there are others who claim the first sectional sofas were created in Virginia around the 1820's. Since I am not a furniture historian, I have no clue. What I do know is that the sectional sofa works in areas that need a little creativity. Some sectionals work in space challenged rooms, while other sectionals make an over-sized room look a little more manageable. Since most Downtown San Diego condos tend to be on the smaller size, a true sectional may be a little tougher to place.
Divan
A divan is primarily a couch-like sitting furniture originally from the middle east. In fact, the divan may have originated in the Ottoman Empire of Turkey. Originally the divan was a long seat formed of a mattress laid against the side of a room, upon a raised frame or on the floor and included cushions to lean on for comfort. Boudoirs in the United Kingdom were in style during the middle 1800's and most bedrooms had a divan. It was the thing to do and to have.
Fainting Couch
Fainting couches apparently were for women who either fainted from the corsets they had to wear, or for women who needed to be massaged and wanted privacy during their female hysteria massages. Who could have guessed just from looking at this couch that it was for getting a massage in your pelvic area. Kind of creepy to tell you the truth. Some homes had fainting rooms,
Canape Couch
The canape couch is a unique piece of French furniture that doesn't look too comfortable to me. The canape couch was similiar to a couch but was a more elegant sofa. Typically the canape couch was made out of precious hoardwoods such as walnut, cherry and mahogany and had carved wooden legs and backrests and upholstered seats, armrests and back that would seat 3 people. Another style created by the French in the 18th century, the canape couch became popular in the 19th century for the Americas. Unless you have a really formal condo, you might skip this style for your unit. It doesn't look too comfortable.
Daybed
The daybed is one of the oldest sofa styles dating back to ancient egyptian, greek and roman civilizations. Sigmund Freud used a day bed for his patients while they received therapy. The daybed is a practical item, especially in a small space. The daybed can be used as a sofa during waking hours and then converted into a bed if necessary in the evening or sleeping hours. This modern looking daybed would be a perfect piece of decor in a studio downtown San Diego condo.
Chesterfield Couch
Folklore has that the 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773) ordered the creation of the leather chesterfield couch with the distinctive use of deep buttoned, quilted leather upholstery and a low seat base. According to legend, the Earl requested a couch that would allow a trendsetter such as the Earl to sit comfortably upright without wrinkling his garments. As you can see, the chesterfield appears as a masculine styled couch with rolled arms, and equal back and arm heights. If you have a luxury condo with a lot of room, then the chesterfield my appeal to you. Otherwise the chesterfield is too heavy looking for most condo owners.
Futon
Futons are a much more casual style of couches. Futons were and are popular in Japan. They are very casual padded mattresses and quilts that can be folded up during the day to create room in small spaces. Futons in the United States have developed into more than folding bedding. Most people who own a futon do not roll it up during the day. In fact, may futons are created with a metal frame. The beauty of the futon is not only its functionality, but it's lightness in weight, and its generally lower price than the traditional sofa.
Decorating a downtown San Diego condo can be a tricky proposition because of space constraints. Luxury penthouse condos may have the heavier Chesterfield-styled furniture, but the majority of decor we have seen falls between the simple sofa and futon.
Who could have guessed there was such history and such distinctions between sofas. Fortunately most downtown San Diego residents will worry more about how a couch will fit into a small efficient space than the history of said couch.
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