There is an old line of thought that suggests if something is right the first time it’s not a wise idea to go and change it all around or do something new. There is certainly a solid logic in that and when we look at the Chesterfield sofa and the many designs it has had over the years, still staying true to the original, then it proves the point. You can see for yourself if you look at the Vintage Style Sofa range that vintagesofawarehouse has. Where does this design classic come from?
As with any good story, the origins of the sofas style are clouded by the mists of time. What is generally accepted is that Lord Phillip Stanhope, The 4th Earl of Chesterfield owned something like one. The story, and it may well be just a story, goes that as the Lord lay dying he was naturally visited by friends and relatives keen to pay their last respects. When it came to the Earls godson, Solomon Dayrolles ( yes, that was his name) the weakening Earl called for him to have a chair. The servant, acting on orders and taking this literally, gave Dayrolles a fine high backed leather chair with buttons.
It’s not thought that the Earl came up with the design, it was very similar to French designs at the time. The look was of a welcoming comfy chair that reached around you, almost like a hug. Also it’s thought that the chair Dayrolles had to take home with him was bound in velvet and not leather. This came later with the Victorians.