Marshmallow Sofa

Another fabled design of George Nelson, one of the fathers of Modern era furniture, the idea for this sofa arose when an inventor brought Nelson a cheap plastic disc which he insisted could be used as a seat. Nelson and an apprentice stuck 18 discs on a steel frame and the basic Marshmallow Sofa was born, going into production in 1956. Today’s product faithfully replicates that 18 disc design, mounted on a painted steel frame, with stainless steel legs finishing off the sofa. Upholstered in leather, the round seat and backrests, reminiscent of soft puffy marshmallows provide a surprising degree of comfort. It hardly needs to be said that this sofa is a visual delight and is likely to be the first thing anybody looks at when entering the room.  The choice of black or white upholstery makes it an easy addition to a minimalist themed area. Make the Marshmallow Sofa even more striking by adding colored upholstery for the cushions in lines, patterns or in a random dispersion. Originally designed in 1956 by George Nelson and Irving Harper, the Marshmallow Sofa is a landmark of modern design. Featuring a whimsical design of “floating” cushions, the Marshmallow sofa is not only astonishing in its appearance, but also surprisingly comfortable. This high quality reproduction of the Marshmallow Sofa , originally designed by George Nelson, is a very fun and technical mid-century design.

This item is not made by Herman Miller nor we have any affiliation with Herman Miller

For those modern furniture mavens who want a bit of whimsy in their homes, the George Nelson marshmallow sofa fills the bill.  Similar to dots arranged on a grid, the sofa is composed of a series of cushions so cleverly attached to a frame of extruded steel it looks as though they’re free to move about.  Eighteen round cushions are carefully arranged to accommodate bum and back.  They’re also quite comfortable. George Nelson created a piece of furniture that has a way about it that makes one smile and even begin to contemplate other arrangements for those eighteen cushions.  In fact, the cushions come in different colors to stimulate the imagination to use colors in various configurations.  Because the cushions are detachable (for easy cleaning or replacement), new arrangements with more possibilities are encouraged.  How intriguing that the Nelson marshmallow sofa gives owners an opportunity to play with his version of “Connect the Dots”.  Kudos to George Nelson for giving adults a piece of furniture to play with. If an owner wants to spark a family room setting, the cushions come in a variety of colors, allowing the option to use them all on one piece.  Depending on the mood desired, a more sedate one-color scheme may be selected for the marshmallow sofa, perhaps to be placed in a study.  Made of leather, the cushions will stand up to years of constant use.  Guaranteed to be one of those outstanding pieces in its setting, visitors will be drawn to try out this prime example of the sixties’ pop culture motif.  The furniture company for whom Nelson designed the marshmallow sofa sold a bank of them to an airport to show off their complete line of colors (and how resilient they are), while at the same time, their colorful design provided a welcome relief to the otherwise plain surroundings.  What a great marketing idea! The Nelson marshmallow sofa was one of many programs offered by the furniture company where he served as Director of Design for many years.  Originally studying to become an architect Nelson found his way to this position by gaining the company’s notice with an innovative idea for an in-wall storage design.  As Director of Design in 1945, he was responsible for managing the designers who worked for the company and saw to it that designs were produced to meet the standard he’d set.  As a result, the company led the industry with designs still popular today, available to the public, and made with the same careful attention to quality and detail.  The George Nelson marshmallow sofa continues to play a starring role.