It first emerged as a sign on faces in airports, at hospitals, on the streets that this virus was not to be taken lightly. In the space of a year, the mask sold out; set off scientific debates; became a shield; got sucked into politics; saved small businesses; staved off awkward social encounters and some (but not all) forms of harassment.
This article is part of our latest
, which is about expanding the possibilities of your home.
It’s the furniture equivalent of sweatpants. After a year in which many people hung up their office attire and evening wear in favor of all-day pajamas, a design trend that has been bubbling up for years became fully inflated: the embrace of bulbous, low-slung, super-squishy furniture that offers all-out comfort.
Sofas and chairs that evoke plush 1970s lounges, like Cassina’s Soriana collection and B&B Italia’s Camaleonda modular sofa, are suddenly hot commodities. At the same time, contemporary designers are experimenting with oversize proportions and sink-in plushiness to a level that would have seemed profane to devoted modernists just a few years ago.