Poliform Santa Monica armchair

Feather, and what that means daily

Feather padding is the whole character of this chair. It gives immediately, takes the shape of whoever is in it, and looks lived in within a week. Foam holds a line for years; feather does not, and pretending otherwise is how people end up disappointed by an expensive chair.

In exchange you get a softness no foam reproduces, and a chair that invites sitting sideways with your legs over the arm. For a reading corner or a bedroom, that is exactly right. For a formal living room that must look untouched, it is not.

The tailoring is visible: seams and finishes borrowed from clothing rather than from upholstery, which is what keeps a soft chair from looking shapeless. Cord is among the materials in this family, and on the outdoor adjacent versions it does most of the work.

Santa Monica Lounge, from 2012, is the high backed version with a pouf drawn to match. Together they make something close to a chaise while still reading as a chair, which suits a corner where a real chaise would be too much furniture.

Feather gives at once and never quite forgets. That is the point, and the warning.