Sarah Ellison + Pantone Team Up To Create The 70s-Inspired Sofa Of Our Dreams

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Everything designer Sarah Ellison puts her name to immediately ends up on our wish-lists. Her eponymous furniture brand has been behind some of the Internet’s most coveted pieces, including the cult-famous Huggy chairs and striped timber side tables.

But her latest project is something pretty special. With the help of the iconic Pantone Color Institute, Sarah has created a custom branded colour for her new, 70s-inspired FLOAT sofa: a rich, coffee-brown dubbed Piccolo!

We have a feeling we’re going to be seeing a lot of the velvet sofa and its Pantone-approved hue in the months to come.

15th September, 2022

Australian designer Sarah Ellison and her brand’s custom Pantone colour, SARAH ELLISON. Piccolo! Photo – Dave Wheeler

The luxe FLOAT sofa is a re-imagining of the conversation pits popular in the 1970s, covered in a velvet fabric. Photo – Dave Wheeler

It’s the first design to showcase the exclusive SARAH ELLISON. Piccolo tone. Photo – Dave Wheeler

‘This particular shade of brown came through much discussion and collaboration with the team at Pantone to find a tone that signified the essence of human connection,’ Sarah says. Photo – Dave Wheeler

‘From over 50 different shades of brown at the start of the project, we were able to find the right balance within this shade of warm and cool tones that suited the FLOAT design perfectly,’ Sarah explains. Photo – Dave Wheeler

‘We are seeing more people embracing the style of furniture that enables an ease of storytelling. The embrace of a bulbous, low-slung, textural centrepiece such as the FLOAT sofa offers a level of comfort and simplifies the human connection that has been lacking in recent years,’ Sarah adds. Photo – Dave Wheeler

The partnership is also the first of its kind within the realm of home design for Pantone! Photo – Dave Wheeler

Christina Karras

Thursday 15th September 2022

Sarah Ellison’s latest creation is the sort of couch destined to end up on the covers of magazines. The glamorous FLOAT sofa, with its modular design, is an extension of Sarah’s vintage-inspired aesthetic, where retro silhouettes are re-imagined for contemporary homes.

It’s what we’ve come to know and love from the Byron Bay stylist turned product designer, with a landmark twist.

Sarah has collaborated with the Pantone Color Institute to create a custom brand colour for the new design – becoming the first designer within the home category to partner with the global colour authority.

‘Pantone had always been a staple within my career and all through my design work,’ she explains. ‘After noticing their recent collaborations in the fashion space with brands like Valentino, we felt it was an exciting prospect to work on a signature colour and approached the Pantone Color Institute to determine what that might look like.’

In line with Sarah’s signature minimalism and eternal love of neutrals, her vision was to bring a colour from the outdoors into the home ‘in a playful way’. From a list of over 50 different shades of brown at the start of the project, the teams landed on a rich, luxurious brown hue with the perfect blend of warm and cool tones, appropriately dubbed Piccolo!

‘The FLOAT design is also reminiscent of the 1970’s conversation pits popular in that time, and brown was such a force within interiors during that era, so both these elements played a part,’ she adds.

Upholstering the new sofa in a velvet fabric showcasing the SARAH ELLISON. Piccolo hue brings a sense of warmth to the deep-seated lounge, which Sarah hopes is a show-stopping centrepiece offering both comfort and connection.

Shop Sarah Ellison’s FLOAT sofa now here.