Micro Trend for Sofas: Toppers

Cozy for the cooler months ahead, toppers are both practical and pretty.

I’ve been spotting these Princess and the Pea (it’s all I think of when I see them) toppers on sofas more and more. Particularly on all-white linen sofas and always on solid colors - never on patterned ones. Zara has toppers now too and we all know that once an international chain is on board with a new object, you can suspect this could trend.

I remember first seeing stacked Princess and the Pea seating at Caravane in Paris about a decade ago, and again at their store in London. I’ve always loved the look. In addition, they also carry these toppers now which they call sofa covers.

I’ve seen interiors designers in Paris use them and refer to them also as “futons” and others (like me) call them “toppers”. I’ve spotted them in Australia in the home of Natalie Walton, too but unsure what she refers to them as but you can see them on her sofa below.

The toppers that I’m finding are available in prints, stripes, solids, cottons and velvets. I love the patterned ones at Blanc d’Ivoire in France shown below.

What I like about toppers on sofas is that, aside from the additional layer (or layers depending on how many you stack) for comfort, you can shield your sofa from hair, stains, and spills without removing the entire sofa slipcover (just unzip the topper cover and throw it into the machine). This is great with kids and pets.

Another big advantage outside of giving your sofa a unique look is that if you have a white sofa for instance, and guests are wearing denim or black, you don’t have to put down a sheet or blanket first because denim especially is horrible on white linen.

There are also a few degrees of thickness on the market. You can get the chunky version below but I prefer the very thin ones personally.

I’m about to press “buy” on a white linen sofa for my living room because I no longer have a living room for TV viewing and socializing combined, I have a living room for socializing and another for TV viewing and where my son goes to play games and this usually involves his friends, snacking and the usual romping around done by 8-year-old boys. That’s why I finally feel able to have a white linen sofa - for my own “adult-only” living room.

I love the idea of a topper for my new white linen sofa, so I’ll look more into them once my dream sofa arrives. Though I also think you could buy a quilt or duvet and achieve a similar look - you could fold it in three - even stitch it together. Hmmm…

These toppers really channel lovely French living vibes, don’t they? I especially love this look for Autumn/Winter months.Perhaps we can expect to see more toppers in our future. I’d like that.

What do you think? Topper or not?