As a designer, I love looking at other designers’ sketchbooks. It’s fascinating to see the different concepts they tested along the way towards a finished piece of furniture, how ideas are developed, how the product evolves, which features survive the process, and which are left to one side.
It’s also interesting to find out what happens to the elements of a design which, for one reason or another, don’t see the light of day. Are they lost forever? Or do we go back to these ideas and apply them in future creations?
Our new Mila line demonstrates how individual concepts from different design projects can be brought together and improved upon to create something new and original, with its own distinctive character – including ideas put to one side in the past.
The story begins with one of those discarded ideas I’ve just referred to. When we were designing the Frida lounge and work booth we made two prototypes. Both had a back section consisting of a foam-padded plywood screen, one with a seat section going all the way down to the floor while the other had a slimmer sling seat with space underneath it.
It was a close call, but we went with the sling design, which led to the award-winning Frida booth. However, the box seat version stayed with me. There’s something very appealing about seating with deep cushioning and a solid-looking, grounded base. The approach has been successful in other designs I’ve developed including the lounge chair Remi and Beau, our super-sized modular sofa range – both products that epitomise comfort and luxury.
It led me to wonder whether the luxuriously ample seat section we developed for Beau could be combined with Frida’s wraparound screen, with its secure, cocoon-like cosiness. And, how might we unify the overspilling decadence of that seat with a refined, slimline back section?
The answer lay in yet another successful Boss product – Bodie. Customers love the domestic vibe of this sofa’s loose cushions, which make the sitter feel right at home. Cushions like these could be the perfect segue between the soft seat and defined surround.
Three special ingredients
Combining Frida’s back, Beau’s seat and Bodie’s cushions was almost like baking a cake – putting together three special ingredients to create something with its own delicious flavour. It wasn’t a traditional product development process; it came about through recognising the strengths of each element and exploring how we could capitalise on them.
This time, we weren’t starting from scratch but the shapes of seat, back and cushions would require adjustment and refinement to make sure Mila would be beautiful, comfortable and unique in its own right. We designed and prototyped a generous two-seat sofa with a low back, an armchair and high-back armchair. The high-back single-seater is a particularly interesting piece, offering outstanding comfort with a lovely sense of privacy.
Mila’s seat replicates and augments our learnings from Beau. Layered cut foam forms a soft dome over a new serpentine spring configuration, within its plywood frame. Its top surface is angled five degrees down to bring the sitter into the pillowy cushions so they can sit back and appreciate the comfort. Filled with soft fibre, the cushions are zipped to the back, which holds them in place while making it possible to remove the covers for cleaning.
The arms and back are extremely supportive of the soft centre formed by the seat and cushions. Thin in form, a layer of foam softens the surface of the surround, providing visual and acoustic privacy in the high-back chair model. Throughout the upholstery, every seam has been carefully considered, from the detailing on the cushions to the stitching on the seat, which is positioned to avoid both wear and dust accumulation.
A cumulative effect
Reconfiguring three successful design ideas to create a new seating range has resulted in something interior designers and architects will have fun with. There are some interesting juxtapositions within the product itself. The defined form of the seat transitions to the more homely, undefined form of the cushions, which transition again to the defined form of the back and arms as they wrap their way around the seat section.
Designed for hospitality environments, Mila seating can be specified in a single fabric to create a sense of unity. Equally, it looks great with the surround upholstered in leather and the inner sections covered in textiles. Different pattern and colour combinations offer near-infinite possibilities.
The three pieces in the range can be configured to create interesting landscapes. The straight back and sides facilitate side-by-side and back-to-back positioning without head clash, and I can imagine low-backed chairs and sofas combined in sequences with their high-backed counterpart to create visual interest across a setting. Although Mila has a structured, architectural feel, its soft curves mean it suites in well with the organic lines of our Remi and Amelia chairs.
Mila goes to show that sometimes an unused idea can sit in a designer’s sketchbook for a while, percolating, just waiting for its potential to be unlocked. Here, I think we’ve managed to create a seating system that has its own individual qualities, using elements and learnings from some of the best designs we’ve created in recent years. Patience leads to success.
April 2025
Boss Design
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