DESIGN DICTIONARY: Cabriole Sofa
Cabriole Sofa. Photography by Ashley Hicks.
If you are going to walk the walk, you should talk the talk
What is a cabriole sofa?
CABRIOLE SOFA (also called chaise en cabriole): A type of upholstered sofa whose back curves into the arms in a smooth line. Chairs also are made this way and are called cabriole chairs.
Cabriole legs are different. They refer to a leg style. A cabriole leg is a topic for a future Design Dictionary, but you will find a good picture of one here. Cabriole sofas and chairs may or may not have cabriole legs.
History
Cabriole derives from an 18th century term "cabriolet." The cabriolet was a type of carriage--it's where our word "cab" comes from--that had similar backs and arms.
A cabriolet. The shape of the back and arms inspire the cabriole sofa.
Examples
Cabriole Sofa. c. 1800
Cabriole chair which happens to have a cabriole leg
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A modern interpretation of the cabriole sofa.
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Sized more like a cabriole settee.
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Forget the sofa, I will just take the packages!!
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Ready to discover another type of sofa? Head over to Decade 15 magazine where I walk you through what makes the knole sofa a design classic.
Photo Credits: Sofa c.1800 Chair with a cabriole leg.sofa with gallery wallCabriole ChairsModern interpretationCabriole settee sofa with Hermes boxes. Cabriolet