Robert Pattinson, by his own admission, is “quite romantic” when it comes to decor. So when he started thinking about his dream sofa, he found himself fantasizing about a piece of furniture without a lot of hard lines. Something people could embrace—which would embrace them right back. He had some time on his hands after filming wrapped for The Batman (2022) movie, and he did some doodling.
“I started sketching pieces of furniture I thought would make people interact in a playful and informal way,” he tells AD. “They all had disproportionate, oversized elements that were quite fun. And in the process of making some models out of clay, I found that organic overlapping curves had a similar effect.”
Once he got deeper into the design process, the actor stepped back and realized his creation—with its overlapping curves and soft lobe-shaped appendages—looked a lot like an ear. For a sofa meant to foster intimate conversations while being an innovative conversation piece itself, it was all perfectly meta.
He began working with designer Nicole Gordon, who’d decorated two of his homes and had done some work on his parents’ home in London. “Rob wanted a piece where you could nestle in to read,” she tells AD, “but was also sturdy and stable enough for a number of people to sit on at a party.”
The pair took his clay models and made 3D renderings, then eventually landed on a blueprint. They worked with designer architect Andrea Cadioli to build a wooden frame covered in muslin and began tweaking and massaging the shape with upholsterer Claudia Bracamontes. Because Pattinson wanted a “floating” effect, Gordon says, “The most challenging technical part was engineering it so it could actually support people and wouldn’t topple over. So we built this metal frame inside the carcass of the sofa that lets you put 350 pounds on each of those floating arms.”
Pattinson also wanted a pop of contrast for the base of the sofa, so he picked out a slab of pink onyx at the stone yard and they carved the slab to match the curvature of the base. They also embedded pink onyx drink trays on either arm rest.
The biggest struggle, Gordon says, was choosing the fabric. “I have a charcoal Labrador named Mason,” she says, “and Rob was like, ‘I want it to look like Mason’s fur!’ So we started looking at grays and shearlings. But then he was like, ‘No, actually, I want more of a strié.’” Ultimately, he ended up choosing a white linen velvet by Otis Textiles.
Once the sofa was complete, Gordon encouraged Pattinson to sell a limited series somewhere. She wanted to show it to Joel Chen, who owns JF Chen in Los Angeles. Chen was thrilled with what he saw.
“I was in awe of the somewhat complicated design,” Chen tells AD. “The sofa is entirely unique, and Rob’s strong sense of the angled shapes interpreted from everyday objects is incredible. This is the first prototype of a limited series he is making, and it certainly belongs in JF Chen—where we dive into up-and-coming artists.”
Pattinson’s original sofa is now on display at JF Chen, which is selling six of the made-to-order pieces. As for Pattinson, the sofa’s existence is a new marker of how far he’s come. When asked to recall the worst sofa he’s ever owned, his answer is appropriately antithetical.
“My least favorite could also be my most favorite,” Pattinson muses. “There was a time when the only piece of furniture I had for about six months was an inflatable boat that would double as my couch, bed, and dining table. I loved it very much but it caused a lot of back problems.”
The boat was bad for the back, maybe, but it had at least one thing in common with Pattinson’s new sofa: It’s a fabulous conversation piece.
