First Look: Koala’s New Modular Sofa, the Tamarama, Marks a New Chapter for the Australian Furniture Brand

Koala’s head designers, husband-and-wife team James Whitta and Alexandra Owen, are no strangers to Scandinavian design and what makes it so popular. The pair used to head up Ikea’s product design team in Sweden. Now based in Sydney, they’ve shifted their attention to the state of design here.

“Scandinavian design has such a distinct and well-known quality about it and looking back to Australia, we saw that we also have that here,” Owen says. “We have this essence of beach Scandi – this relaxed, sun-kissed, effortless lifestyle.”

It’s that laid-back, coastal way of life that’s inspired the Tamarama, Koala’s newest modular sofa, named for the picturesque Sydney beach between Bondi and Coogee. The sofa’s versatile system can fit into small spaces with single-seat modules, through to filling larger areas with expansive, multi-seat configurations.

The Tamarama’s base range – including armchairs, two- to four-seater sofas, chaises and corner configurations – launches today, but soon Koala is releasing a curved module. It’s the first in the Australian furniture maker’s entire catalogue.

“What it gives you is the ability to do a U shape, or a C shape, or a crank shape,” Owen says. “It’s the things you see in a magazine that you feel you could never have yourself, but that simple module alone gives you so much ability to express your style. 

It’s also the first range in Koala’s new Luxe Comfort tier, which uses a new proprietary foam for soft, breathable support that almost feels like down, and is cruelty-free.

“We don’t like the way feathers are sourced, so we wanted to have what we call a ‘no plucks given’ approach to that feather feel,” Whitta says. The Hyper Soft is layered over four other foam grades to “get to this perfect comfort [that] feels like dive-in, sink-in cosy softness”.

The Tamarama comes in two fabrics – a linen-look recycled polyester and a wool-like texture demi-bouclé – and six launch colours. Some playful hues include Aussie latte and “bronzed Aussie”, alongside winter cream, forest walk, frosty grass and pebble beach.

All the sofa covers are removable and machine-washable, with stain-resistant treatments on them to make spills easy to wipe off – an ideal match for the laid-back lifestyle the pair’s designs evoke.

“This is definitely our most style-forward sofa to date, but it’s also the most practical,” Whitta says. “What we love to do here is to have functional practicality, but also real-life practicality.”

koala.com

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