Few sofas are as instantly recognisable and enduringly popular as the Togo, designed by Michel Ducaroy for French furniture brand Ligne Roset. In this lookbook, we present nine different ways of using it in the living room.
Ducaroy famously got the idea for his low-slung, crumpled Togo sofa while brushing his teeth and noticing how his half-used toothpaste tube was “folded back on itself like a stovepipe and closed at both ends“.
The unusual design, which has been likened to a caterpillar or an elephant’s ankle, was not initially popular when it launched in 1973, with some people even believing its lack of a base was an unintentional oversight.
But more than half a century on, it is widely considered an icon of laid-back 1970s design and continues to feature regularly in interiors covered on Dezeen.
Part of the Togo’s success is down to its versatility. The projects collected below demonstrate how with different modular configurations and coverings it can be made to work in a large variety of living-room aesthetics.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring living rooms with statement rugs, sculptural coffee tables and suspended fireplaces.
Roseneath, Australia, by Studio Goss
Studio Goss used two grey Togo settees and a mossy-coloured lounge chair in this sunken living room on the ground floor of a brutalist commercial building in Melbourne that was converted into apartments.
Here, they were used to complement a minimalist approach that saw the multidisciplinary design practice leave the concrete walls exposed.
Find out more about Roseneath ›
087, Portugal, by Fala Atelier
Portuguese architecture studio Fala Atelier is known for its bold approach to playing with shapes, and this Lisbon house is no exception.
In the angular kitchen-living area, a mustard-yellow Togo sofa and corner seat sit alongside a boxy fireplace, a square marble plinth, dotted floorboards and geometric carpentry elements.
Michigan Loft, USA, by Vladimir Radutny Architects
This loft apartment in a former car factory in Chicago has big rooms with expansive ceilings, while Vladimir Radutny Architects exposed the brick walls and structural detailing.
Blue Togo seating provides a pop of colour in the living area, framed by an elevated wooden platform running the full length of the open-plan space.
Find out more about Michigan Loft ›
Micheltorena, USA, by Lovers Unite
Yellow corduroy upholsters the L-shaped Togo sofa in the living room of this 1950s California home overhauled by design studio Lovers Unite.
It is combined with wooden walls, ceilings and floors, a vintage rug, a large driftwood coffee table and an ample collection of quirky collectible pieces.
Find out more about Micheltorena ›
Sausalito Outlook, USA, by Feldman Architecture
Unusually, the beige Togo sofa in this Sausalito home renovated by Feldman Architecture takes a back seat.
Behind it sits a shelving unit showing off the owners’ collection of vintage soda bottles, while book spines on floor-to-ceiling shelves provide much of the room’s colour, and the main focal point is the sweeping bay view outside.
Find out more about Sausalito Outlook ›
McGill 120, Canada, by La Firme
Canadian design practice La Firme took a sparse approach to fitting out this apartment in a former industrial space in Montreal.
A grey Togo couch and footstool sit directly on the polished concrete floor, with brick walls and exposed pipes overhead serving as reminders of the building’s past.
Find out more about McGill 120 ›
Amagansett Modular, USA, by MB Architecture
A bright-orange Togo sofa was deemed a fitting choice for this unconventional holiday home in Amagansett, New York, designed by MB Architecture.
The house is constructed from stacked shipping containers, with a staircase that occupies the entire width of one unit acting as a dramatic means of accessing the living room, which opens directly onto a patio.
Find out more about Amagansett Modular ›
Workhome-Playhome, the Netherlands, by Lagado Architects
Lagado Architects founders Victor Verhagen and Maria Vasiloglou gave their Rotterdam townhouse a fun revamp full of bold colour combinations.
They dressed their chartreuse-yellow Togo with navy and pink cushions, contrasting with a pale-blue rug and orange storage units – plus the green provided by plenty of plants.
Find out more about Workhome-Playhome ›
New Town apartment, UK, by Luke McClelland
A large corner suite of dark-blue Togo seating anchors the sitting room in this Georgian apartment in Edinburgh, overhauled by local architect Luke McClelland to accentuate the building’s historic features.
In combination with giant abstract paintings by Edinburgh-based artist Arran Rahimian, its squishy form helps to soften the room’s stark white walls and high ceilings.
Find out more about this apartment ›
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring living rooms with statement rugs, sculptural coffee tables and suspended fireplaces.
