GERMAN ENGINEERING AND THE UNIQUE CHARACTER OF KOINOR

Koinor, the upholstered furniture manufacturer of Upper Franconia, has been at the forefront of German sofa design for 50 years now. Crafted by hand, and completely made in Germany, the Koinor sofa is always ‘unexpected’. While some models challenge the norm through design, many breach the boundaries of innovation through structure and build.

   

What’s even more significant is the consistent ability to use leather to enhance design and build, ensuring lasting comfort and timeless proportions. Koinor’s incessant push for progress is marked through its dedication to development. Amongst the new introductions is a highly superior 5 mm thick leather. Koinor is also credited with having invented the dining sofa in the 1980s - a combination of dining-appropriate sofas and a table, bringing lounge style into the home.

 

The Vogue sofa, seen at the top, is a Tamara Haerty design. While the sleek, contemporary style embraces curves and proportions to balanced perfection, the most striking feature is the mood light. The little handheld control allows you to select a colour by pressing a button, thereby changing the LEDs beneath the sofa. The idea is to allow one to amplify the prevalent mood or alter the existing mood of the space. The folding backrest takes you from upright seating to a supremely relaxed position, so that you can rest your body and head, and fold your legs below you. The Vogue won the coveted Interior Innovation Award (awarded at IMM Cologne), one of the world’s most highly regarded design prizes in furnishing.

 

Aptly enough, Easy is the Koinor name for an unusual reclining sofa. To make a point, of all the booths of the sofa majors, this was probably the most tried sofa at the fair! Large, plush seating and a bright yellow leather created a cult-like persona. The entire backrest reclines, and is perfectly supported by the motion footrest. The armrests are also adjustable. That’s just about all parts in a sofa! There is added lumbar support as well. While the system is electrical, the battery backup keeps you going when unplugged. In the Dexter sectional (wonderfully dubbed “the point of no return” in the booth), the most innovative feature is the backrest of the long section going up and down on a button.

 The Novell sofa brings together neoclassicism and minimalism in an irresistible package. The open stitch on the elegant armrests is in a gentle winding pattern. The stylish, curvy headrest support can be moved from one backrest to the other, adding old world charm to a truly unusual design.
    The calm and gentlemanly Hans Joachim Feddern gave us a tour of the Koinor booth. While the Cologne fair is by far the most important event for the German sofa maker, the Milan fair clearly establishes just how unique the Koinor design ethos really is. SS

DESIGNER TAMARA HAERTY ON KOINOR
“You don’t sit atop the sofa, you sit in the sofa.” That’s Tamara Haerty’s description of how she approached the design of the Koinor ‘Alpha’ sofa. Tamara is instrumental in growing Koinor’s design ethos. Her designs have made a bright and bold statement at Milano. “It’s all about the details” she says. For the Alpha, she took the traditional mechanisms of functional armrests and backrests and turned them into timeless stylistic elements. Ratios and proportions in the design are exemplary, even when any backrest or armrest is in motion. The seat depth is made for both easy sitting and ‘legs up’ relaxation. The thick burnt orange leather upholstery is a joy. She says “Thick leather needs more time for production. It is heavy, more difficult to stitch. For the design, I prefer big pieces and not small ones in the sofa. And that’s what we’ve achieved here.” The Koinor approach to colours is not like most bigwigs in the industry. “We don’t follow trend colours. We push colours in our own way, based on what we believe is good.” Tamara’s experience ranges across kitchens, chairs, and other products. She finds inspiration in the materials, the leather, stitch, and likes the effort in trying to make them come together beautifully. Born in 1978, she is an architect by qualification, and has an interest in psychotropics and the understanding of the irrational perception of atmospheres, habitats, objects and architecture. She has been lecturing at the University of Coburg since 2010 and also serves as a jury member for several design prizes.