Koala Sofa

At 1stDibs, there are many versions of the ideal koala sofa for your home. Frequently made of metal, bronze and fabric, every koala sofa was constructed with great care. Whether you’re looking for an older or newer koala sofa, there are earlier versions available from the 20th Century and newer variations made as recently as the 20th Century. A koala sofa is a generally popular piece of furniture, but those created in Mid-Century Modern and Modern styles are sought with frequency.

A koala sofa can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price 1stDibs is $13,002, while the lowest priced sells for $9,029 and the highest can go for as much as $16,855.

Design duo Garouste and Bonetti is best known for concocting Surrealist, avant-garde, romantic furniture and lighting that merge whimsy and wonder with luxury and sophistication.

Born in Paris in 1946, Élizabeth Garouste studied interior design at the École Camondo and worked as a theater set designer before meeting Mattia Bonetti in the late 1970s. Bonetti, born in Lugano, Switzerland, in 1952, attended Lugano’s Centro Scolastico per L’Industria Artistica, where he studied textile design and got into photography.

Their first collaboration came in 1981, after Garouste’s husband, interior designer Gérard Garouste, asked them both to produce designs for the Paris restaurant Le Privilège. They devised a collection of Art Brut–inspired furniture called Barbare, which debuted at the Jansen House of Interior Design, earning them the nickname Les Nouveaux Barbares (the New Barbarians).

Garouste and Bonetti achieved international acclaim in 1987 when French couturier Christian Lacroix hired them to design for his maisons de couture in Paris and London. Instead of the staid decor used by other haute couture houses, Garouste and Bonetti’s furnishings were rebellious and daring. As described in Architectural Digest, “rooms and carpets were acrid ochers, edged with black baroque swirls Louis XVI-inspired chairs upholstered in fruit tones. Tree stump stools topped with ivory tufted cushions. White curtains were trimmed with black polka dots the size of pancakes.” 

Following their success with Lacroix, Garouste and Bonetti designed interiors for illustrious clients such as German socialite Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis and Bernard Picasso, a French art collector and grandson of Pablo Picasso.

Throughout the late 1980s and ’90s, Garouste and Bonetti designed several modern pieces such as rainbow-colored console tables, the wavy, high-backed Koala sofa, ceramic tableware, table lamps and decorative objects. In 2002, the duo parted ways. 

Bonetti continues to create furniture, finding inspiration in everything from ancient Greece to children’s toys to UFOs. His works have been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. 

Garouste also continues to design and is inspired by the natural world for her “quirky pieces,” Élisabeth Delacarte, owner of the Paris gallery Avant-Scène, says of her designs: “You feel like you’re in a dream rather than in reality. She very much has her own universe.”

On 1stDibs, find a range of vintage Garouste and Bonetti tables, seating and serveware.

Vintage couches and antique sofas have anchored living rooms for generations. The pieces most sought after today carry the deep-buttoned tufting of a Chesterfield or the low, sculptural ease of mid-century modern and Hollywood Regency design.

Styles to Know

Rolled arms and tufted backs point to Mid-Century Modern or Hollywood Regency pieces, while tight backs and turned legs skew more traditional. Velvet is enjoying a renewed moment across most of these silhouettes; see our velvet chesterfield sofa trend report for examples. A mid-century modern coffee table within reach and a vintage mirror nearby round out the seating area.

How to Choose the Right Vintage Sofa

A sofa's frame and upholstery history can be difficult to judge from photographs alone. Ask a seller for more information when a listing doesn't show the fabric or joinery clearly, and confirm whether the upholstery is original or has been redone. Each piece comes from a vetted 1stDibs seller, with era, designer and condition detailed, and the 1stDibs Promise stands behind every purchase.