Sofa Cum Bed in Rani Pink Velvet, Tufted

Some furniture inherits a form. This one inherited a colour with a court history.

The Rang Came First

Long before paint charts, this shade belonged to Rajasthan's queens, which is why the whole country still calls it rani pink and why the West, borrowing it for their silks, simply called it Indian pink. It is the rang of wedding tents and bandhani dupattas and it has never once agreed to sit quietly in a corner. Upholstered over a deep-buttoned sofa, it turns the main wall of any living room into the room's whole argument.

The Working Half

Beneath the shaan, the practical machine: a three-seater by day and by night the seat pulls forward, the back drops and a flat double bed appears for the mehmaan who stayed past the last bus. Two matching cushions ride along either way.

Curator's Notes

Velvet in this depth of colour asks two things, the vacuum's soft brush weekly and a seat out of direct sun, which fades queens and fabrics alike. Found facing televisions and in drawing rooms that refuse to be beige. Acquire with confidence and a neutral rug.