Feeling Those Vintage Leather Vibes

Love it or hate it, the seventies vibe is back in a big way in the design world - from shag carpets to oversized lamps with fringe to everyone everywhere roller skating again… even bellbottoms are making a comeback! With that in mind we had to share this fabulous Anfibio sofa which recently got a new lease on life in our Houston workshop. I mean, even MoMA in New York City has one, so it seems fitting that we should too.

A restored leather Anfibio convertible sofa designed by Alessandro Becchi in 1972 and manufactured by Giovannetti, Italy.

This landmark piece came to us in pretty rough shape, and that’s saying a lot coming from us - since we see the roughest of the rough in terms of leather damage on a daily basis. But as we’ve said before, we love a good challenge and especially enjoy bringing these special masterpieces back to life. This piece was no exception.

The leather forming the main part of the seating area was heavily damaged from years of abuse and was even worn completely through to the underlying padding in some places. Therefore, our specialists had to replace the entire leather panel across the seating area and several sections along the arm and backrests. New covers were sewn with exposed contrast stitching where the edges of each panel come together. The original rope which threads through a series of metal grommets along the base of the sofa was carefully replaced, restoring the signature look of the original piece. Several of the leather straps along the side and back of the sofa were also restored. Finally, the color and top coat for the leather was carefully matched to approximate the look and feel of the original finish.

A difficult but satisfying project for our team, this swanky charmer is now ready for the second wave of the seventies which seems to be upon us!