The Pouf

A Pouf is, simply, a bubble. It is a balloon, a stuffed animal, a 15th century hairstyle, an idea: anything with volume and not necessarily density, held together by a turgid structure. 

 

A Pouf, in the furniture sense of the word, refers to a kind of bean bag, a stool without legs, a large cushion, stuffed with diverse forms of softness, like cotton, wool, even recycled paper or glass. It is essentially a large hard cushion that may have an internal wooden frame to give it more rigidity. Wooden feet may be added to the base to give it stability, at which point said item becomes a stool or a footstool. If the piece is larger, so that storage can take place inside it, then it is generally known as an ottoman.

A Pouf, today, has made its way to the swishest homes all over the world, but are found in various forms even in indigenous cultures. In nomadic yurts, each person sits on a large cushion (a rendition of a pouf) and eats. It insulates the body from the cold that seeps up through the ground, as well as provides a comfortable landing after a long day on the ground. 

More conceptually, the Pouf softens our fall after a hard day's work, or sends us to dream worlds where we can let down our guard of logic and survival, and live, for life's sake. Pouf's are light, and easily movable, can be crochet, chindi, patchworked, woven, made with fur, leather, wool, nylon, plastic, really anything.

At Rajoverseas, the Pouf is also that piece of furniture that blurs the line between function and aesthetic, and we easily identify with it in experimentative, creative and definitive ways, using high end luxury fabrics to recycled materials to create these magical structures of comfort

A park bench is for when we must confront reality. A Pouf is for when we must escape it. We lay our heads on one, and just like that, poof, all our troubles are so far away.


Text: Wooly Eyes
Images: from various sources on the internet