Australian designer brings 70s sensibility to Design Within Reach

STAMFORD, Conn.  – Contemporary specialty retailer Design Within Reach (DWR), a subsidiary of MillerKnoll, has launched two new pieces in partnership with Australian designer Sarah Ellison.

The new Float sofa and Piscina tables expand Ellison’s exclusive retail partnership with Design Within Reach in North America.

In designing the Float sofa, Ellison aimed to create an ultra-comfortable, laid-back space that encourages social gatherings and fosters conversation. With its deep seat, angled arms and puffy horizontal channeling, Float references the conversation pits of the 1970s while maintaining a contemporary appeal.

The sofa comes upholstered in bouclé or velvet fabric, including Ellison’s signature Piccolo option: a rich, chocolatey-brown velvet created specifically for this collection in partnership with the Pantone Color Institute. The modular pieces allow for many configurations.

Ellison’s Piscina tables are named for their rounded, biomorphic form, which resembles the shapes of pooling water. The columnar metal legs feature a contemporary, beige-gray high-gloss finish that pairs with a Turkish marble top. Available in two configurations – a side table and a coffee table – Piscina stays true to Ellison’s signature aesthetic of “sensory minimalism.

Design With Reach also offers a curated selection of the designer’s 1970s-inspired furniture, including favorites such as the three-seater Muse sofa, which retails for $4,195, and the Huggy chair, which retails for $2,295, along with a number of silhouettes not previously available stateside: the Luca console table, which retails for $3,195; the Valentina screen, which retails for $3,895; the Pepé side table, which retails for $1,295; and the Yoko bed which retails for between $4,895 and $5,995.

“Sarah’s distinctive style and creative concepts have long influenced the way Australians, and people around the world, decorate their homes, so it’s an honor to be able to share her own designs with our customers through this exclusive retail partnership,” said Debbie Propst, MillerKnoll president of global retail.

Splitting her time between Sydney and the beach in Byron Bay, the designer and parent of a 7-year-old son was inspired to push coastal style in a modern direction through a refined juxtaposition of textures, paired with sculptural shapes and proportions that evoke a sense of nostalgia.

“Accessible luxury is at the heart of my brand. As a former magazine editor, I always knew that the products I would put on the pages were often out of reach for so many people, and that’s not what I envisioned for my collection,” said Ellison.

See also: