Are Cozmo Sofas Any Good? I Went to Test This Emerging Brand, and Fell in Love With Its Sofa's Charms and Comfort
This (relatively new) London-based sofa maker has been making waves in the design world for a few years now, but how are its good-looking sofas to actually sit on? Our editor put them to the test
It was late last year, when I was looking for sofas that would still deliver before Christmas that I first really came across Cozmo sofas. Having launched in 2023, it's a relatively new player in the world of sofas, and I don't often recommend a couch to someone until I've actually sat on it myself.
However, Cozmo is definitely a brand on the rise. It's soon to launch its fifth sofa design — a collaboration with design studio Pearson Lloyd — and the brand is also now stocked by John Lewis, helping to connect to an even wider audience. If you haven't experienced one yourself though, the question remains — are its sofas actually any good?
To get some firsthand experience, I headed down to Cozmo's showroom in London's Shoreditch to learn a bit more about its designs and to test them for myself. Having spent the last few months sitting on sofa after sofa for Livingetc's guide to where to buy a sofa, I have a benchmark to compare them against, across the industry.
Before we get into a sofa-by-sofa breakdown, first, let me tell you a little about what sets Cozmo apart and what might make it the sofa brand for you. I've personally vowed to never buy a sofa again unless it comes flat-packed in a box, or is at least very modular, having been burned by ordering a sofa that wouldn't fit through my hallway door into my living room. Cozmo is technically a sofa-in-a-box brand; however, it doesn't have some of the same connotations you might have had with this type of sofa before.
Sofas that come flat-packed have historically been foam filling only — for a competitor like Swyft, for example, the majority of its sofas are foam, sometimes memory foam, which is comfortable, but a little on the firm side (though, just to note, Swyft recently launched a feather-filled sofa, too). Cozmo's offering feels decidedly plumper. The showroom assistant showed me the make-up inside one of its seat cushions, where you'll find a foam base with a sort of feather 'puffer jacket' on top, channeled so the feathers don't clump irregularly. It's a nice idea in that it gives you the best of both worlds — you still get a modern, structured form, but softer edges and a more of a squish when you sit on it.
I also feel that Cozmo is on the right track by limiting its offering to something with a particular design point of view. These are not generic sofa designs, as such. The first four of the brand's sofa types were designed with studio Raw Edges, bringing a sense of signature style to its core range. The woven tape edges you see on the sofas are a connecting design detail across many of the sofas — in some instances, it offers a charming rawness to its design quality, while on other sofas and in different color combinations, it feels elevated, even like fine tailoring.
The brand makes all its sofas here in the UK from sustainable materials. Generally, they're made to order, but if you order an in-stock one, you could have it in as little as a week. All the designs are modular, to some degree, so if you want to change up your set-up after a time, you can. The covers are also removable and replaceable, too. That could be if you think yours needs a refresh after some years, but it could also be just because you fancy a new look for the next season.
So, let's take a look at the different sofas, shall we?
Cozy
I get the sense that everything started with the Cozy for Cozmo. One of this design's signatures is its slim arms, which make it great for small spaces. Despite its streamlined frame, it is as cozy as the name suggests. The seat cushions have the brand's signature feather puffer jacket, so you sink into the seat. It means it doesn't totally spring back, so it needs a little plumping every now and again to look its best, but nowhere near as much as you would if it were a full feather-fill cushion.
The back cushions are feather-filled, too, and feel opulent to recline back into, while you'll also get some side cushions that make up for the slim arm, with some versatility if you need to squash more people onto your sofa.
The version in the showroom had a chaise, which isn't super deep (on purpose, to not block too much of the bay window of the London terraces the designers envisaged the sofa in), but it's wide enough that it makes for a generous sit.
Float
I'm a sucker for a boxy modular sofa — it's often what I buy for my own home, so not only was I drawn to Cozmo's Float design straight away, but I've got some history to compare it to. In my experience, this style of sofa isn't necessarily forgiving to sit on. They're usually on the firmer side, as they have to be to keep their structured silhouette. However, I found it a surprisingly soft landing when I came to sit on this one, again thanks to the makeup of Cozmo's inners for its sofas.
There are some clues in the design, however. The corners are a little softer and less precise, but this softness brings a different charm to this style of sofa that I haven't seen much elsewhere. In the showroom, the sample is in Cozy's cream textured weave — and to be honest, it wasn't my favorite textile from the collection to the touch, but it is a good all-rounder in terms of durability and for versatility within a design scheme.
Pillow
Cozmo's Pillow sofa shares a lot of its design DNA with the Cozy, in that its body is almost the same, but it has larger, more cushioned armrests, giving it a more dramatic, cocooning silhouette. I say almost, as there's a small difference with how the base wraps around, but in general, it's more about the style than offering a vastly different sit. Yet, it's more the kind of sofa you can prop yourself up in the corner of.
The dark green boucle jacket for this sofa, pictured, is darker than in the photographs, and with its white cotton weave trim, it makes for a striking figure, almost like a piped tuxedo jacket.
Rest
Cozmo's Rest was designed to answer the question — can I have a sofa with a higher back? Often, sofas with higher neck rests and head supports can end up looking a little 'Lazy Boy'-ish, something that doesn't necessarily fit with the brand's design philosophy. However, by keeping the rest of the sofa on the slighter side, it's allowed for a higher back rest without the whole design feeling overpowering and clunky.
The back itself is an interesting construction — you can see it in the gallery above. It uses an external board as an insert to create the height. It can also be removed, creating a lower back where the excess sofa cushion hangs down.
The finish on the showroom model was the Chenille weave, possibly my favorite of Cozmo's offerings. It has the look and feel of linen, but is more durable and doesn't sag. It's a beautiful laidback aesthetic.
If you came across Cozmo from John Lewis and were interested how they test against the competition, you might also be interested in our rankings of the best John Lewis sofas, too.
