With the Rio Olympics just around the corner I’ll be waving the British flag nice and high and rooting on our athletes who will be doing us proud. I just love that Summer feeling, Pimm’s in hand and absorbing that patriotic vibe! I feel it’s the perfect time when the whole country unites together and there is a real sense of unity. That is why I love brands that bring this ethos to life in what they do, so it if for this reason I am loving The Britannia collection from DFS.

DFS is now the official homeware partner for Team GB at this summer’s Olympics in Rio. Relaxation is an integral part of any athlete’s lifestyle as this is time when they can bond with their family and temporarily escape the pressures of competing. It is for this reason the The Britannia collection came about.

In honour of this, Philip Watkin DFS’ design director, and his talented design team created The Britannia, a specially designed, limited edition sofa that celebrates Team GB and provides a centre piece to British House: the home of Team GB in Rio.

About Britannia

Handmade in DFS’ Derbyshire factory, Britannia was inspired by the British Chesterfield design from the Victorian era. The iconic shape has been given a modern update for 2016, with a distinctive sweeping ‘camel back’ shape to the silhouette.

The design team has used striking golden studs on the scroll arms and the front boarder to represent Team GB gold medals. Each stud is expertly and individually hand tacked into the frame to embellish the sofa. The equally stylish and compact Britannia accent chair has 233 studs, which is the exact number of gold medals Team GB has won in Summer Olympic Games to date.

The sofa comes complete with a set of beautiful scatter cushions, available in an assortment of luxury plains or motifs inspired by iconic British images. For this design element, DFS worked with British textile designer, Susan Munns, from Art of the Loom to design a beautiful range of cushions that subtlety brought the spirit of Team GB alive through colour and pattern. I love the use of a simple palette of red, white and blue shades to give a nod to the Union Jack and Team GB colours.

It includes a four, three and two seater sofa, an armchair, an accent chair and a large footstool and is finished with a commemorative upholstered plaque. The plaque not only provides authenticity but pays tribute to the UK design and craftsmanship, by DFS, in honour of Team GB’s participation in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

You can see the creation of the sofa in the video below which is always nice to see the work that goes on behind the scenes.

“As the official homeware partner for Team GB, we wanted to create something that our own craftspeople could apply their skills to in order to support our athletes when they most needed to relax during the games. In doing so, we set out to design an iconic piece of furniture that would represent Great Britain’s proud history of design, quality and craftsmanship. We enlisted the help of one of the best fabric suppliers in the UK to join forces with our own upholstery team to hand-craft an update on the Chesterfield classic that Olympics fans can cherish for years to come. “ Philip Watkin.

This post is in collaboration with DFS.