Sitting 1: the brief
One hour, in the workshop or at home. Bring photographs, room dimensions, and the awkward sofa you are replacing. We will ask about the dog, the television, the light.
Home · Collection · Custom sofas
Sofas built for a specific room, a specific way of sitting, and a Malaysian climate.
Our sofas are commissioned. We do not hold stock. We will draw, joint, upholster and finish a sofa around the proportions of your living room, the way the family actually uses it, and the fabric we are confident will behave under a ceiling fan.
The frame underneath
Hardwood, mortise-and-tenoned, glued and pegged.
The skeleton of a Cleariqo sofa is kembang semangkok or kiln-dried seraya, hand-cut joints, pegged where the engineering matters. The webbing is jute over hardwood rails. The seat is sprung with eight-way hand-tied coils where it earns it; sinuous spring elsewhere.
Cushions are kapok-and-coil at the back, cold-foam-and-feather at the seat — the feather wrap is in a downproof cambric inner, so it stays plump for the long haul. Backs are buttoned, channelled or smooth, decided in the drawing stage.
- Two-seat, three-seat, four-seat, modular and L-shaped configurations.
- Sized in 50 mm increments to the room — we measure the door swing, the lift, and the stairwell first.
- Choice of arm: track, English roll, set-back rolled, pillow-top, slim panel.
- Slipcovered, half-slipcovered, or fully fitted upholstery.
Sofa specifications
Drawn before built — here is the language we will use with you.
FrameSolid kembang semangkok or seraya, hand-cut joinery
SpringingEight-way hand-tied coil seat, jute webbed back
Seat cushionCold-foam core, feather and cotton wrap
Back cushionKapok-and-coil blend in downproof inner
Standard depth880–980 mm seat depth, 470 mm seat height
Lead timeEight to ten weeks from approved drawings
Indicative priceFrom RM 9,800 (two-seater, linen)
WarrantyFrame & joinery: lifetime. Upholstery: five years.
A few sofa briefs we have built around
Three rooms, three problems, three quietly different sofas.
A.
A narrow living room in Bangsar
2.4 m wall. We built a low, three-seat sofa in oat linen with slim panel arms — the back floats six inches off the wall so the room reads bigger. Removable cover for the dry season.
B.
A family pile in Damansara Heights
L-shaped, modular, four sections, deep seat. Slipcover in heavy cotton canvas in oat — the cover is washed every public holiday. The dog has his end.
C.
A formal sitting room in Bukit Tunku
Two two-seat sofas facing each other in oxblood Italian leather. Bench cushion seat, channelled back, brass-tipped legs. Built to be the last upholstered pair the room will need.
How to commission
Three sittings, eight weeks, one sofa.
Sitting 2: drawings & sample
Ten working days later we send you shop drawings, a wood sample in the chosen finish, and two or three fabric or leather swatches to choose between.
Sitting 3: dry-fit
Four weeks in, you are welcome to come and sit on the frame and the seat foam before the cover is sewn. This is when last-minute decisions get cheap.
Begin a sofa
Send a photograph of the room and a sense of how the family sits.
We will write back within two working days with a small set of questions and a rough idea of price — before you have committed to anything beyond a conversation.