At The Helm Collection

British brand At The Helm designs and handcrafts luxurious upholstered furniture for contemporary homes. Inspired by iconic sofas of bygone eras, At The Helm’s distinctive sofas, armchairs and footstools combine showstopping style with sensational comfort.

Iconic designs

Meticulously handcrafted

Pocket spring comfort

In 100% leather and fabric

At The Helm sofas, armchairs and footstools

At The Helm brings together superb design, expert craftsmanship and an eye for detail to create a wide range of beautiful upholstered furniture pieces. And with pocket spring, high-quality foam and duck feather seat cushioning, these sofas and armchairs are every bit as comfortable as they are stylish.

Explore At The Helm’s collection of sofas, armchairs, wingback chairs and footstools, exclusively available at Furniture Village.

At The Helm sofas

At The Helm chairs

At The Helm footstools

Our exclusive At The Helm collections

We're proud to offer three unique At The Helm ranges that have been designed and handmade just for us. Meet Shackleton, Wallace and Walter – three collections of modern Chesterfield sofas, armchairs and footstools that bring timeless style and enduring comfort to contemporary living spaces.

Benefits

Iconic designs

Meticulously handcrafted

Pocket spring comfort

In 100% leather and fabric

At The Helm: behind the brand

Sofas created for stylish modern living

Designed for luxury, built for comfort and made to last, At The Helm sofas showcase what happens when expert craftspeople work with the very finest materials. And while this brand’s aesthetic might be traditional, rest assured that these sofas, armchairs and footstools intentionally bring superb comfort to modern living spaces.

Sofas inspired by iconic originals

In the bold lines, sumptuous curves and spacious proportions that you’ll see in its sofas and armchairs, At The Helm shows its commitment to the kind of unashamed luxury and opulence that’s associated with traditional sofa designs.

With deep seats, scrolled arms, turned wooden feet, hand-applied studding and hand-tied buttoning, At The Helm’s modern Chesterfield sofas make it easy to bring iconic style to your contemporary living room.

Sofas defined by high-tech comfort

At The Helm sofas take a very modern approach to comfort. Seats are sensationally comfortable – the secret’s in the brand’s proprietary pocket spring system that’s paired with duck feather and high-quality foam fillings.

And sofas and armchairs come complete with discreet USB-C ports that make it faster and easier to charge laptops, phones and tablets.

Caring for your furniture

Upholstery buying guide

Upholstery care guide

FAQs

Who invented the Chesterfield sofa?

The story goes that in the mid-1700s Lord Philip Stanhope – the fourth Earl of Chesterfield – commissioned a craftsman to design and make a superior leather sofa. He requested one with a low seat and a high back that would allow him to sit in comfort without creasing his clothing.

Whether or not the resulting sofa was actually the prototype for today’s modern Chesterfield sofas, it’s clear that Lord Stanhope’s preference for a sofa that offered both elegant style and practical comfort is one that’s very much shared by At The Helm.

What makes a sofa or chair a Chesterfield?

The enduringly popular Chesterfield sofa style is characterised by a wealth of idiosyncratic details – sweeping, outward-curving scrolled arms; row upon row of meticulous tufting; buttoned backs and seats; metallic studding; turned wood legs and castors.

It’s a distinctive look and one which lends itself to interpretation, which is perhaps why it’s still so popular. With today’s Chesterfield sofas, for example, you might see buttoned backs but plain, non-buttoned seat cushions. And instead of extravagantly curved scrolled arms, sofa arms might be rather more narrow and upright, a design trick that that can save space in a more compact living room.

Traditional Chesterfield style details can also be seen in armchairs, wingback chairs and footstools. If a piece of upholstered furniture has buttoning, a nailhead trim or scrolled arms, it can reasonably be referred to as a Chesterfield sofa or a Chesterfield chair and everyone will know what you mean.

Are At The Helm Chesterfield sofas modern?

The Chesterfield sofa is one of those sofa styles that are truly timeless. Their traditional origins are evident and the look is reminiscent of stately home living yet they’re equally at home in modern settings – in eclectic bohemian spaces, in comfortable contemporary living rooms and even in minimal and ultra-modern homes.

At The Helm modern Chesterfield sofas combine iconic style with a wide range of modern sofa comfort features including carefully engineered pocket spring cushioning, high-quality and hardwearing upholstery options, and even built-in USB-C charging ports.