Take A Seat

Think of the ottoman as the handbag of furniture. “A little exclamation point,” says Veronica Koltuniak of Mildred design studio. “It gives a punch of color to the room.”

Koltuniak’s line of ottomans--with names like Goo, Hazel and Eleanor--evokes a 1960s sense of line and color. “I was born in 1965, so I really respond to the look of furniture from that time,” she says. “I love the clean lines, the simplicity.” And, apparently, the slang. The “L7,” a square ottoman, gets its name from what beatnik types called the hopelessly uncool.

Trained as a set designer, Koltuniak partnered up with a friend eight years ago to create what she describes as “couture” drapery. One day, in the alley behind her then-studio at Fairfax Avenue and Venice Boulevard, she stumbled across an abandoned ottoman. “It was vintage 1970s,” she recalls. “Top-stitched with a flower on top of it. It was kind of smelly, but I loved the look.”

While the flower-power ottoman proved too pungent to adopt, Koltuniak began playing with other ottoman designs inspired by pyramids, caterpillars and clovers. Celeb ottoman clients include Jennifer Lopez, Jeff Goldblum and Madonna. Her designs, ranging from $260 to $700, are available at Karen Alweil Studio and Civilization in Los Angeles.

Koltuniak admits her own living room is populated with ottomans popping up like so many upholstered mushrooms. “You can have fun with an ottoman in ways you can’t with, say, a sofa,” she says. “You don’t have to take them seriously.”