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When we first purchased our RV, we knew the sofa wasn’t gonna stay. We considered having it reupholstered or purchasing a new one but ultimately decided to build our own custom sofa. This was mainly because we needed it to be lightweight, to have storage, be in the design style we liked AND be within budget. To top it off we were looking for dimensions that were difficult to find, in order for it to fit inside our RV.

I spent countless hours looking for sofa inspiration and quickly realized that the designs I liked best had wood bases and clean lines. This was good news for us considering we had never built a sofa before and planned to build the outside frame out of plywood.

Here are 10 of the designs that influenced our sofa build in case you’re on the hunt for that perfect rustic modern sofa that will make a statement, yet stand the test of time.

10 Rustic Modern Sofa Designs

Modern Rustic Sofa Designs | Mid-Century Modern Rosewood Milo Baughman Sofa
1. Vintage Rosewood Milo Baughman Sofa | 1stDibs

I absolutely love the clean lines and beautiful wood grain detail in the base of this Mid-Century Modern sofa designed by Milo Baughman. The velvety cushions add a nice contrast to the wood and I also like that it has one long cushion vs. multiple cushions to sit on. We have cats that like to sleep in the cracks of the sofa cushions that later create uncomfortable gaps so I knew we were going to use one long cushion for our RV sofa.

One of my favorite details of this particular sofa is the side cushions. I like that they line up to the bottom cushion and touch the back of the sofa. This is a detail we added to the sofa we built inside our RV, except we made them a little wider. It’s a beautiful detail but if you’re short on space and want a sofa that doubles as an extra place to lay down, it may be something to consider (something we realized after the fact).

Rustic Modern Sofa Designs | Source: Jenni Kayne Home via C Magazine

2. Jenni Kayne Home via Jessica Sample/LONNY (original link to C Magazine no longer works)

Seriously, what’s not to love about this sofa? Well, the entire room is one of my favorite’s because it’s warm, rustic and casual with clean modern lines. Plus there’s a nice contrast between the wood grain and the linen cushions. And I love that it’s armless!

Rustic Modern Sofa Designs | Source: Mark Tuckey Box Sofa

3. Box Day Bed Sofa | Mark Tuckey

At this point, I was beginning to realize that I really loved “box” type designs (hence the name of this particular sofa). Simple designs with really clean lines. You can see that the sides of this sofa are the same height as the back of the sofa. I love how it looks but prefer a sofa with shorter arms. If we didn’t have pets I would be all over white cushions because I love how they look with a wood base. If you visit Mark Tuckey’s website you will likely get lost for hours looking at his beautiful wood creations, which he sells.

Rustic Modern Sofa Designs | Source: Mark Tuckey Plinth Sofa - Photo by Lucas Allen

4. Plinth Sofa | Mark Tuckey Photo by Lucas Allen

This is another Mark Tuckey sofa, but as you can see the sides of the sofa are a bit lower, which I prefer. This is one of those photos that I’ve pinned numerous times to numerous boards because I love it so much. I think the linen/wood combination is one of my favorites.

Rustic Modern Sofa Designs | Source: Pobble House by Guy Hollaway

5. Pobble House by Guy Hollaway

This sofa looked very similar to other designs I had saved, but the indigo color and velvety material immediately caught my attention. The legs are a fun detail but I personally prefer the “boxier” wood legs used in the Mark Tuckey sofas.

Another detail I noticed is that the side cushions line up to the back cushions rather than to the back of the sofa. Now that we’ve built our RV sofa I can say that I would have preferred to have our side cushions do this as well.

10 rustic modern sofa designs that will make a statement, yet stand the test of time. These are the designs that influenced the custom sofa in our RV.

6. Reclaimed Wood Sofa | Pinterest – Original Source Unknown

The reclaimed pallet-style base of this sofa adds so much character but is softened by the simple grey cushions. This sofa seems a bit clunkier and may be made for the outdoors, but I think it would look awesome inside as well, especially in a log cabin or mountain home.

This design had me contemplating adding a wood product like Stikwood or tongue and groove to our sofa without adding too much weight.

Modern Wood Sofa in Railway Shed Conversion |Prágmata

7. Modern Wood Sofa in Railway Shed Conversion |Prágmata

This space has so many fun details, like the sliding barn door, rustic coffee table, and herringbone brick fireplace, but I LOVE the sofas! These were most similar to the base of the sofa we were going to build, since it wasn’t going to have legs, but would essentially be a “box” where we could hold storage.

Rustic Modern Sofa Designs | Source: Pianoisola Caramella Counter Sofa

8. Caramella Counter Sofa | Pianoisola

If you’re looking for a multifunctional sofa then this Caramella counter sofa should be right up your alley. Unfortunately, our sofa will be against the wall of our RV so we don’t have space for a counter in the back, but I think this is such a fun idea for smaller homes and apartments. You’ll also notice that the arms have a lip. I was undecided about adding this to our RV sofa, but in the end, we decided to keep the sides flat.

Rustic Modern Sofa Designs | Source: JH Interior Design

9. JH Interior Design | Oregon Coast House

This Oregon coast home is a stunner, with beautiful views of the coast and a really cool sailboat upcycled into additional seating. However, one of my favorite pieces of furniture is the rustic modern sofa. The back and sides of this sofa are absolutely beautiful and the rich, reclaimed wood adds so much character, texture, and warmth to the space.

The wood/dark gray color scheme works really well and doesn’t feel too dark in the space since it’s surrounded by lots of natural light.

Rustic Modern Sofa Designs | Photo Source: Pearson Design Group

10. Pearson Design Group – Sofas look like these ones from RH

There’s no denying this home has a dreamy view that I could easily get used to looking at every day. The furniture is super rustic but has clean lines and it blends perfectly with the environment. Even though it’s meant for the outdoors, the modern rustic design and reclaimed wood (which I think is made out of old railroad ties) is inspiring to say the least. Not to mention I love EVERYTHING Pearson Design Group touches.

Which sofa is your favorite?

Whether you’re trying to narrow down the style you want your next sofa to be, or you plan to build your own own custom seating I hope you found inspiration in these designs.

Update: You can see how we built a custom sofa inside our RV with these rustic modern sofa designs as our inspiration!

10 Rustic Modern Sofa Designs that Make a Statement

2 Comments

  1. They all are beautiful, and I would like any one of them, however I think I like the JENNI KAYNE HOME VIA C MAGAZINE one the best, although like you, I think I would prefer one solid cushion down the whole length, and then another around the end of the L. I do think I would like to have an armrest, though.

    I think if I were building it, I would use some sort of wooden crates or boxes for the bottom, and make the seat part hinged, so I could use the boxes for storage.

    1. Thanks Sandy! I love that sofa design, as well as the entire room! We had originally planned to create a planked style sofa but I think we were freaked out about the weight. Looking back on it now I think we would have been fine especially since the sofa bed we removed was pretty heavy. There are some projects I may just have to wait until we get a sticks and bricks home…

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