Sundays’ collaboration with Sophie Burke pairs natural materials, quiet forms

Furniture that doesn’t try too hard does feel particularly West Coast.

Warm wood, natural stone, useful storage and simple forms tend to feel more at home here than anything overly polished or precious. It’s a sensibility that Vancouver company Sundays and Sophie Burke Design have put forward in Harbour, Sundays’ first full collection collaboration.

Including pieces for the bedroom, living room, dining room and home office, Harbour was conceived as a collection for the whole home rather than a single statement piece.

For Sophie Burke, principal of Vancouver-based Sophie Burke Design, the appeal of working with Sundays was partly that shared emphasis on livability.

“I love how approachable Sundays furniture is. It’s beautiful and carefully considered, but also warm and relaxed. It’s designed for real life, which appeals to me,” she says.

The collection draws on familiar materials — walnut, pale oak, Carrara marble and teak — but its West Coast character is less literal than simply placing nature-inspired motifs on furniture.

Burke says living and working in Vancouver has inevitably influenced how she thinks about interiors.

“We’re surrounded by ocean, mountains and forest, and I think that naturally draws us towards materials that feel tactile and authentic, and colours and forms that are quieter and more restrained,” says Burke.

That influence also extends to how people actually use their homes.

“There’s an informality to the way people live here that was important to me — I wanted the furniture to feel beautiful and considered, but also relaxed, comfortable and easy to live with,” she says.

For Harbour, that translated into straightforward forms, natural materials and furniture intended to last beyond a decorating cycle.

Noah Morse, co-founder and head of product at Sundays, sees the same quality in contemporary Canadian design.

“I think there’s a confidence in West Coast design right now that doesn’t need to be loud. Harbour is warm and understated, with natural materials and really considered proportions,” he says.

Morse and Burke’s connection goes back years in Vancouver.

In his twenties, Morse worked at Inform Interiors, where Burke was a client. Years later, after Sundays launched, he discovered she had begun specifying some of the company’s furniture in her own projects.

“When I heard she was interested in expanding into furniture design, I jumped at the opportunity,” Morse says.

Rather than attach a designer’s name to one or two products, Sundays wanted the collaboration to extend across an entire collection.

“With Sophie, there was such a natural alignment in how we think about home, materials and longevity that the opportunity was there to build an entire collection together, rather than just one or two pieces,” he says.