Here’s a poser: which comfy seating could you have found, last summer, in the Palace of Westminster and the Big Brother house? It is somehow typical of the highly theatrical architect Nigel Coates that his furniture worked perfectly well in both places.

Coates is a “maximalist” architect — he likes his buildings and interiors to tell stories, to be rich, colourful, symbolic. His Body Zone in the Millennium Dome brought much-needed pizzazz to that over-earnest expo. But Coates — also professor of architecture at the Royal College of Art — has long had a sideline in unconventional furniture design. His Oxo seating, made by the British company Hitch Mylius, is both ingenious and simple.

Oxo consists of two seats, one circular, one a curving X-shape. The one interlocks with the other at any angle. It can be a chair, a sofa, an ottoman, a corner unit, anything you like really, since — unlike almost every other arrangement of modular upholstered seating — it does not have to be arranged in straight rows or right angles.

Coates originally designed the system in 1998 for his competition- winning “Oyster House” at the Ideal Home show that year. The house may be forgotten now, but the furniture lives on. Often you’ll find it in the reception areas of image-conscious advertising agencies, but don’t let that put you off — it’s perfect for domestic interiors. It is traditionally made with an upholstered beech frame in all sorts of colours and fabrics, and costs from £740 per unit.

This is one of those products you have to order specially from better design shops. But Oxo deserves to be more widely known.

Hitch Mylius (www.hitchmylius.co.uk) products may be ordered through retailers such as Purves and Purves (020 7580 8223, www.purves.co.uk)

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