Choose it with the back up and down
Cassina’s account of Vico Magistretti’s 1973 design describes the back’s transformation through a mechanism developed around a bicycle-chain idea. The result is not simply a tall sofa: the back can change its relationship to the person sitting in front of it. This is the feature to spend time with at a viewing.[1]
With the seller demonstrating normal operation, compare the low position for conversation with the raised position for relaxing. Try the seat you expect to use most, then the neighbouring seat. Notice whether the support lands comfortably behind your shoulders and whether the deep cushions leave your feet where you want them.
Allow space behind the sofa for its intended movement and use. A sofa that looks ideal pushed hard against a wall in the low position may need a different placement when you raise the backs. Measure the actual object in both positions instead of copying a single listing height.
Ask for one continuous demonstration
For a remote purchase, request a short video showing the complete sofa, then each back moving through its normal positions and settling. A sequence of still images cannot tell you whether one back is being held up off camera. The demonstrator should follow the instructions for that example and stop if the mechanism resists unexpectedly.
| Observation | Next question |
|---|---|
| One back sits lower than its neighbour | Is this the chosen position, a padding difference or a mechanism fault? |
| A back moves but will not remain in position | What repair has been assessed and what access is required? |
| The cover pulls tightly during movement | Was the sofa reupholstered, and was the folding action checked afterwards? |
| Both backs work but the seat feels low | What is the condition of the padding and support beneath the seat? |
Do not let an unexplained problem turn into an instruction to force the back or add an improvised stop. A specialist needs to identify the version and the fault before promising a repair.
Later improvements do not describe every old sofa
Cassina records the 2014 Maralunga 40 update with perimeter piping and the 40-S fabric version with removable covers. It also describes a reinforced mechanism with additional recline in the 2024 development. Those details help you separate versions; they should not be assigned to a 1970s sofa merely because it carries the same name.[1]
Ask for the product identification and any purchase or upholstery paperwork. If the seller says “removable covers”, ask which covers, how they detach and what care instructions belong to them. Do not unfasten upholstery experimentally or treat a zip as proof that an entire fitted cover is designed for home removal.
Resolve the mechanism before the new cloth
In an illustrative restoration choice, sofa A needs fabric and sound padding retained; sofa B needs fabric plus an uncertain back mechanism. The same per-metre cloth price tells you very little about the difference between them. B may require investigation, parts and repeated access before the upholstery can be completed.
Ask the upholsterer and repairer who will coordinate that sequence. The quote should distinguish mechanical assessment, agreed repairs, support and padding work, fabric and labour, and transport. If the mechanism must be inspected after opening the cover, agree the decision point and what happens if the repair is not viable.
A recent recover is not automatically bad news. It becomes valuable when the work is documented and the shape, seams and folding action remain convincing in use. Ask to see earlier photographs if available; they can explain why the work was done.
Buy the comfortable positions
Message to adapt
Please show each backrest moving and settling, plus the sofa’s dimensions in its low and raised positions. Which version is this, and what was replaced during any upholstery work? If a mechanism needs attention, I would like its assessment and the cost of upholstery access separated before agreeing a total.
The right Maralunga can be sociable in the afternoon and generous enough to curl up in later. Make those two experiences the test. The fabric colour is easier to fall in love with once the sofa’s best feature still works.