G Plan furniture was the brainchild of Donald Gomme, the designer at E Gomme furniture. Furniture had been subject to rationing during world war II, and with the end of the war came a hunger not only for more modern looking furniture, but a need to revamp the whole house at once. G Plan was conceived as a range of coordinated furniture for the whole house, which did not need to be bought all at once but could be bought piece by piece according to budgets. Advertising campaigns were planned at the same time as the initial furniture designs, and showrooms were built around the country, making it easy for the public to view and fall in love with this furniture. The designs did not change with the seasons, but were kept in place for several years so that people could collect a range over time, and the public fell in love with this new way to buying furniture.
It was competition from the continent that spelled the end of the G Plan sofas dominance over our homes. A Danish manufacturer threatened to break into the UK market, and in response G Plan designed a Danish Modern range of furniture. However, this only served to make the rest of their range seem more dated and fired the public desire for clean Scandinavian inspired lines, opening up the UK furniture market. G Plan remained a major player, but no longer overwhelmingly dominant. This change was helped along by the UK government, as additional regulations on hire purchase agreements meant that the way the British public bought their furniture had to change.
G Plan furniture continues today as two separate businesses, with G Plan cabinet furniture made in Glasgow by the Morris Furniture Group, while G Plan Upholstery continues to make G Plan sofas and armchairs from a modern factory in Wiltshire.
G Plan Sofas are still a wonderful addition to the lounges of today, bringing together quality and style to grace any room with their presence. They are built to last, with a 10 year guarantee on all of the G Plan sofas and luxurious coverings and quality leathers which are a joy to sit on. The dedicated showrooms of yesteryear are gone, but they can be found in most popular furniture stores, a brand which means quality and reliability with which they are proud to put at the front of their displays. DFS, SCS and Furniture Village all include them in their range, while there are a large number of most discerning retailers which simply leave out many of the lesser sofas, giving more room in their showrooms for the beautiful G Plan Sofas which have stood the test of time.
G Plan sofas have come a long way since Ebenezer Gomme first founded his furniture factory back in 1898, and his grandson Donald proved to be as much a visionary, leaving us with a legacy of wonderful furniture that continues today.