During the course of the year, in the various episodes of our Monthly Journal, we have covered developments in the world of large furniture, upholstered pieces, wardrobes and kitchens, for example. But it is also worth paying attention to furnishing complements. After rediscovering the importance of the home, the idea is to make it warmer through decorative items that embody the most innovative technical and design features.
As in the case of the Aspa series of tables, an exercise in geometry conducted by MUT Design for the German company Pulpo. Each coffee table is composed of five glass panels that converge on a central point, creating games of transparency and reflection and combining surfaces of smooth or textured and tempered glass. Depending on the size of the room, you can select Aspa in small, medium or large sizes.
High-tech workmanship is also seen in the Coral Beach fused glass table designed by Mac Stopa for FIAM Italia. It has a base in metal, coated in the Grigio Lava or Greige Metallizzato finishes, and a top with a hexagonal form in 15mm fused and tempered glass, available in transparent or backpainted versions with metallized colors.
Monete is a true sculpture created by Massimo Castagna for Gallotti&Radice, a table in hand-burnished metal whose craftsmanship makes every piece unique. The variegated metal surface brings the exclusive character of a true work of art.
Eccolo is a high table with a single induction burner by Adriano Design for Fabita. The round cooktop rests on a stem with a height of 70 cm and is supported on the ground by a round base that also functions as a wire spool. The structure is entirely in aluminium, and the cooktop is in glass-ceramic, noble materials chosen for their durability and sustainability. Light and dynamic, Eccolo can be easily transported from one room to another, for cooking anywhere in the home.
The sculptural console Fany designed by Christophe Delcourt for Baxter has an artistic glass top, legs in Roman travertine and leather, with interlocking organic forms.
With design by ruga.perissinotto, Bolzan Letti presents the Dune hideaway desk, where a textile panel on the wall conceals the compact and super-accessorized desk. Dune is formed by two asymmetrical slightly padded parts, one of which reclines to become a worksurface, complete with useful technology and sockets for connecting devices. The metal structural bar functions as a wall attachment, and is subdivided into compartments of different sizes.
The Asian archetype of the shoe bench enters our homes with Wave, designed by Lanzavecchia + Wai for De Castelli. The micro-architecture is made with natural copper, playing with curves, solids and voids. The vertical wave-shaped wall in perforated copper lightens the volume and enhances the sculptural form, accompanying those who enter; the movement underlines the presence of a bowl in which to place personal objects that enter the home with us from the outside. A large upper surface serves as a bench, while the base stores handbags and footwear.
Tollgard Studio has designed the Astol bench for Porada, with a metal structure in a bronze-gold finish, covered with fabrics from the company’s collection. The seat frame is in solid ash wood, and the whole collection takes its cue from the thousands of islands in the archipelago of Stockholm, where the designer was born and raised. The idea is about ‘enclosure’: a precious material protected by an enveloping handcrafted wrapper.
The New Bond bench designed by Matteo Nunziati reveals the sartorial excellence of Flou in the workmanship of fabrics and leathers. The upholstered structure is supported by slim cylindrical metal legs, and comes complete with cushions made with elegant visible stitching.
The Sumo family designed by Piero Lissoni for Living Divani includes a bench and an ottoman with cushions of different sizes, combined with a wooden top, with which to combine elegant and functional colored cabinets. Lissoni’s idea is to have a very thin platform on which to rest low cushions to create sofas, chaises longues, French beds and benches.
Cassina has put the Paravent Ambassade created by Charlotte Perriand into production for the first time (she was a friend of the Japanese architect Junzo Sakakura, with whom she worked on the design of a residence of great grandeur for the Japanese ambassador to France, at Faubourg Saint-Honoré). 313 blocks of solid wood, crafted and finished by hand, are assembled and connected by means of metal rods. The blocks alternate with self-lubricating plastic separators in black, which permit shaping of the screen for various needs.
Wood is also an ingredient of the Patch collection of sound-absorbing divider panels created by Defne Koz and Marco Susani for True Design. The family of freestanding panels in beech, with oak or walnut finish, installed on a steel tube, has the aim of providing privacy, but without total visual isolation. The self-supporting structure permits insertion of single elements that can rotate freely, opening and closing for various needs.
Snakes is a three-panel screen based on collaboration between Toiletpaper and Seletti. Particular care has gone into the combination of materials, in aesthetic and functional details. On one side the lacquered wood structure and brass details of the feet and the borders underscore the refinement of the pieces, while on the other the reflecting surfaces of the panels are printed with graphics, to amplify the dreamy effect.
Inspired by the relationship between the sea in Apulia and the inland portions of the region, the Anemonia mirror by Elena Salmistraro for Natuzzi is a true installation that combines geometric and organic elements of the marine environment. Its versatility emerges in the possibility of having a freestanding configuration – thanks to a metal structure – or a wall version – horizontal or vertical – to subvert the idea of geometry and symmetry of the frame.
The Louis round mirror by Mezzo Collection has the power to completely change the atmosphere of a room. The brass has been discreetly inserted to give this complement an elegant image, with vintage overtones. The contrast of the materials helps to create a modern but also luxurious setting, linking back to Sixties glamour in a contemporary way.
Mirrò is the mirror Federica Biasi has designed for Mingardo, a precious, linear object that embodies simplicity in its proportions, and in the color of the band that wraps the surface. Elegant and poised in its materials and blue-green hues, it is entirely in brass with three touches of color.
