Domestic constellations

Décor complements steal the stage, inside and outside the Salone del Mobile. With their decorative impact in limited volumes, they add a touch of playful dynamism to any space

Lufthansa Ju-52 by Bordbar
Lufthansa Ju-52 by Bordbar

BORDBAR | Design takes off
To transform real airline service trolleys into timeless design objects: this is the mission of the Cologne-based brand Bordbar, which this year presents its exclusive creations for the first time at the Salone del Mobile. Among the various models, Lufthansa Ju-52 (on cover), made by hand inside the Cologne factory, is a trolley that immortalizes an iconic piece from the history of aviation. Like all the brand’s products, made with materials of the highest quality like aluminium and stainless steel, this item is certified to meet the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), for use on any long-range flights all over the world. 

Savio by Porada, Design David Dolcini
Savio by Porada, Design David Dolcini
Hen by DA A, Design Angeletti Ruzza
Hen by DA A, Design Angeletti Ruzza

PORADA | Vintage charm
This is a collection be discovered and appreciated for its sophisticated materials and cross-pollination of styles. With Twentytwo, Porada accentuates its already distinctive identity, tied to solid wood that is shaped into works of art, making it a bearer of the culture and tradition of iconic Italian furniture. A common theme of the new pieces is reworking classic designs from the 1950s, inspired by the great Italian designers of the time, like Franco Albini, Domenico Parisi, and Ignazio Gardella. This vintage appeal also imbues Savio, a new desk designed by David Dolcini for Porada. The freestanding desk is in Canaletta walnut featuring natural maple wood and leather inserts. Its distinctive quality is its versatility and compact style that defines different interior landscapes. Closed by the convenient doors, it is like a sculpture and when opens it reveals its multiplicity of functions. 

DA A | Iron will
That of DA A is a story to be told. In fact, the brand was born from a rib of a company specialising in something else entirely: the production of earth moving machinery. “It was here that I fell in love with iron,” says its founder Bruna Taurino. ‘It is a material that is only apparently rigid, in reality very malleable. And capable of becoming sexy when it is painted’. The catalogue proposes pieces with exclusive, handcrafted finishes that make the object somewhere between a design product and a work of art. The designers with whom DA A collaborates are also chosen by Bruna Taurino following a personal harmony: Marc Sadler, Studio Klass, Debonademeo, Angeletti Ruzza. The latter’s Hen armchair (the name was chosen precisely because of its rounded shape), with a perforated sheet metal backrest, which will be presented in Milan in a series of variants.

Ghia by Arper, Design Altherr Désile Park - Photo © Salva Lopez
Ghia by Arper, Design Altherr Désile Park – Photo © Salva Lopez

ARPER | Sinuous signature
Arper‘s new furnishings are drawn with a soft, continuous line in both its more substantial pieces like the Shaal sofa and smaller, playful accessories like the Ghia coffee tables. The gently curving designs are like a caress for the senses and bring these furnishing pieces into a balanced dialogue with many different settings including residential, hospitality, and office interiors. Their inviting, familiar quality lets Shaal and Ghia fit beautifully into their surroundings. Designed by Doshi Levien, Shaal brings to mind a soft basket full of cushions. The structure’s frame holds soft, ample filling for the seat and backrest and culminates in the armrests that are slightly suspended. The Ghia table system was designed by Altherr Désile Park, featuring efficient expressiveness that allows many configurations including through a variety of finishes and shapes. 

Modular Imagination by Cassina, Design Virgil Abloh - Photo © Luca Merli
Modular Imagination by Cassina, Design Virgil Abloh – Photo © Luca Merli

CASSINA | Building the world
The last project signed by Virgil Abloh, fashion designer but above all a visionary of contemporary culture (with a master’s degree in Architecture), is a collaboration with CassinaModular Imagination. Modular Imagination is composed of two different-sized, matt-black building blocks that can be combined to create, adapt and rebuild space based on the necessities of both public and domestic settings. Sort of like Minecraft, but real. And surprisingly soft.

Borealis by Giorgetti, Design Roberto Lazzeroni
Borealis by Giorgetti, Design Roberto Lazzeroni

GIORGETTI | The beauty of the idea
The world of Giorgetti is made up of refinement, craftsmanship and profound knowledge of materials. These are all elements that we find in the Borealis screen designed by Roberto Lazzeroni: an idea, an object that combines conceptual simplicity and formal complexity, bringing to mind the artistic experiments of the 1950s and 1960s. A profound synthesis of values that results in a fascinating piece. As the designer explains, “it is a useful complement for creating small intimate spaces, and at the same time it is an object with a strong decorative value, which tells of the company’s craftsmanship: strips of two-tone leather are sewn to a metal frame in tension, which, when they meet, stopped by a small manual stitching, form very pleasant-looking bows.” An object with a sculptural appearance, the result of quick thinking and a simple gesture.

Aliso by Borzalino, Design Luca Roccadadria
Aliso by Borzalino, Design Luca Roccadadria

BORZALINO | The sculptural form of metal
Versatile, resistant and infinitely recyclable,  metal is the protagonist of the Aliso and Bisbee tables by Borzalino, both designed by Luca Roccadadria. For Aliso, the heart of the project is in the base: an impressive cylinder with two lateral cuts that seem to cross the glass top to create a tray ready to contain accessories. Available in different finishes – glossy lacquer, bronze, gold, delabré, titanium – diversified for the inner and outer parts. Bisbee, on the other hand, stands out for the contrast between the soft form of the glass top and the rugged surface of the base in curved sheet metal, in the finishes anodized bronze, titanium, lacquer and delabré.

Plettro by Alias, Design Paolo Rizzatto
Plettro by Alias, Design Paolo Rizzatto

ALIAS | Not the usual chords
They have an organic shape that reveals a dual function: Paolo Rizzatto for Alias has designed two tables with different shapes and sizes, ideal for the home office. The first, triangular in shape with rounded corners, echoes the look of the plectrum (which gives its name to the entire collection), that small instrument that creates harmonic chords with the guitar when used well. On the other hand, the table has a cosy, rounded shape that makes it a perfect desk. The idea of Alias and the designer was to create a hybrid product that would work well as both a dining and working solution. So much so that computers, books, notebooks, as well as cutlery and table linen can all find a place in the drawer. Plettro is characterised by a decomposed top that becomes a very rigid beam structure, formed by two thin tops intersected by a series of wooden elements that divide spaces and in which drawers slide. The plane of the models designed for the home office also houses a cable management system.

Sinua by Rubelli Casa, Design Matteo Nunziati,
Sinua by Rubelli Casa, Design Matteo Nunziati,

RUBELLI CASAThe theory of beauty
The timeless modernism of the works of Pierre Chareau and Eileen Gray and their architectures, mixed with echoes of Art Déco, are the creative cues from which the new collection created by Matteo Nunziati for the brand: a style that’s modern and at the same time soft and rich. A concept which, in the Rubelli Casa 2022 collection, acquires an even more rational and contemporary valence while maintaining a strong link with tradition. The small tables of the Sinua collection, which also includes a writing desk and console table, are characterised by curved panels covered in fabric (hence the name, Sinua, sinuous, not linear) and natural walnut tops. These tables are available in two circular and one oval version, and in three sizes to meet different functional and aesthetic requirements. And combined together they allow for dynamic compositions in the centre of the room.

Atrium by Cattelan Italia, Design Paolo Cattelan & Lorenzo Remedi
Atrium by Cattelan Italia, Design Paolo Cattelan & Lorenzo Remedi

CATTELAN ITALIA | Sculpture effect
A protagonist in the living area, the new Atrium family of tables by Cattelan Italia, designed by Paolo Cattelan and Lorenzo Remedi, becomes precious thanks to the base formed by two finely crafted panes of glass. The simplicity of the top forms a contrast with the base in fume couture reflecting crystal, shaped with a technique that gives the surface a three-dimensional effect, like quilted fabric but capable of emitting reflections of light into the space. The Atrium family comes in the Atrium Wood version, with tops in wood or other finishes, including ceramics.

Principles by Unifor, Design OMA - Photo © Studio Amos Fricke
Principles by Unifor, Design OMA – Photo © Studio Amos Fricke

UNIFOR | The elementary particles
The main assumption of the Principles system, designed by the OMA studio originally for Axel Springer’s Media Campus in Berlin, is that of versatility and flexibility: more than 100 elements that can be combined to create work areas, islands for relaxation, semi-preserved areas for meetings. A project evidently designed for work contexts but which seems to inspire much more playful activities. Colour plays a fundamental role, which overshadows the important research behind the entire collection, especially at the level of materials: starting from the fabrics, which come from the world of super tech sportswear, to the thick colour-core laminates and the micro-perforated sheets with high acoustic performance.