Designing for comfort, Furniture Part III

As designers flock to the world’s largest furniture fair in Milan, nostalgic styles take centrestage in response to guest desires for hotels that feel like home, Designing for comfort, Furniture.

Following this year’s Salone del Mobile, design trends suggest that consumers are seeking comfort and warmth over pareddown styles. Driven largely by the influence of Airbnb and extended-stay accommodation, collections launched across the city leaned towards homeliness by way of organic shapes, low profiles and short legs, with rounded profiles preferred to the more linear designs of previous seasons. The use of colour similarly reflected a growing desire to embody the home-from-home, with warm neutrals and rich accents such as terracotta, burgundy and emerald green replacing minimal palettes. So too did the materials on display, with sumptuous velvets employed as an opulent yet tactile upholstery alternatives, and artisanal fabrics like rattan and wicker able to create a compelling mixture of textures with a raw look and feel. Nostalgic desires have not only blurred the boundaries between commercial and residential styles, but also the spaces in which we live and work. With more travellers than ever using hotel spaces as an office, greater importance is being placed on versatile furniture that is equally as comfortable for laptop use as it is for enjoying a cocktail. Shifting towards flexibility and wellbeing, modular designs and cosy furniture may be the answer to creating fluid environments for work, rest and play.

MORGAN

Pimlico

FREDERICIA
Spine

The latest addition to Fredericia’s Spine collection, Spine Metal Base by Space Copenhagen includes a dining chair, lounge chair, barstool with and without backrest and low stool. Each of the models features a lean and elegant steel leg structure, as well as a fully upholstered seat for maximum customisation and comfort. Since its launch in 2011, the Spine collection has grown to encompass a wide selection of seminal chairs, barstools and sofas. www.fredericia.com

EXPORMIM
Huma

Designed by Mario Ruiz, Expormim’s Huma range aims to retain the classic philosophy of rattan production whilst providing maximum comfort through the use of flexible ribs in the backrest and upholstered seat. Characterised by a shell-shaped structure, the armchair is available in six versions – some with original rattan backrest and others featuring an internal structure of steel covered with moulded polyurethane foam – which can be combined with steel and beech wood legs or a swivel base. www.expormim.es

NINE STARS INTERNATIONAL
Zuma Rome

Nine Stars International has recently provided bespoke furniture for Zuma, a Japenese restaurant within Palazzo Fendi in Rome. Amongst the Dubai-based manufacturer’s designs are 200-year-old monkey pod wood tables, bars and wall partitions, as well as upholstered metal framed chairs, plush sofas and a series of lanterns spread across both dining and bar levels. www.ninestarsintl.com

FEEL GOOD DESIGNS
Manta

After designing the Tornaux lounge chair to reflect the enveloping movement of a whirlwind, Danish designer Henrik Pedersen has taken inspiration from the depths of the ocean to create Manta – an armchair evoking the majestic shape of the manta ray. Sporting organic lines, the piece features a finely finished rattan wide back and soft seat that work in tandem. Available as an indoor or outdoor model, Manta’s upholstery can also be personalised upon request. www.feelgooddesigns.com

sources: Sleeper, July-August 2018.