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 

The latest addition to Morgan’s Pimlico collection are the Highback 148 Booth Sofa, and the two-seat Lowback 147 Sofa, created to accompany the 140 Lounge Chair. Designed by Morgan Studio, the Pimlico collection started as a bedroom chair with a small footprint, and has developed to include high backs and a variety of size options. Featuring smooth curved lines and a unique oval seat pad, the new fully upholstered lounge chair offers an extension to the curvaceous luxury of the collection, with a concealed swivel base. www.morganfurniture.co.uk

RESIDENT
Carousel

Designed by Sydney-based Cameron Foggo, the Carousel sofa from Resident blurs the boundaries between residential and commercial furniture, and is available in low-, mid- and high-back options dependant on the level of privacy required. Though masculine in aesthetic, the Carousel series is softened by generously sized cushions and sits upon a refined blackened steel frame, echoing qualities evocative of mid-century design. www.resident.co.nz

TACCHINI
Memory Lane

For Tacchini’s Memory Lane series, French designer Christophe Pillet has crafted a chair that is universal and radically simplified in its aesthetic. Launched during Milan Design Week, and designed for the contract market with both style and comfort in mind, the contemporary series features a slender metal structure, refined quilted padding and topstitched upholstery, as well as elastic webbing that remains visible on the back of the seat. www.tacchini.it

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.

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