Get Swept Away by These Outdoor Collections
MILAN — Indoor, outdoor…where does one draw the line? For those urban dwellers without a balcony, it’s clear these days that there are plenty of furnishing options to usher in the outdoor vibe, inside, since the trend was prevalent in and around town and in the halls of Salone del Mobile.Milano.
“It’s all about putting the house in the best place to have this cross ventilation and also about proportion. I think this makes you feel good inside and right now it’s all about this connection with outside and inside. I think these are the main ways we work with light,” the São Paulo-based designers Marcio Kogan and Diana Radomysler, who have been partners at Studio MK27 since the ’90s, told WWD. Together they brought their Brazilian modernism to the halls of Salone del Mobile.Milano.
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Kogan’s Trio indoor armchair for Italy’s Minotti blossomed into a version for open-air settings, which features an armchair, two benches and a dining armchair. “An exquisite reinterpretation of cabinetmaking transforms teak, smoothed with sinuous differing thicknesses, into a design with essential lines that echo the purity of Rationalism,” Minotti said.
The Trio outdoor seats are characterized by an ultra-lightweight aesthetic, incorporated with a wicker-effect cord frame that supports the soft seat and backrest cushions.
Kogan and Radomysler were among the designers at the 62nd edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano, which drew 1,950 exhibitors and 361,417 visitors.
The Artemest Courtyard
Artemest, a digital platform that promotes and sells Italian arts, crafts and design, tapped its partners, decorators and artisans to create a dreamhouse in an early 20th-century palazzo near Corso Magenta.
The Artemest team took over Residenza Vignale, a private home built by an Austrian prince between 1905 and 1907 after he fell in love with an Italian woman who would become his wife.
The courtyard was more about ambience than the furnishings themselves and was designed by the New York-based Gachot, with the intention of creating an outdoor living room. There was a table set for a family meal, sleek sofas and chairs with polished wooden frames, fire pits and a bar set up near what was once the stables.
A flower room connected the courtyard with the main house. Designed by Studio Meshary AlNassar, it drew inspiration from Surrealism, with pastel hues and a sculptural, trompe l’oeil wood cabinet resembling a giant beehive and bursting with flowers.
“We found the space last year, right after the last Salone, and we’ve been working on it for a year — it’s been a labor of love. So many of the products are bespoke and custom made to match the interiors,” said Ippolita Rostagno, the cofounder and creative director of Artemest, adding this was the first time the space was open to the public.
Palomba Serafini for Talenti
The architects and designer duo Palomba Serafini are famous for everything from home collections for Versace Home and Fendi Casa to lighting for Foscarini and even a yacht for Amer Yachts. This season they designed a new outdoor furniture collection for Talenti. Nalu — which means “wave” in Hawaiian, they explained — is not just a product line but a way of understanding the connection between covering and structure, between straight geometries and unpredictable curves.
“It’s a collection inspired by the design of the masters of the golden years of Italian design, born from the idea of a unique cushion that folds over, generating the seat and the backrest, like a sort of wave, colorful cast aluminum armrests emerging from the soft structure that envelops them,” said Ludovica Serafini and Roberto Palomba. Their Daybed Cruise completes the collection, responding to the increased demand for comfortable and ultra private spaces.
Yaaz
The Hayal circular swings by Turkish firm Yaaz set the scene for relaxation and escape in and out of the home. Led by the art direction of Italy’s Angeletti Ruzza design studio, the structure is made from solid aluminum and the seat covered in fabric, while small tassels embellish its cords. “This poetic furniture that brings your mind back to childhood was born from the idea of creating a place-non-place, a magical object like a flying carpet that helps you immerse yourself in a dreamy and liberating dimension,” the company said.
Fast
Outdoor design brand Fast presented its new collections born from the partnership with the Argentinian architect and designer Alberto Lievore and with the designer and architect duo Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quincoces, who have been the brand’s new creative directors since October 2023. Its new ranges — Velo, Roè, Naca and Samba — were designed by cutting-edge designers Meda and Lopez Quincoces who infused their design forward vision into essential outdoor furniture. Meda and Lopez Quincoces were also appointed creative directors of the upscale Acerbis furniture brand in 2020 and lava stone specialist Ranieri in 2023.
Kartell and Liberty
Kartell’s Plastics sofa and Trix pouffe by Piero Lissoni and Philippe Starck’s Cara armchair were amped up with a new look thanks to the use of Liberty fabrics that are specially made for outdoor use. Implementing these fabrics was aimed at incorporating both style and functionality along with durability in outdoor applications. Available in two geometric patterns and one floral design, the new collection of outdoor furniture infuses a sense of elegance into summer entertaining via the heritage label’s uplifting motifs.
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