It was one of the events of the 2022 edition of the Milan Furniture Fair.
The spectacular Minotti pavilion spanning 3,200 square meters and two levels illustrated the know-how and style of this essential Italian house.
Each room was a showcase for sofas, tables, chairs… immediately triggering the desire.
What enchanted the visitor was also this incredible fluidity between interior and exterior spaces.
This perfect villa, surrounded by lush vegetation, seemed to have no boundaries between inside and outside, comfort and aesthetics being of the same level of requirement.
The iconic Torii Nest armchair, by Nendo, long reserved for the living room, deployed its curves on a terrace, responding to Rodolfo Dordoni's rope-clad seats, the soft Florida sofas, the Quadrado benches, by Marcio Kogan, inspired by duckboards, or again to the armchairs, the footrest bench, the small table from the Yoko Cord Outdoor line created by the Japanese-Scandinavian duo Inoda + Sveje, combining comfortable materials and refined silhouettes.
If this installation was an invitation to dream, it was above all the proof that, from now on, the house is thought of well beyond its walls, and that the garden, the patio, the courtyard, the balcony... are fitted out with as much of care than the bedroom or the living room.
In video, Six tips to wake up a tired decoration
New arrivals or iconic pieces
At Cassina, the classics, such as the Mexico table by Charlotte Perriand and the Leggera chair by Gio Ponti, are revisited for the outdoors.
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This shift can be seen among all the major players in the house.
Cassina thus develops new outdoor products with designers who sign indoor collections, such as Philippe Starck and Patricia Urquiola.
The house also publishes some of its icons in new versions.
This is the case of the Mexico furniture, designed by Charlotte Perriand – the dining table and the bar table feature materials and finishes suitable for outdoor use – or even that of the Leggera chair, by Gio Ponti.
For the latter, it was necessary to deploy an incredible ingenuity in order to preserve its lightness and its silhouette while guaranteeing its resistance to bad weather.
The teams went to look for technologies in the automotive industry to take up the challenge.
The pandemic was when most people opened their eyes to the importance of nature and the possibility of spending some cozy time outdoors!
Lucas Fuso
Luca Fuso, the brand's CEO, is the man who brought this revolution.
“I had already captured this interest fifteen years ago.
I was then working for a design company specializing in interior equipment, and I decided to introduce one of the first outdoor collections, he says.
When I joined Cassina four years ago, it seemed essential to me to launch a catalog of outdoor items.
We presented the first outdoor collection at a critical time, early 2020, just before the pandemic hit.
But it was finally the moment when most people opened their eyes to the importance of nature and the possibility of spending time comfortably outside!”
Molteni launched its first outdoor collection, including the Palinfrasca line, emblematic of Italian excellence and know-how.
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Molteni, another star in the high-end furniture sector, is releasing its first outdoor line this season, designed by its artistic director, Vincent Van Duysen.
The latter has cultivated in his pieces the same timelessness, the same concern for quality, sensuality as for his creations for the interior, but by associating techniques and materials that are not afraid of rain and UV rays.
The same approach when he adapted the D.150.5 chaise longue and the D.154.2 armchair, by Gio Ponti, for the garden.
Staying as close as possible to their original design, he replaced the solid wood of the first with teak, and used plastic, recycled textiles and metal to make the second.
“All these new proposals are based on Italian excellence, without forgetting a key element in everything I design: organic materials,
pleasant to the touch, warm and timeless,” he adds.
The designer even designed Helios, an outdoor kitchen, confirming that outdoor living is now a way of life in its own right.
Made in France side
The Saparella line, by Michel Ducaroy, at Cinna, has been adapted for the outdoors.
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French brands are obviously present in this booming market.
Cinna has been exploring outdoor territory for ten years now.
“Covid and containment have made the market more mature.
Before, people weren't ready to put a huge budget into their outdoor gear.
This is no longer the case.
At the same time, innovations have multiplied and materials have become stronger, more beautiful, they can be cleaned.
Finally, the service is more suited to a premium vision: now, when we sell outdoor furniture, we also provide protective covers, explains Bruno Allard, Cinna's sales and marketing director.
To build our offer, we started from a problem: are we able to reach the same level of
excellence in terms of comfort for seats created for the interior and revised for the exterior?
To answer this, we took one of our iconic armchairs, the Ottoman by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, and reinvented it.
We kept the same foams, but we isolated them from the ground thanks to a base which slightly modifies its appearance, then wrapped in a water-repellent fabric so that rainwater can run off without penetrating into the structure or stagnating.
This is the first step.
But the company then set itself a new challenge: to change nothing in the appearance of indoor furniture adapted for outdoor use.
“We also tackled a myth there: the Saparella line, which Michel Ducaroy created just before Togo, continues Bruno Allard.
We achieved an incredible level of comfort there.”
These challenges taken up, Cinna has taken a step forward this year by reversing the trend and adapting for the interior the Murtoli sofa, by Christian Werner, originally designed for the outdoors.
"Textiles, materials designed for the outdoors are now so beautiful and efficient that we can bring them into the house without any problem," concludes the marketing director enthusiastically.
Read alsoBefore / After: how to sublimate your terrace or balcony?
Innovative textiles
Farniente fabric, by Lelièvre, to cover deckchairs.
Outside, aesthetics and comfort are now possible whatever your budget.
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Efficient, that's a word that often comes up in the mouth of Emmanuel Lelièvre, who runs the historic studio for the creation and production of Lelièvre furnishing textiles.
“A fabric for the exterior, which will cover a sofa, an armchair, is a fabric that lasts, which will not fade after two seasons or mold.
It is also designed to support the activity of a
beach club
with an overflow of sunscreen, cocktails and halos of salt water.
In addition, no one wants to sit on the terrace on a tarpaulin or something scratchy anymore.
Hence this notion of performance which encompasses robustness, maintenance and the sensory approach,” he explains.
For several years Lelièvre has been offering textiles designed to be used outdoors, and it is clear that more and more innovations allow it to develop products that are ever more pleasing to the eye and to the hand.
“There have been major advances in the fibres: they are more flexible, similar to interior fabrics.
Moreover, today, we speak of “in and out quality””, always specifies Emmanuel Lelièvre.
And the two collections presented this year perfectly reflect these advances.
Splash, thanks to a set of threads, has made it possible to develop a range of unexpected colors with an almost mosaic effect.
Farniente is a loop, the star material of the interiors.
The work on the texture was extremely thorough.
Just run your hand over it to understand:
A terrace like a living room
Paola Navone signs for Ethimo the Nodi rug designed for outdoor use.
Bernard Touillon
If we continue to unroll the textile thread of the outdoor, we arrive quite naturally at the carpet.
Because, yes, now the terrace is also entitled to this accessory.
And there is no question of treading only on coconut and other fibers that sting the feet.
Lelièvre obviously has its outdoor rugs, including Spherical, with mineral colors and geometric shapes reminiscent of the furrow the ocean leaves on the sand.
And many other brands offer, for the exterior, models as sophisticated as those found in the house.
As proof, the new collection designed by Paola Navone for Ethimo, called Nodi.
Each of the three references features refined tone-on-tone relief patterns, one of which evokes camouflage.
Another accessory that is undergoing a major metamorphosis: the outdoor light.
Technology, reflection on design and "nomadity" thanks to the development of batteries: here too we have a fusion of the interior and exterior worlds.
This is confirmed by Emmanuel Gagnez, director of Sammode, a reference in lighting: “Borders are being erased with the existence of hybrid products that go from inside to outside.
It is an evolution linked to innovation and aesthetics.
But there is obviously a consumer demand that goes in this direction.
is an evolution linked to innovation and aesthetics.
But there is obviously a consumer demand that goes in this direction.
is an evolution linked to innovation and aesthetics.
But there is obviously a consumer demand that goes in this direction.
Big brands and small brands are showing creativity to make outdoor life more beautiful.
The proof with the Limana rocking chair by Alinea... Press Service
Admittedly, luxury brands and leading designers have set the tone in terms of the layout of outdoor spaces.
But the big brands are not to be outdone, increasingly abandoning the plastic living room to highlight more elegant ranges, such as Kave Home, Alinea or Habitat, whose collections reflect great efforts both at level of design and comfort.
What delight all those who have a little corner of paradise, whether it is a balcony or a park, and frustrate those who have only a window sill to develop...
... But also with the Satuna living room at Kave Home.
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