Working in Synergy

Design collaborations are proof that originality flourishes when collective minds come together – and nobody does them better than the Italian design industry, which has decades of experience of working in synergy. Serial collaborations often take place over years, or even decades, meaning that products become ever more ambitious and refined as designers gain intimate knowledge of production techniques, and learn to push the boundaries with each new collection.

David Dolcini first worked with Porada in 2015, and this year returns with the new ‘Halo’ light (pictured top), made from a bronze ring illuminated on its inner face, sat on a marble base. At Ceccotti Collezioni, Draw Studio has conceived the ‘Sweet Dreams’ bed (pictured centre), which has a slender headboard that still provides plenty of comfort thanks to its upholstery. New showroom Turri features the work of Andrea Bonini, including the ‘Zero’ stool (pictured bottom), which was inspired by the clean-lined geometry of mid-century architects such as Vittoriano Viganò and Carlo Scarpa.

Apart from their collaborative inception, the three share something else in common. With barely a right-angle in sight, their curvaceousness sums up the current vogue for soft silhouettes and enveloping comfort, something that’s become ever-more important in a frantic world.

Porada, First Floor, South Dome
Ceccotti Collezioni, First Floor, Centre Dome
Turri, Second Floor, South Dome

The Personal Touch

With more than international 600 brands across 120 showrooms to explore, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by choice at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour. Thankfully, a friendly personal shopping service is the ideal way to help narrow down what’s in the showrooms, and pinpoint just what’s required.

Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour’s personal shopper Gabrielle Grubanovich (pictured above, holding fabric) led three special sessions at Focus/19 that were an ideal demonstration of her skills, including an introduction to textiles that answered all the questions that novices might be afraid to ask, from pattern repeats to fire-resistance; and a chance to ‘shop the show’ and explore some of the new product launches used in Focus/19’s campaign imagery.

Gabrielle’s friendly guidance and practical design advice is available year-round, with complimentary appointments available. Find out how to book here – and help to make a visit productive, enjoyable and stress-free.

 

In the Making

Focus/19’s aim is to bring people closer than ever to the heart of a design story – and live demonstrations of artisan skills are the perfect way to deepen understanding and knowledge. The new Morris & Co showroom hosted block-printing sessions all week, with anyone invited to take part and create their own wallpaper (pictured top); decorative artists from the workshops of the San Patrignano community visited from Italy to show how their complex wallcoverings are created (pictured centre); and participants at a session at Lincrusta were invited to customise its ‘Chequers’ design with imaginative paint effects (pictured bottom).

It wasn’t just wallpaper that was under the spotlight, though. Elsewhere, Artisans of Devizes hosted a marbling workshop with Marmor Paperie; Marvic Textiles brought live silkworms into the showroom to tell the story of James Hare’s silk; and a chocolate-making demonstration at Christopher Peacock highlighted the robustness of its porcelain worktops.

Born to Perform

Outdoor spaces are following indoor design cues, with furniture reaching new heights in performance, durability, comfort and elegance. Notable examples include US brand oomph, available at Nina Campbell, launching a debut collection of outdoor furniture (pictured top) that has the same playful look and gorgeous colours as its indoor lacquered pieces, but in powder-coated aluminium. Interior design and architecture studio Winch Design has collaborated with Summit Furniture to create Arc, with its technically challenging design of laminated teak woven around a curved frame (pictured centre), while McKinnon & Harris’s ‘Suhling’ dining table and ‘Fayette Yacht’ dining and side chairs (pictured bottom) demonstrate the effortless elegance that the Virginian furniture brand is known for.

Nina Campbell, Ground Floor, Design Centre East
Summit Furniture, Third Floor, North Dome
McKinnon & Harris, Second Floor, North Dome

Fringe Theatre

 

The power of passementerie was in full effect at the FT How to Spend It Restaurant at Focus/19. Rising above the bright, airy space was a magnificent tiered tower of Houlès’ ‘Ebony’ cut fringe. Beneath this installation, distressed metallics and deeply textured fabrics brought a sense of urban glamour, with CTO Lighting’s alabaster and bronze ‘Lucid’ lights (from Fox Linton) gently illuminating the bar. Round banquettes were upholstered in ‘Vasily’ fabric by Créations Métaphores at Abbott & Boyd, ‘Hallerbos’ fabric from Kravet and ‘Totem’ fabric from Pierre Frey, trimmed with Samuel & Sons’ ‘Harbour’ cord. ‘Galaxy’ wallcovering by Scalamandré and paint by Zoffany complemented the space’s ambience.

The temping menu featured small plates including tuna tartare and beetroot carpaccio alongside more substantial dishes such as truffle and porcini tagliatelle, plus a well-curated wine list.

The Nature Cure

Direct access to a green space has been proven to soothe the body and boost the immune system – but it’s even claimed that looking at an image of nature can help. The next best thing to the great outdoors might be this panoramic ‘Amami’ wallcovering, part of Villa Nova’s Ostara collection at Romo. Bold brushstrokes have been scaled up to create maximum impact, tempered by a soothing colour palette of greens and greys. The mural works as a repeat across six rolls.

Romo, First Floor, North Dome

Tour de Force

If you see groups of people strolling through Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour with glasses of champagne in hand, they’re probably taking part in one of Focus/19’s twice-daily Design Discovery tours. Setting off from different locations each day at 11am and 2pm, the tours take in half a dozen showrooms, offering key highlights such as the latest collections, design exclusives and one-on-one time with top designers and artisans. The tours are accompanied by a glass of fizz, and as the stops vary on each one, repeat visits are possible.

Design Discovery Tours also take place twice a month throughout the year – making them the best opportunity to be first in the queue to see the latest design directions and new showrooms.

 

Delicate Details

Traditional passementerie may be firmly in the ascendant, but decorating brands want to evolve their offering, too. Colefax and Fowler’s Theodore trimmings are described as “an updated take on a classic story,” with delicate details and a refined palette that includes faded pink and blue and punchier tomato red. A range of hand-made tassel tie-backs complements the braid, rope and fringing, all of which is designed to harmonise with Colefax and Fowler’s Persian-influenced Theodore fabric collection.

Colefax and Fowler, Ground Floor, South Dome

Strokes of Genius

Pierre Frey maintains its daring approach to design with an exciting collaboration with French artist Christian Astuguevieille. Known for his furniture and sculptures wrapped in rope and cord, he has brought his dynamic energy to the Coquecigrues collection of bold fabrics and wallpapers.

Many designs feature Astuguevieille’s free-flowing ink brushstrokes – his “imaginary writing” – augmenting archive designs. ‘Fontaine at Animaux Barbuoillage’ (pictured above, on screen), for example, is based on a toile dating from 1803: the scale was enlarged and the trellis background removed, before being enhanced by the artist’s work.

Pierre Frey, First Floor, Design Centre East

Look to the Skies

Filling the Centre Dome with its creative use of the latest fabrics, Focus/19’s Sky Garden aerial installation asserts how important greenery and nature have become to interiors. ‘Biophilia’ – love of nature – is the buzzword, and these suspended lanterns in the freshest new-season fabrics, with trailing fronds emulating seedpods spinning to the ground, strived to encapsulate the trend The sunlight-filled glass dome amplifies the feelgood factor that comes from bringing the outside in.

The full run-down of fabrics incorporated is as follows: ‘Les Coquecigrues’ by Pierre Frey; ‘Beaumont Indienne’ by Travers at Zimmer + Rohde; ‘Elliptic’ by Harlequin; ‘Madras’ by Galbraith & Paul at Tissus d’Hélène; ‘Bokhara’ and ‘Jaisilmir’ by John Stefanidis at Tissus d’Hélène; ‘Palm Isle’ by Jim Thompson; ‘Rainwater’ by Thibaut at Jacaranda Carpets & Rugs; ‘Maranta’ fabric by Villa Nova at Romo; ‘Oak’ by Morris & Co; ‘Sauvage’ by Zak + Fox at George Spencer Designs; ‘Matchsticks’ by George Spencer Designs; ‘Linwood’ by Blithfield at Lewis & Wood; and ‘Selenic’ by Harlequin.