Designer metal furnishings. Innovations at the Salone del Mobile 2024

Elegant finishes, clean lines and solid structures: these are the features associated with the use of metal in chairs, sideboards, benches, stools and tables, which make very pure forms their stylistic code. Steel, aluminum and even carbon fiber exploit the manufacturing potential of materials that are ductile by definition to create furnishings and accessories with a minimalist and sometimes oriental inspiration, where the surprising element is the combination with other materials to bring out their aesthetic qualities. 


This is the case with the Lira chair by Daniel Rybakken for Alias, where two powder-coated steel bases with felt or rigid plastic inserts optionally become the leading aesthetic motif. The stackable chair is made of solid ash wood with seat and backrest in bent ash wood. 


Aluminum is a feature of the Weaving Collection by estudi{H}ac JMFerrero for Kriskadecor in a unique process, where various techniques for interlacing wire creates a set of 14 models of curtains. Using a system of pixels on different scales produces 3D optical effects that play on the reflections of the material to compose endless gradations of light, color and texture. 


Hi-tech and craft skills come together in the Spin seats by the Filipino designer Kenneth Cobonpue. Carbon fiber, one of the strongest and lightest materials to be found in nature, is deposited in a mold creating diamond and scalloped patterns in a seemingly endless radial system evoking lightness and elegance. 


Emu presents the Collier collection by LCM Marin Design Studio, which riffs on the importance of details and geometric contrasts. Suspended between classic and contemporary, craftsmanship and innovation, the set currently comprises a chair, armchair, lounge chair and steel tables, with the project envisioning further additions to the catalogue. 


Nao Tamura, a designer who specializes in communication and graphic design, has devised the Origata collection for Porro. It consists of a bench and console, inspired by the tailoring of traditional Japanese kimonos, in which the flat, rectangular fabric is cut into straight lines and then sewn in such a way as to avoid waste. The same principle has been adopted in creating these furnishings, made from a sheet of aluminum cut and assembled with screws to make the best use of the material. 


Siona of Visionnaire combines a cocktail cabinet with a matching low cabinet, with a plywood and MDF frame, shaped marble top, painted wooden doors with curved sides and hemispherical base. Here the focus of interest is the wooden base covered in satin-finish sheet steel or hand-buffered bronzed brass. 


Minimalist, graphic and versatile, Duet designed by 967arch for MDF Italy is a stool suitable for contract settings as well as domestic interiors. Its two slender tensioned metal uprights support a sinuous polypropylene seat, creating a harmonious dialogue between the materials. Duetto is available in two finishes and two heights. 


A Danish company specializing in outdoor furniture, Mindo confirms its choice of sustainability in the proposal of a modern dining set, with the folding furniture designed to optimize space both during shipping and for storage in the home. The Mindo 121 Folding Chair combines bamboo, a rapidly renewable resource, with a metal frame that ensures solidity. 


Sensei Desk from Gallotti&Radice, with a metal frame and “deep black” lacquered wooden top, strives for purity of form. At the same time, the interest of the concept is renewed by the range of various types of tops: in marble lined with leather or in ground glass on wood in the exclusive “Rosso Marte” finish or with brilliant backpainting in the colors of the sample book. 


The Flocks collection of tables from De Castelli, designed by Matteo Zorzenoni, is inspired by bird flight, and in particular the movements of flocks of birds in the autumn sky . The tops, made of bronze or copper, with simple or intersecting circular patterns, rest on one or two cylinders of different diameters. The tops feature the DeErosion finish, conveying a natural and elegant tactile 3D impression.


The Wave collection, designed by ruga.perissinotto, introduces a new aesthetic vocabulary to Fantin’s catalogue: curved metal. In particular, the surface of the suspended writing surface, 105 cm long and 35 cm deep, flows smoothly into the structure beneath, with contemporary structural and functional elements. Reversible, so that it can be placed either on the left or the right, this practical compartment can be personalized with or without a drawer.


Finally, Decumano is the series of executive and conference tables that Giulio Iacchetti and Matteo Ragni have designed for Fantoni. They are fixed or height-adjustable, rectangular, square or round in a series of different sizes. The transparent tops highlight the metal joint, which represents the essence of a solid structure, whose purity is the distinctive feature. The finishes are characterized by a stringent palette of elegant and restrained colors: black, gray, champagne and Minio red.