Autumn palette
De Padova
In design, as in fashion, this season's shades range from ochre to browns, and deep greens to an infinite variety of shades of blue and red.
Punctual as always, autumn, the season of comebacks and new beginnings, of calm and reflection, erupted into our lives on 22nd September. A slow time, compared with the summer that’s just bowed out, but brimming with energy, priming us to give a new twist to our routine, to our “normal.” The simplest way of achieving this is to invest in and play around with colour – in clothing and make-up, of course, but also in furnishing and design. Because colour influences our state of mind, our emotions and our actions.
An autumn palette is therefore making inroads onto the furniture scene, charged with shades suggestive of creativity, determination and confidence as well as positivity and optimism. These are the colours of the earth, the forests and the sky, from which we gain strength, equilibrium and awareness. Warm, gourmand, spicy colours, but always ultra-sophisticated and refined. Alongside the more classic red, brick, pumpkin, ochre, hazelnut and caramel, this year burgundy, clay, copper, cocoa bean, rum, chalk and goose down marry beautifully with Alpine and sage green, dusty blues, blueberry and dove grey.
Paola Navone’s new Milano sofa for Baxter employs Kashmir Mimetique leather like a soft, smooth, almost formless textile, making for enveloping and inviting seating, the sage green shade enhancing the feeling of relaxation and comfort as one sinks into it.
Milano, design Paola Navone, Baxter - Photo by Andrea Ferrari
The same enveloping look is generated by Rodolfo Dordoni’s Mattia for Minotti. Here, however, it’s the result of different formal solutions, influenced by architectural and sculptural concepts. The balance between the rigid structure of the external shell that opens up like a corolla and the suspended volume of the cylindrical backrest informs a chair that provides a contemporary take on an early Seventies design. The green Orangerie fabric (wool and viscose bouclé) is deep and vivid, a tone that channels security and tranquillity.
Mattia, design Rodolfo Dordoni, Minotti
Inspired by the Twenties, Studiopepe’s Daybed Five to Nine for Tacchini is an invitation to relax from the name onwards. This daybed, which consists of a series of cylindrical cushions individually positioned on the frame and covered with tan aniline leather or green Ottanio fabric, emanates character and positivity. The shades undoubtedly have a part to play: the former is warm and sensual, while the latter is cold but intense and deep, both boosting the fascination of a modernist furnishing piece.
Five to Nine, design Studiopepe, Tacchini - © Andrea Ferrari
Mario Bellini’s Camaleonda for B&B Italia, marks a direct return to 1970, with the elements that made it an icon of its time intact: the ample module of the seat, the generous characteristic quilted polyurethane padding – achieved by a system of cables, hooks and rings invented by Bellini himself – that define its look and modularity. It can be configured in an infinite number of ways, allowing each element to become a sort of giant pixel with which to mark out one’s own domestic space. The saffron colour of the velvet needlecord, the spiciest of the solar hues, accentuates the dynamic appearance of the shapes and brings luminous warmth to the shortening autumn days.
Camaleonda, design Mario Bellini, B&B Italia
The small Ruff armchair by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso, perfect for those conversations that come about naturally during this season, also plays on a dialogue between different shapes. The wide armrests sit on the sides of the chair, enveloping it firmly, making for a harmonious balance of curved and straight lines, its simple and poetic geometry enhanced by 100% mohair fabric in butterum, a shade that emanates warmth and a feeling of welcome.
