We are passionate about design and therefore thrilled when some of the furniture we love and sell wins an award. Although it goes without saying that we love all of our furniture (obviously they’re all winners in our book!). But it’s great when a design gets some well deserved international recognition – particularly from the prestigious Archiproducts Design Awards.

So when the 100 winners of these much prized Awards were revealed and two of our designs were chosen we were, to say the least, delighted.

The Archiproduct Design Awards Winners

There were 700 products nominated by over 400 different brands for the latest Awards – so competition was fierce.  And we’re proud to announce that two of the winners in the ‘Furniture Category’ were:

 

Congratulations to both!

What the judges look for

There’s a long list: ‘Excellence in creativity, technology, and research’. A ‘unique concept’ also scores highly. Plus, the design’s ‘uses and concept in the residential and contract markets’.  So, complete fabulousness all round in other words. The Awards Panel is made up of highly skilled professionals in the worlds of architecture, design and photography.  And they’re a tough bunch to persuade.

A bit of background on the winning designs

Award Winner – Zanotta’s Oliva chair

This is a chair with a big personality. Designer Constance Guisset’s idea was to create a chair with an ‘open shell’ look.  A clam masquerading as furniture! She then gave this mollusc-like design an on-trend piercing. Front legs shoot up through the seat cushion before colliding with the rear legs.  This also cleverly creates the sturdy but light structure.  Fabulous isn’t it!

The Oliva techy bits

Oliva’s very comfy upholstery is a self-extinguishing polyurethane foam/heat-bound polyester fibre-padded polyurethane which conceals a steel frame, with solid maple wood legs.  The legs can be lacquered in black or ash grey. Plus it’s stylish and practical. Covers are removable with a choice of lots of beautiful fabrics or leathers.

The view from the back is deceptively voluminous – but definitely not in a ‘does my seat look big in this?’ kind of way. This is just 100% innovative, stylish design.

Award Winner – Saba Italia’s Rendez-Vous Sofa

We first saw Saba Italia’s incredible Rendez-Vous sofa in Milan last year – and we were dazzled. What did we love?  Everything. It is another piece of design with a strong personality. But what it isn’t is a sofa that will dominate a room (trust us we’ve been on enough photo shoots to know what a pain they can be).

Rendez-Vous is a sofa of contradictions.  It’s all curves and strong lines. Luxuriously cocooning and airy, soft but firm. And modular.  As you know, we love modular.

Flexible and modular design

The image above shows two versions of the Rendez-Vous. The beige version contains a side table – just one of the many different seating elements on offer. Choose from straight elements, curved, mix-and-match – and add a side-table if you want. You can basically create your own bespoke seating arrangement.

Sergio Bicego is the talented designer behind the Rendez-Vous. His idea was to create a sofa that is suitable for domestic spaces (i.e. home) as well as being robust enough for commercial use. The frame is a metallic black painted structure onto which various elements can be fixed and moved according to the user’s preference.‎ We love inspiring modular design – and that’s just what the Rendez-Vous is.

So, congratulations again to our Award Winners.  We love sharing a bit of the red carpet with them – and we hope you will too.