London Design Week 2016 – Review Part 2

Furniture by Anthony Rayworth

Introduction

The range and breadth of styles, design approaches and intended markets exemplified by the furniture exhibited during this year’s London Design Week is absolute proof that creativity and craftsmanship are alive and well in 2016.

Product selections ranged from extremely fine furniture decorated with unique, hand applied finishes to restrained elegant, beautifully executed simplicity. There really was a presentation for every possible situation; country outdoor seating; superyacht lounging; multi-room conferencing; fine dining or artisan sandwich munching – the designers, makers and manufacturers had covered all.

The following is an alphabetical but by no means exhaustive snapshot of some of the items – in some cases, artefacts – on offer at Focus and Decorex 2016

Armani Casa

As one would expect, the selection here is cool, impeccable and restrained. Sometimes hand-made, sometimes high-tech, always perfect.

Left: Writing Desk 24 Carat gold plate, brushed steel panels, dark green lacquered interior Edition of 100. (Source)

Right: 40th-anniversary writing desk produced in an edition of 40. Grey Tamo Ash, green leather, satin light brass. (Source)

Barlow Tyrie

Very good quality, well priced outdoor furniture in teak and marine-grade stainless steel.

Ceccotti Collezioni

Founded in 1956, Ceccotti has its roots in limited edition luxury furniture. It has remained true to those early exacting standards whilst utilising innovation in multiple manufacturing technology. The results are exceptional, attention to detail combined with a sleek perfection of execution.

Ceccotti collezioni (Source)

Christopher Guy

An exceptionally well-crafted collection representing traditional values with contemporary influences. The influence of fashion designers is apparent in the ‘Hubert’ chair – named after Hubert de Givenchy and the ‘Mademoiselle’ screen emblazoned with abstracted camellias – Coco Chanel’s favourite flower.

Christopher Guy (Source)

Devon & Devon

Bathroom furniture may often be overlooked in the name of built-in functionality. Devon & Devon are at the rescue with their sumptuous range of bathroom furniture, ready to whish you away to 1030s Mayfair.

Devon & Devon (Source)

Flexform

Stylish Italian family business Flexform have collaborated with Danial Libeskind to produce the ‘Adagio’ sofa. A compact, high-sided sofa which does not conform to the principles of Euclidean geometry.

Flexform (Source)

Interior ID

Interior ID call themselves “premium joinery specialists who engineer, manufacture and install the world’s finest solutions in cabinetry and kitchens for the most exceptional homes”. Their ultra-refined hand-crafted output is not ordinarily known as ‘joinery’!

Left to right: Entrance hall doors in grey, burr walnut veneer. Kitchen in oak and Calacatta marble with built-in understair semi-gloss cabinetwork. Fully bespoke wine cellar in Chelsea.  (Source)

J Robert Scott

J Robert Scott prides themselves on their ability to customise any piece of furniture in their collection, whether this is by size or material. As they state on their website: “The ability to modify an existing item, or create an entirely new piece offers the interior design professional the opportunity to cater to their client’s most unusual desire. Custom furniture that is truly tailored to the individual is the essence of “home couture.“”

‘Geo 1’ dining chair, ‘Sculpture’ mirror and dining table. (Source)

Julian Chichester

Another manufacturer with a distinct aesthetic, Julian Chichester also offers bespoke and custom services. Their Bobbin chair (shown) has a very flexible aesthetic making it easy to place. It is equally at home in a dining room, kitchen or bedroom.

Julian Chichester (Source)

The Lacquer Company

The Lacquer Company was founded in 1988 and works with leading designers to create furniture collects utilising the ancient techniques of lacquerware.

Left to right: Bell Rives coffee table by Rita Konig. Portsea side table by Veere Grenney. Circles and Squares table by Steven Gambrel. (Source)

McKinnon & Harris

McKinnon and Harris produce high quality, high performance, aluminium furniture which is engineered, designed, and meticulously built for the most demanding exterior environments and intended to remain outdoors year-round. They handcraft everything entirely at their workshop located in the historic Scott’s Addition neighbourhood of Richmond, Virginia.

McKinnon & Harris (Source)

To thoroughly review all exhibitors would result in a coffee table sized book, this is, therefore a brief snapshot of just a few of the exhibitors. Next week I will be discussing some of the extraordinary lighting that was presented during London Design Week.

During October and November, I will present blogs focusing on different aspects of the shows: Part 1: Review, Part 3: Lighting, Part 4: Textiles and Part 5: Accessories