About an hour’s drive north of bustling fashion capital Milan, the serene terrace of the new Lake Como hotel Il Sereno nestles into the forested foothills of the Alps. Il Sereno, the second Sereno hotel, is scheduled to open this summer, 10 years after its predecessor, Le Sereno St. Barth, was designed by Milan based designer and architect Patricia Urquiola.
Il Sereno features an infinity pool running along 60 feet of lakefront. Urquoila, who has designed for leading architecture and design firms such as B&B Italia, Kettal and GANDIABLASCO, furnished the poolside space and the hotel’s restaurant terrace with modern, organic-inspired simplicity. Urquiola collaborated with French landscape artist Patrick Blanc to create vertical gardens blending the hotel’s outdoor spaces into the foliage of the mountainside.
Il Sereno, exterior space design by architect Patricia Urquiola.
As summer heats up, you don’t have to be at Lake Como to spend a little more time by the water. Il Sereno’s feel of elemental simplicity on the waterfront is mirrored by several outdoor furniture brands, creating this season’s releases in earthy tones. These brands have been focusing on bringing the indoors outdoors by engineering special materials.
First & Finest
The lounge chair from Sebastian Herkner’s Mbrace collection for German company Dedon has a cozy feel, good for cocooning as the sun goes down and the air cools. The chair combines teak and typical Dedon fiber, developed in 1990 by Bobby Dekeyser and stated as being the world’s first and finest synthetic resin fiber.
“Dedon fiber is weatherproof, durable, environmentally friendly and supple. It can be woven into various artful patterns,” said designer Sebastian Herkner in conversation with ArchiExpo e-Magazine.
Bobby Dekeyser’s goal to create a new kind of garden furniture, turning the garden into an outdoor living room, turned reality. From 1990 to 2016, the Mbrace collection expresses the “first & finest” in style and material. The base of the lounge chair is made from teak wood and the seat is triaxial open-weave. The lounge chair features a low and wide back, making it a tempting place to curl up. The Mbrace collection also includes a higher backed wing chair, a rocking chair and an ottoman. See featured image.
Omega Outdoor
Also bringing armchair comfort out-of-doors this season is Spanish company Expormim with their Twins set designed by MUT designs, founded in 2010 by Alberto Sanchez. These two armchairs of slightly different shapes complement each other, but also stand up on their own with contemporary class.
The high resistance aluminum frame and base are finished with polyester powder. The seat is upholstered in Omega Outdoor, a technical fabric developed exclusively for Expormim by Danish company Gabriel.
“We wanted something resistant as well as comfortable and beautiful. Omega Outdoor fits all these conditions. The 3-D mesh effect along with the fresh colors, like paprika and turquoise, made it perfect.” Sanchez told ArchiExpo e-Magazine.
Twins by MUT Designs. Courtesy of Spanish furniture brand Expormim.
Teak Wood
The Gio chaise longue was designed by the Italian architect and furniture designer Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia. The teak frame is coated in a silver-gray finish, giving it a lived-in rustic look and reflective quality.
The chaise’s high-density polyester fiber cushions are available in a variety of earthy plant and mineral colors, from whites to beiges, browns to slates. The 2016 Gio collection also offers several complementary teak pieces including outdoor tables, chairs and sofas.
Gio Chaise Longue. Courtesy of B&B Italia.
Textile Layers
The Japanese-inspired Kumo sofa was designed by Lionel Doyen for Belgian company Manutti. Kumo, the Japanese word for cloud, describes both the airy shape of these outdoor sofas and their multiple formation possibilities.
The collection consists of two modules and a pouf that can be arranged for different spaces, intimately enveloping or opening to the elements. Kumo comes in a variety of colors including neutrals and organics, as well as brighter options, and accented pillows. Manutti Outdoor fabric range makes up the top textile layer, while Gore-tex interlining fabric sits just beneath.
Kumo sofa by Lionel Doyen
Knitting Ropes
The Barcelona-based company Kettal released the Cala armchair during Milan Design Week 2016. Designed by London based firm Doshi Levien, the Cala redoes the 1970s classic Emanuelle chair with a sleeker shape and updated simplicity.
The peacock-backed seat is made from a coated aluminum frame and loosely knitted ropes that are reminiscent of rattan. The ropes come in a variety of colors for customizing possibilities. The chair’s base can be teak legs or a coated aluminum pedestal.
The Cala armchair by Doshi Levien for Kettal. Courtesy of Kettal.
100% Recyclable
Flat collection by Mario Ruiz for Gandia Blasco. Courtesy of Gandia Blasco.
The ever-growing eight-year-old Flat collection designed by Barcelona-based designer Mario Ruiz for Gandia Blasco has a new 2016 addition. The Flat daybed adds relaxed socializing to the collection’s “contemporary lines and architectural character” as described by the Gandiablasco press release.
The daybed’s frame is aluminum and 100% recyclable polyethylene, and the cushions are polyurethane foam rubber. The large selection of removable covers are made from water-repellent fabrics and include several nature-inspired options.
Flat daybed by Mario Ruiz for Gandia Blasco
Inside Out
To complement the furniture, this season has also revealed new outdoor accessories. GANDIABLASCO released custom outdoor woven vinyl rugs by Dickson with high-performance backing, as well as an outdoor LED lamp in thermo-lacquered aluminum designed by Fran Silvestre.
With these 2016 outdoor furniture styles and accessories, designers can create exterior spaces with earthy sophistication while experiencing comfort traditionally associated with inside the home.
