Outdoor living. Outdoor design in the garden and on the terrace

Citterio is also the author of Atlante for Flexform and designed a stainless steel base painted with epoxy powder and covered with water-repellent elastic straps. Rich in details that emphasise their high degree of customisation, the Atlante sofas are equipped with waterproof covers that keep them intact outdoors.

Divano e pouf outdoor Atlante, struttura in metallo e cuscini imbottiti con un ricercato profilo in grosgrain, FLEXFORM (intera composizione 20.212 € più iva).

The technical component of Open Air Moorea by Giorgetti, a family of sofas, loungers, chairs and table, makes it a preferred choice for hotels and yachts. Designer Carlo Colombo explains that "the challenge was to combine sophisticated aesthetics with materials and solutions that guarantee reliability and durability even in the most exposed environments. Such as the draining rubber upholstery that ensures very fast drying, a fundamental requirement for outdoor spaces".

Sedia Moorea in acciaio verniciato con schienale e braccioli in legno massello di teak e cuscinatura in gomma drenante, GIORGETTI (da 4.000 €). ©Giorgetti

The universal elegance of natural marble inspires Every Stone by Edra, a collection of materials resistant to light and atmospheric agents offered in combination with the outdoor versions of several lines including the Standard sofas by Francesco Binfaré. A three-dimensional material that enhances the variations in tonality typical of stone, Every Stone includes variants ranging from the statuesque white of Carrara to golden royal yellow, from deep imperial red to luminous Alpi green, amazonite with all the transparencies of the sea, turquoise aquamarine, and even marquinia black, cut by veins of silver.

Divano Every Stone che si ispira alla raffinatezza del marmo, EDRA. ©Alessandro Moggi

Conceived for sunny terraces, poolside areas and spaces overlooking the sea and designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, Dedon's Tricot modular sofas are the result of the encounter between the company's know-how, capable of bringing weaving into complex and surprising shapes, and the vision of the designers who have transformed this technique into an expressive design language. A symbiosis of craftsmanship and technically advanced industrial production, the sofa modules are hand-woven using a flexible and resistant circular section fibre, which allows for continuous and articulated three-dimensional curves. The natural colour tones reinforce the bond with the environment, emphasising the collection's vocation for outdoor living.

Poltrona Tricot, con una curva scultorea della scocca, sintesi di artigianato e industria, disegnata da Edward Barber e Jay Osgerby per DEDON (4.900 €)

But there are more than just technological materials to inhabit today's outdoor spaces. Famous for transforming leather into fine upholstery for sofas and armchairs, Poltrona Frau transfers its savoir-faire outdoors. The Marche-based company has developed Pelle Frau Outdoor starting with a selection of fine cow hides of European origin, traced and certified from farms that guarantee animal welfare. By means of a mineral tanning process, the leather is particularly resistant to atmospheric agents, maintaining the characteristics of touch, hand and depth of colour unaltered.

Sedia da esterni Solaria, con la forma inclinata del sedile e cuscino in pelle outdoor, POLTRONA FRAU (da 1.281 €). ©Alessio D’Aniello

The poetics of dining en plein air is the core of Cassina's Vidalenta collection, stackable tables and chairs that combine high craftsmanship and contemporary aesthetics. Together with designer Patricia Urquiola, Cassina has conducted significant research into materials to create tables whose precious surfaces and refined workmanship enhance the sculptural design of each piece.

Tavolo Vidalenta, design Patricia Urquiola, con struttura in alluminio estruso e piano in travertino romano, vetro smaltato o legno massello iroko, CASSINA (da 10.280 €). ©Francesco Dolfo

There are three types of tops: Roman travertine, enamelled glass and solid iroko wood, a wood from equatorial Africa with extraordinary characteristics of hardness and inalterability. The travertine top is a two-centimetre slab sealed with transparent resin to prevent water penetration, brushed to enhance its natural tactility and, finally, protected with a water-repellent oil. Cannulated glass with ceramic enamel represents a further innovation. A fifteen-millimetre sheet, engraved, fired and reworked so that the pattern softens and the edges become smoother, is applied with low-melting ceramic enamels, fused in a second step in the kiln and then tempered, resulting in a resistant finish with a strong tactility. Solid iroko wood tops, on the other hand, are composed of staves and reinforced by a finger joint. The surface is then worked with a ribbed pattern that amplifies the effect of continuity over the entire surface.

Poltrona Neil Twist con struttura portante in acciaio e intreccio in corda, MDF ITALIA. ©©NuDesign

The structure of the Terence sofa, from the Armani/Casa outdoor collection, is made of solid teak wood, which is naturally very durable and has always been used for boat decks. Here it is carved to a sinuous shape, in which the tubular armrests create a single element together with the front legs and the upper profile of the backrest.

Divano Terence, in legno massello con lavorazione Teak Texture, design Studiopepe, ARMANI/CASA (20.700 €).

Instead, Meridiani explores the horizon of comfort and style with Vincent, the open-air sofa designed by Andrea Parisio, created by interlocking a generously proportioned seat with a backrest consisting of a steel frame and an upholstered element that wraps around an iroko tubular element. The basic module of Vincent constitutes the key element of the design, which can be combined to create various compositions.

Poltrona Vincent con una seduta dalle proporzioni generose, schienale in struttura d’acciaio e tubolare in iroko, MERIDIANI (da 5.147 €).

A garden, a terrace or a veranda thus becomes a landscape to be created and experienced, with an approach that involves taste, functionality and the ability to imagine new scenarios. In this creative operation, today's interface is a design and production world, lively and dynamic, which has much to tell in terms of aesthetic and technological research.