Naturedesign shapes old materials into sustainable furniture
A leading brand in sustainable furniture design, Naturedesign is now in its third generation and is continuing to explore ways of shaping modern furniture out of centuries-old wood. Naturedesign, based in Cerea near Verona, Italy, is now led by Thomas Franco, who has created a new collection using traditional artisan techniques from Italy.
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This year the brand showed out at the Salone del Mobile Milano at Milano Design Week 2022, with a new collection of materials including reclaimed rare woods paired with stone, leather, glass and metal in new designs. The company is exploring the region’s traditional artisanal crafts, for example, using traditional glassmaking from Murano.
Related: Metal furniture by Division Twelve is now carbon neutral
Take the ILL table: the top is made of reclaimed wood from architecture that is centuries old, treated with non-toxic sustainable paints and placed on a base made of glass cast on cast-iron molds. This technique gives this sustainable material a solid structure needed to hold up such a large piece of furniture, making it unusually strong.
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The Waterfall table is made entirely of glass, to celebrate the material’s transparency and lightness. The River sideboard is made of reclaimed wood, glass and leather.
The Lymph table has a curved form that evokes biomorphic forms. Naturedesign uses these pieces to explore not only the structure and form of reclaimed materials and traditional craftsmanship but also to explore new concepts. In this case, the Lymph table is exploring a new concept of conviviality.
Naturedesign uses natural materials, artisan processes and a low environmental impact supply chain extending to transportation designed to curb CO2 consumption. Additionally, pieces from this new collection are designed to be packaged plastic-free.
Naturedesign’s chairs, such as their Bay Wood armchair, are casual and contemporary with a high-end aesthetic. Soft padding and curved seat is paired with straight wood supports for a mid-century modern look.
The company also makes a unique bookshelf called the Stem that hooks into the floor and ceiling for an open shelf floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that can be used front and back and can curve slightly to fit unusual spaces like curved reading nooks and library corners.