Know Your Sofas: The Settee

For this Know Your Sofas, I want to focus on something a bit more traditional and classic since the last many installations have covered very modern pieces from the late 20th century. But it is in a way a very simple post...honoring The Settee.

But what is the difference between a sofa and a settee? Or a settee and a bench for that matter? There have been all kinds of pieces of furniture which function as a bench or settee, going back to the Greeks and Romans. But whereas the citizens of antiquity liked to lounge back on such pieces, it wasn't until the Medieval/Gothic period when a bench on which one would sit upright would be seen.

The image below shows an interior of a house in the 15th and 16th century with a bench and cushions on the left. Even though the illustration comes a few hundred years after the fact, such pieces of furniture were still in existence and could easily be traced to their Medieval origins.

From “Le costume historique” by Auguste Racinet

Then looking back at the Renaissance, we see a piece of furniture come into existence called a cassapanca in Italian, which translates into "chest bench." Often intricately carved, these pieces had a seat on a hinge that hid storage!

Florentine cassapanca at The Met, New York City

Over the next many decades of furniture styles, we see variations of benches, lounges, and daybed sofas. But when we get to the Queen Anne style, beginning in the 1720s and 1730s, we see furniture makers hit upon the idea of joining three or four seats together to make what would be considered a settee with a continuous upholstered seat.

Into the Regence and Louis XV periods, we see settees look more like what we think of when we hear the word settee: a delicate, elegant piece of furniture that seats up to three featuring a padded back and seat, open arms, exposed legs, and an ornately decorated frame. Although during Louis XV, the piece was called by the French word for "sofa": a canapé.

But for me, it is the reign of Louis XVI that shows the world what a classic settee looks like, with lovely Neo-Classical legs and perfect proportions. Et voilà , the settee was born!

Happy designing!

Fiorito Interior Design Presents The November Noir Sales Event!

I find endless inspiration in the diverse furniture lines available to me as a trade source. And my clients appreciate the opportunity to acquire unique, customizable pieces from esteemed manufacturers!

To help you explore the diverse furniture lines I offer, I will be highlighting a different brand each month for the remainder of the year.

In November, I’m excited to showcase the highly distinctive products from Noir/CFC. With over twenty years in the industry, they create exceptional casegoods, upholstery, lighting, and accessories that draw inspiration from architecture, the Secessionists (previously here), Brutalism, and post-war Italian design.

For the rest of this month, you can enjoy an additional 10% off the already discounted designer pricing available through FID* on all furniture, lighting, and accessories from Noir/CFC.

Place your order by November 30th, 2024 to take advantage of this offer. Noir does not sell direct to the public so reach out to me soon to gain access to amazing, small-scale productions from skilled craftspeople!

*This 10% savings applies to the cost of the piece and does not apply to sales tax, freight, or delivery.

Happy designing!

History of Furniture: The Arco Lamp

In my History of Furniture series, I usually write about time periods, movements, and eras in regard to interior design with an occasional foray into exterior architecture. But there have been exceptions when I examine a single piece of furniture, and delightfully, this is one of those times.

A classic and very important piece of furniture was designed in 1962 by Italian brothers designed by brothers Pier Giacomo and Achille Castiglioni for lighting manufacturer Flos. It is called the Arco lamp and has been a staple of interiors through Mid-Century Modern, the 70s and 80s, and even now. Remarkably, it has been in constant production by Flos since its birth in 1962.

The Achille Castiglioni Foundation website describes this spectacularly elegant fixture:

Floor lamp with direct light, it fulfills the need for direct lighting on a table without having the constraint of a fixed light point on the ceiling. The base of the lamp is made up of a parallelepiped of white marble weighing approximately 65 kg, the corners are rounded, equipped with a hole made in the center of gravity, useful both for fixing the vertical stem that supports the actual arch and for easy movement of the lamp (for example by inserting a simple broom handle).

The arched stem is made up of three sectors in stainless steel profile with a U-section capable of allowing, by sliding one inside the other, telescopic advancement and the hidden passage of the wires. This gives the arch more widths, with the reflector being positioned at three different heights.

The dome is made up of two pieces: a fixed one in the shape of a perforated cap to facilitate the cooling of the lamp holder (100 watt bulb in opaline glass), the other a mobile aluminum ring, resting on the first, so that it can be rectified in position, depending on the height of the third sector of the arch.

This technical description is a good exmaple of something being more than the sum of its parts. There is a reason this fixture has sold millions. There is a timeless beauty and simplicity in this light that cannot be denied.

The Arco light can be bought from Flos and through Design Within Reach.

Happy designing!

Fiorito Interior Design Presents The October Bernhardt Sale Event!

I find endless inspiration in the diverse furniture lines available to me as a trade source. And my clients appreciate the opportunity to acquire unique, customizable pieces from esteemed manufacturers!

To help you explore the diverse furniture lines I offer, I will be highlighting a different brand each month for the remainder of the year.

For October, I’m excited to showcase the exceptional craftsmanship and artistry of Bernhardt Furniture Company. They have been in business since 1889, making them the oldest continuously operated furniture company in the United States.

For the rest of this month, you can enjoy an additional 10% off the already discounted designer pricing available through FID* on any furniture from Bernhardt, including home office and outdoor pieces.

Place your order by October 31st, 2024 to take advantage of this offer. Contact me soon so I can find the pieces you have been looking for!

*This 10% savings applies to the cost of the piece and does not apply to sales tax, freight, or delivery.

Happy designing!

Nature-Inspired Great Room by Fiorito Interior Design

This gorgeous, nature--inspired Great Room--comprised of the kitchen, dining area, and sitting room—was reimagined for some wonderful repeat clients, beginning with a small, treasured piece of art.

Their large 1950s ranch house nestled into a gentle hill surrounded by orchards of fragrant orange, lemon, and cherry trees initially featured a too-small kitchen adjacent to a warren of small spaces with low ceilings serving as a dining and sitting area. They dreamed of a more spacious, light-filled layout.

A complete redesign of the home not only resolved spatial constraints but also embraced the beauty of the home’s natural surroundings. By removing walls and creating an open-plan layout, we enhanced the flow and connectivity between the kitchen, dining, and sitting areas, seamlessly integrating the outdoors with the indoors.

The relocated kitchen now faces the backyard, to facilitate outdoor entertaining and features a large island, serving as a welcoming focal point for both cooking and socializing. I designed a distinctive ceiling feature above the island, crafted from planks of the adjacent vaulted ceiling, mirroring the shape of the island below. This feature adds architectural interest and visually connects the flat kitchen plane with the vaulted plank ceiling of the sitting area, creating a harmonious sense of continuity and warmth.

A beautiful, prized painting of a bird on a branch created the direction for the color and texture palette. An intriguing yellow-green-tan background in the art guided my choices for the backsplash tile (an iridescent version mimics light glinting on water) and countertops. The kitchen's soothing color palette features various shades of natural green, while the dining area introduces feather-blue tones through chair upholstery and rug. Just steps away, the inviting sitting area features a rebuilt fireplace clad in cut, polished Haisa marble tiles in a vertical pattern. The soft, generous seating creates a comfortable spot for movie nights or cozying up by the fire on a cold winter evening. The elegant, simple silhouettes of the furniture enhance the serene and calming atmosphere of the space.

After photos: Bernardo Grijalva and Fiorito Interior Design

Happy designing!