The family-owned Italian design house Billiani has been handcrafting inspiring furniture for over 100 years. These three projects exemplify the grace, craftsmanship and designer knowledge over a century of design can bring.
The name Billiani has become a synonym for tradition, know-how and designer experience in the world of wooden design. From restaurant dining rooms and bars to hotel lobbies, coworking offices and more, design lovers around the world have taken the chance to appreciate the craftsmanship and sincerity of Billiani’s iconic designs.
These three recent fit-outs, a small hotel, a public plaza and a luxury dining area, are very different projects, yet they all saw the need for the addition of what Billiani means for a space. Able to fit perfectly into any environment, style and mood, the inclusion of the varied ranges included in each serve as a statement of care for the fit-out – these are places that see the importance of considered, thoughtful design, and the effect it has on a space.
Ai Maestri Rooms & Café in Italy’s Matera is a location that combines charm, hospitality and craftsmanship: a small and refined hotel with only four rooms, carefully decorated and researched in detail, to recount the stories and trades of the city.
Charm and craftsmanship are part of the Billiani philosophy, and the design team at Mancastudio knew the Load chairs and stools, designed by Emilio Nanni, would serve to further these concepts, and included them throughout the bistro as well as in the hotel bedrooms. Everything here is hand-made and the various rooms are full of objects and furnishings that testify to the great artistry of skilled artisans.
The Studio M Arabian Plaza hotel in Dubai stands out for its excellent location within the Arabian Plaza shopping complex, with a contemporary, comfortable and fresh urban look that matches the spirit of Dubai’s modern metropolis.
Billiani’s chairs, armchairs, barstools and tables vary in finishes and colours, yet all play a big role in the specific style and feeling of the hotel. Selected by Al Naboodah Design, the guest rooms and apartments have been furnished with Hippy and Spy armchairs together with Doll and Spy tables, while the wide welcome lounge and dining area feature elegant Spy High lounge chairs, Grapevine tables and Hippy barstools at the bar, as well as Doll chairs and Croissant stools in co-working areas. The result is an elegant and opulent effect, matching the luxurious experience the hotel promises its guests.
The Bay is one of the dining areas of the luxury hotel Mandarin Oriental Jumeira in Dubai. Boasting a menu of international classics, a spectacular terrace overlooking the ocean and a cool brasserie-style atmosphere, the furniture fit-out was required to match this inspired aesthetic.
For the refined location, interior architectural design studio Silverfox Studios selected Billiani’s Blazer armchairs, in walnut-stained beechwood and upholstered seat. Blazer, designed by Emilio Nanni in 2013, is a sturdy chair suited to every possible context – from the elegance of a world-class dining area here, to a humble local café, Billiani has you covered.
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
The Sub-Zero and Wolf Kitchen Design Contest is officially open. And the long-running competition offers Australian architects, designers and builders the chance to gain global recognition for the most technically resolved, performance-led kitchen projects.
How can design empower the individual in a workplace transforming from a place to an activity? Here, Design Director Joel Sampson reveals how prioritising human needs – including agency, privacy, pause and connection – and leveraging responsive spatial solutions like the Herman Miller Bay Work Pod is key to crafting engaging and radically inclusive hybrid environments.
It’s widely accepted that nature – the original, most accomplished design blueprint – cannot be improved upon. But the exclusive Crypton Leather range proves that it can undoubtedly be enhanced, augmented and extended, signalling a new era of limitless organic materiality.
Effortless design and Italian craftsmanship – Billiani is renowned for its refined timber furniture, where simplicity of form is married with exquisite materiality.
With no expense spared, the collaboration between Hannes Peer and Minotti went through a series of iterations to emulate the imperfect perfectionism embodied within the respective oeuvres.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
The workplace strategist and environmental psychologist was in Sydney earlier this year to give a talk at Haworth on the fallacies of the ‘average’ in workplace design.
In Newcastle’s CBD, Coverite Projects transformed a blank floorplate into a workplace with soul, using Milliken flooring to balance industrial grit with residential warmth and intuitive wayfinding.