BLACK IRON IN FURNITURE

BLACK IRON IN FURNITURE

Nowadays the iron and the metals that are inserted in the furnishings have been returning to their natural finish, called in jargon “raw” (raw iron is commonly called black). This brings out the material with which the product was made and its natural imperfections make it even more alive and unique in its kind.

THE BLACK IRON

The word “iron” in common parlance is usually used to also indicate low strength “iron alloys” and mild steels which have a silvery-gray appearance. Very resistant, ductile and malleable, they are distinguished by black iron which is darker, more delicate and is used exclusively for indoor structures, therefore much less exposed to atmospheric agents. To preserve it from humidity and the risk of rust appearing even in sheltered environments, black iron is usually treated in a very natural way with beeswax or transparent varnish, both solutions make it slightly brighter and create a sort of film protective.

boutique made in black iron
details black iron table
details black iron table

A Boutique realized where the concept Fil Rouge was precisely the combined black iron and material finishes

THE IRON IN THE STRUCTURES OF THE ELEMENTS

The peculiarity of polymaterial structures is that the different materials are harmoniously associated with their aesthetic and structural characteristics. In terms of resistance, what wood supports with its 2 cm, metal can do with a tenth of the thickness. This is why we like to use metals in load-bearing structures, such as the backs of bookcases or furniture. Black iron kept in its natural color can also act as a contrast with a very light lacquer or with a wood-colored essence. Below are some examples where you can see how the structure is light even if extremely dark.

bookshelf in black iron
environment in black iron
bookshelf in black iron

black iron bookcases populate the living area of this elegant apartment

Also used for fixtures in its industrial spirit, it never abandons glass in combination with room dividers, as for the kitchen below which is separated from the living area. The shaped tops of the tables and the turned legs are also in very thin black iron sheet.

black iron fixtures and tables

partitions and tables in black iron in this Newyorkers Apartment

Black iron is also often used as a “lid” for furniture, a sort of thin blanket that envelops the entire element and sometimes reaches the floor, becoming a base. An example are the doors and the column of this kitchen and in the bar cabinet below, where the iron in addition to supporting it repairs the support surface, which, like all horizontal surfaces, is more subject to wear than vertical ones.

living room bookcase iron black
Iron and lacquered bar cabinet
 iron base detail
iron tv cabinet

Two Apartment, one in the center of Milan and one in Bergamo, where black iron structures bookcases and the top of the TV and bar cabinets.

Here, on the other hand, it is used as a covering for the doors and the niche of an elegant Kitchen in Milan.

 kitchen doors covered with black iron
covered doors detail
handles in black iron

THE BLACK IRON IN THE COVERINGS

Due to its dark and irregular color, very masculine and elegant, black iron can also be used as a wall covering to create a sort of partition or portal. A portal to divide the rooms inside the house, at a symbolic level to make the user cross towards a place that will be able to express himself only when he crosses the black threshold, many times illuminated from above or sideways with LED strips. Here are some examples of portals, some inserted only in the doorway and others much more structured, with also an equipped part in which to hide some furniture at the service of the house.

lighted portals
equipped portal

Portals that act as partitions and equipped portals

Branding paneling, on the other hand, is very common in the Retail sector, for example the corners of the Tiziana Fausti shop, in which the black iron panels visible from the central space have externally the laser engraved logo of the Brand which is located inside the box used for it.

brand logo in iron
external panel black iron

Laser cutted Brand’s logo on black iron partitionsin the Tiziana Fausti shop in Bergamo

ALL BLACK

Having a furniture completely made of black iron is not only possible, but sometimes it is the right choice for certain types of environments and goes well with the rest of the furniture. Here is our realization of a niche furniture in which doors and structure, both external and internal, are covered or structured in black iron.

iron covered furniture
details black iron furniture

Here is also another example of a black iron structure with desks and tables in the same material made by Locatelli & Partners inside a church, their old operational headquarters. The contrast of the cold and dark material inserted in a context that does not belong to it, as in this case a Baroque church with warm tones and completely frescoed walls enhances the material and turns out to be a harmonious union.

THE BLACK IRON IN THE DETAILS

Black iron can also be found in small details and accessories, such as handles and frames. They turn out to be a touch of color and a detachment of fundamental material for some very clear and bright environments. The detail gives an extra touch of elegance to the environment and characterizes it, an example are these full-height handles that reflect the frame of the glass partition of this splendid kitchen made in Barcelona.

kitchen Barcellona black iron details
black iron handel
black iron kitchen details

MATERIAL FINISHES

We have previously said that the surfaces of raw materials can be non-uniform and have defects such as scratches or changes in tone in the plate. Excellent for industrial-style interiors, black iron was in fact very common in production workshops at the height of the industrial revolution, sometimes even rusty and together with oxidized brass, ceramics, knotty solid wood and antiqued glass it became the symbol of those years. This raw effect of raw materials has become a trend of companies and design and architecture studios and in recent years it is in great demand. Precisely for this reason, numerous products have been created that reproduce the textures inspired by the essences of wood, black iron or natural stones for exclusive wall coverings or home furniture. The important thing about these finishes in addition to the visual aspect are the tactile emotions capable of arousing thanks to rough and often irregular surfaces, which together are called material finishes. Together with black iron, an anthracite-colored textured paint can give a hint of color and roughness to other elements in which iron is not present but which are in the same environment. An example are these shaped shelves associated with a black iron desk with a Linoleum desktop in the same shade of gray in the center of the top.

desk and shelves
bookshelf in dark gray

THE BLACK IRON IN THE PROJECTS

After all these examples we can only break a lance in favor of raw black iron, like a dark dress that is always in fashion its use, which is both bold and bold or minimized in small details in home furnishings makes it alive, vintage and fascinating at the same time.

HYGGE : THE DANISH WAY TO HAPPINESS

HYGGE : THE DANISH WAY TO HAPPINESS

To have Hygge at home it is necessary to give it that sense of warmth, well-being and intimacy that perhaps it lacks. It is well established that living better in the home environment not only makes us feel better but makes us appreciate our daily life more till making us more happy.

intimate Hygge Living room

a warm and welcoming Hygge living room.

WHAT IS HYGGE?

A survey has identified in the Danish people the happiest in the world and in the Hygge its recipe for happiness, which is why it is so fashionable and more and more people try to steal its secrets to obtain a better psychophysical well-being. However, giving a meaning to the Danish term Hygge is not easy, it is linked more to an atmosphere and an experience than something tangible. It is the feeling of being at home, protected from the world and safe, conversing about the big or small things in life with friends or enjoying a cup of hot chocolate alone in total relaxation. Due to their specific social-cultural-economic conditions, the Danes spend 71% of their free time at home, which is why Interior Design is essential to experience the Hiemmehygge, or the Homemade Hygge. But what are the keys to success for having a more Higgelig home?

modern Hygge living room
Vintage Hygge living room

two Higgelig living rooms, one more modern and the second more vintage.

WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF THE HYGGELIG HOME?

LIGHTS

The lights are fundamental in the Hyggelig house, soft and “alive” like those of candles, many and everywhere, together with excellent artificial lighting.
In fact, the Danes have a real obsession with lamps, they choose and strategically place them inside the house.
They prefer design lamps, such as the PH lamp by Henningsten or the Panton VP Globe by Verner Panton capable of diffusing a soft light which is however reflected by the structure of the lamp using in combination with bulbs with low and warm voltages, on 1800 K.

moodboard Hygge style

Moodboard of the Hygge style, from the lights, to the furnishings and colors.

HYGGEKROG

In the Hygge headquarters, that is our home, a Hyggekrog could be the strategic point dedicated to pure relaxation, the area of a room where you like to snuggle under a blanket holding a book and a cup of tea.
It can be near a light source, like a window, or next to a warm place, like a wood-burning fireplace.
This love for confined spaces or real “dens” has been with us since we were children but has an ancestral origin. Sitting in a Hyggekrog makes us feel safe away from any potential threats, allowing us to relax.

dedicated Hyggekrog in wood
Hyggekrog obtained from the side windows.
minimal Hyggekrog

Three different Hyggekrogs: one specially designed to the side of the light source and two instead obtained as window / glazing work, one richer and the other more minimal

FIRE

A fireplace or a wood stove are just as Hyggelig, as well as being a source of warmth and comfort, the sinuous movement of the burning logs relaxes the view and the area around the fireplace becomes convivial, a place to spend time with loved ones and accentuate the intimacy of home life.
In the large living room of this contemporary-style villa, the sofas look out at an angle to a side wood-burning fireplace that warms the room without becoming the protagonist of the scene.

Moder Hygge Living room
Intimate fireplace corner
Details fireplace and cushions

The corner coexists on the side of the fireplace and some finishing details and accessories.

MATERIALS

The main material is wood, in floors, furniture and even in small household items.
Wood makes us feel closer to nature and this is exactly what we want to bring into the house.
In fact, there is also a green corner or just leaves, nuts, twigs, anything that makes us feel in the midst of nature.

Hygge green veranda

The smell of wood and its being a soft and lively material makes it simple and natural, just like the concept of Hygge itself.
Here a mountain apartment entirely covered with a splendid heat-treated and natural brushed larch.

living room in larch wood
corridor with high wooden paneling
cozy bedroom

Tall wooden boiserie are accompanied by a modern fireplace and other wooden elements such as the kitchen table and the backrests and bedside tables in the sleeping area.

BOOKS

If you think about relaxation and intimacy, you also think about the pleasure of reading, if the house is Hygge there will be shelves full of voluminous books. All books are in fact Hyggelige, but the classics written by authors such as Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë or Charles Dickens must occupy a special place among the shelves.

In this modern Milanese kitchen we could define this space dedicated to cookbooks very Higgelig, folders overlap each other but remain available to experience a different form of relaxation, the peace and gratification of well cooking.
If Hygge were a person, its could be a cook, who approaches life by understanding the value of a good meal in pleasant company.

Kitchen and books Higgelig

Books crowd this small corner dedicated to good food.

THINK OF TOUCH

As initially specified, Hygge is an experience that involves all our senses, including touch. In fact, the materials that inspire positive sensations when touched are also very important, a soft wool or even a hot ceramic cup.

Small colorful accessories, such as the famous Kähler vases, cups, blankets and pillows must not be missing.

Home with ceramics and green
pillows and blankets Hygge

Here are houses with blankets, soft pillows and ceramics./p>

THE BEST PERIOD TO PRACTICE THE HYGGE

The best time of the year to enjoy Hygge is about to begin: when the first cold arrives, winter is coming and the days are getting shorter, you feel the need to stay at home more.
This is the right time to prepare your “Home Sweet Home” to be warm and welcoming in the coldest season of the year.

What to do after having furnished it? A nice supply of warm sweaters and socks to put on and a nice playlist of songs to listen to while lying on the sofa.

Furthermore, a nice selection of films ready to be seen or a photo album to bring back old and pleasant memories cannot be missing. And above all… lots of sweets, a nice glass of wine, herbal teas and hot chocolates to be enjoyed in peace near your own home.

Enjoy Hygge everyone!!

Hygge book and tea

Iron furniture for a contemporary style apartment with refined details

Iron furniture for a contemporary style apartment with refined details

Iron details constitute the leitmotif for the contemporary style furniture of this city apartment. From the living area to the bedroom, passing through the passageways that underline the threshold of each room. In the bedroom, a walk-in closet located on the side of the entrance is a compact but capacious structure.

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The passageways: the iron portals to underline the threshold

From the entrance, the corridor unfolds, joining the living area with that night. To delimit the passage, emphasizing the threshold of each room, an iron portal with integrated lighting.
These accompany the passage between the different environments with a coating that laterally flows from the top.

A portal that visually and conceptually marks the crossing point, characterizing each room.
Recessed in the upper part there is also a LED strip able to horizontally illuminate the portal.

The choice of black waxed iron is echoed in the cabinet serving the entrance, the Metrica Console by Mogg. This is accompanied by a custom-made cabinet empties pockets entirely made of iron.

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The living area. TV cabinet and wall units with iron details

From the entrance, the iron portal with integrated lighting marks the passage to the living area.
This houses a large corner sofa that stands out against a sage green back wall. A touch of color that rejuvenates the environment making it elegant and gritty.

From the front, the furniture serving the TV is at home with a system of shelves and wall units with iron details.
A composition of solids and voids that alternates the thin thickness of the iron sheet with the more massive dimensions of the matt lacquered MDF.
In particular, the open compartments in sheet metal are laterally inserted to the wall units with drop-down opening. The doors in matt lacquered MDF reflect the stylistic line of the TV cabinet in the color.
The latter is equipped with sheet metal shoulders which, by bending at the end, become a load-bearing structural element.

An equipped niche to the side of the TV cabinet accommodates custom-made shelves for small objects or books.

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The sleeping area between the workstation and a walk-in closet created in the master bedroom

The corridor characterized by the presence of black waxed iron doors also leads to the sleeping area.
In the master bedroom the architectural conformation creates a space that allows the insertion of a custom-made walk-in closet.

Its compact but roomy layout is set on the side access adjacent to the bedroom door. Two sliding doors fit into the white MDF closing panels, denoting access to the environment.
Here the central compartment is occupied by a series of linen drawers in the lower part and shelves above.
On the sides, on the other hand, hangers are arranged using the double height to organize shirts, jackets and trousers.

The containment structure is divided into panels that create a visual rhythm and allow in one extreme to take advantage of a niche accessible from the outside. Internal shelves adjustable in height make it functional for various uses.

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In the adjacent service room, there is instead a large desk with attached bookcase. A tailor-made solution that is increasingly current in times of smartworking. The upper bookcase has MDF shelves and iron side panels that also become load-bearing elements for the desk top, inserted to form a compact piece of furniture. The care of detail is expressed in this case with the 45 ° shaping of the front of the shelves. The effect obtained is to visually thin the elements, creating stylistic modernity.

mobile-desk-bookcase-shoulders-iron
detail-bookcase-shelves-shaped-profile-iron-shoulders

Inserting iron furniture in your apartment means endowing the rooms with character and elegance. Versatile and practical, this material manages to combine high resistance with reduced thickness, declining in different design solutions. Furnishings able to define the stylistic imprint of the interiors, they fit perfectly into interiors in a contemporary style, but also modern, industrial and boho chic ones.

Giving new life to furniture: adapting them after a move

Giving new life to furniture: adapting them after a move

Facing a move means turning your life around, renovating your home and introducing new furnishing accessories.
Beginning to pack, you make a natural selection of the objects to take with you, recognizing for each their own emotional value.
Many times, this process also involves the world of furnishings, which accompany the owners in this moment of transition.
Giving new life to furniture also means renewing the context in which they are inserted, managing to adapt them in terms of aesthetics and functionality to the new environments.

Adapting furnishing to a new context

When the furnishings are custom designed, their conformation responds to the needs of the customers, perfectly matching with the architectural context in which they are inserted. In doing this, a strong link is born between the rooms in which they are inserted and the shapes, proportions and mechanisms of use of the furnishings.
This would suggest an indissoluble bond between the two components, which would break when the furniture undergoes a relocation.
It is absolutely not said!

In fact, among the potential of custom-made furniture there is a flexibility factor that allows us to give new life to furniture by making few changes.
These make it possible to transform the general imprint of the furniture in order to adapt it to the new context both in terms of aesthetics and functionality.

A perfect example are the adaptations made to these furnishing extrapolated from an apartment between classic and contemporary. Let’s discovery this apartment among transformed furniture and new additions.

The kitchen: increases the work space and storage volumes

The kitchen certainly represents the beating heart of a home.
In the case of this apartment between modern and contemporary, its conformation was born from a natural reading of the architectural context in which it was inserted.

The corner development made it possible to exploit the side part with service columns with anthracite gray lacquered MDF doors.
These are equipped with column ovens on the right, pantry with removable trays and a central compartment for the free-standing refrigerator. The front is made up of lower volumes with large drawers and service doors and upper wall units in a brilliant white Lacobel.

The new arrangement has provided additional useful space for the overall dimensions. Being able to use additional space on both sides, the most natural solution was to exploit the remaining gaps with additional volumes.
On the right, we provide a service column which houses a modern wine cellar accompanied by a door with height-adjustable internal shelves.

On the opposite end, the main problem arises when the worktop is made of natural stone, which has undergone a chromatic change over the years.
To avoid incurring a visible difference between the added part and the existing one, a wooden top was thus created. It also acts as a cutting board for preparing meals. An element that not only solves an aesthetically weak point, but also provides a functional solution.

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The living area: a new contemporary aesthetic

To equip the living area, we recovered the furniture made in 2006.
The choice of colors was already avant-garde at the time. Even in a contemporary reworking they can adapt perfectly, resulting elegant and current. The TV cabinet in glossy anthracite gray lacquered MDF alternates flap doors with service drawers, whose recessed handles give visual lightness.

In this case, giving new life to furniture means adapting them to the new context in which they are inserted, managing to exploit the flexibility of the same.
Small changes have been made, mostly considered maintenance. Re-lacquering where necessary or remaking of structural parts.

The same approach was then applied to the service hanging columns, which are made up of doors in the upper part and small drawers in the lower part. Their new position side by side allows them to welcome guests introducing them to the living area and, at the same time, create a visual divider from the more intimate dining room.

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Children’s bedrooms: new tailor-made solutions to exploit architectural voids

The sleeping area houses the two small bedrooms whose conformation alternates architectural voids with important structural elements.
A tailor-made solution was therefore designed in both rooms in order to include all the necessary furnishings without sacrificing practicality and visual freedom.

For the first bedroom it was therefore decided to take advantage of the basement that leads to the mezzanine area to equip it with a shaped wardrobe.
Since the room is intended for a child, the dimensions and heights necessary for the clothes have certainly facilitated the design. Despite having little space available, taking advantage of the inclined height of the basement, it was still possible to create a double-height wardrobe with alternating shelves with fixed hangers.
The wardrobe is accompanied by a standing alone chest of drawers which is also used as a support surface.
The large one and a half bed is inserted in a niche. The latter used in the depth to fix shelves with hidden lighting.

In the second small room, the depth of the niche is useful for a certainly wider wardrobe. Full-height doors with push opening accommodate fixed tubulars, drawers for linen and shelves for folded items to satisfy the needs of a young girl.

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The master bedroom: a wardrobe like new

The master bedroom is best equipped with a large wardrobe with sliding doors placed parallel to the bed.
Its linear aesthetic combined with spot ceiling lighting allows at the same time to hide its grandeur.
The result is a capacious and functional volume which, in the aesthetic impact of the room, tends to disappear while giving character and elegance.
Relocated from the old house, the different internal height has led to a reduction in height which has thus made it possible to better adapt to new environments.

The composition of the wardrobe comes from a natural division into three departments, corresponding to the division of the sliding doors.
On the outside, the double-height hanger houses removable glass shelves in the center. These are particularly suitable for storing folded shirts using the external sliding mechanism to reduce the internal height between the trays.
In the central compartment, the large linen drawers are accompanied by a pair of shelves for folded items and hangers in the upper part.
The left compartment instead houses a double hanger to accommodate long dresses and coats whose greater height compensates for the reduced space reserved for folded trousers and skirts.

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Giving new life to furniture does not only mean rejuvenating it and making changes to its aesthetics. The bespoke design allows you to create furnishings that are versatile and able to adapt to new environments. Restoring a balance between aesthetic conformation in relation to the room and functional needs becomes the main goal.

If you want to deepen the theme of furniture flexibility, we suggest you this article in which series furniture and tailor-made solutions help each other!

An interior between soft pink, white and gray

An interior between soft pink, white and gray

A warm and welcoming interior characterized by soft pink shades, capable of warming hearts of those who live there. Containing elements that divide the spaces match to these.

entrance hall pink and white with divider

CONCEPT

For the project we worked mainly on the very large and square-cut living room, which represents the most airy and used room in this apartment of a young family. We divided it into zones, a total of four, by identifying the activities that should have been carried out there. The first, at the entrance, is dedicated to the hospitality, with a two faces furniture: on one side, a pocket tray and shelves, for keys and objects to be placed as soon as you arrive home and on the other, a coat rack, for the coats and shoes of the family and guests. The second zone is reserved at the symbolic play of the childrens and their intimate reading moment. The third one is intended for the mother, as a work area. A retractable desk combined with storage elements on the side that can be used to serve the kitchen. The fourth, last but not least, is dedicated to relaxation. A large central island sofa that is illuminated by external light and frontally a cabinet with retractable TV and storage compartments. The need was also to have open libraries available in which to dispose of the wide range of family books and also storage spaces where to put games, but also everyday objects. For this reason, we have created a corridor at the entrance that screens the activities of the living area and welcomes the visitor and directs him to the other areas of the house.

living room pink and gray
living room pink and gray 02

COLORS AND MATERIALS

The main color chosen for the walls of the entire apartment is a soft pink, matches with walls of a slightly more decisive antique pink. Become fashionable once again, it is associated with positivity and the ability to drive away negative thoughts, from a symbolic point of view. In combination with it, for the furnishings of the living area, very modern elements have been chosen, with hidden recessed handles and push compartments. The shades of white with some soft gray inserts perfectly fit with pink illuminating the environment and making it timelessly elegant. In the master bedroom, on the other hand, the wardrobes facing the bed that go to the ceiling are soft pink like the rest of the walls and seem to disappear in the general environment; only the bedside tables with their strongest pink focus attention.

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forniture living room close
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living room pink white gray