Infusing elegance into the open-air world with Minotti’s outdoor designs
Brand story by Harriet Thorpe
Meda (MB), Italy
01.02.24
Catering to the rising interest in open-air living, Italian furniture brand Minotti has expanded its outdoor collection, introducing versatile furnishing pieces that bring personality and sophistication to a myriad of exterior settings.
Meet the cocooning forms and organic lines of the new Torii Nest Outdoor family of seats designed by nendo for Minotti
Meet the cocooning forms and organic lines of the new Torii Nest Outdoor family of seats designed by nendo for Minotti
×Across the world, diverse settings, customs and tastes offer many different challenges for sourcing outdoor furniture. Consider the contrast between a tropical garden in Bali, a hotel terrace overlooking the Alps, a sun-drenched courtyard in Mexico City and a historic balcony in beautiful, yet rainy, London. Then simply imagine how our use across all of these outdoors spaces varies – from the activities we carry out to the length of time we spend, from dynamic conversations to quiet relaxation.
Comfortable and compact, the new Sendai Cord Outdoor armchair smoothly swivels towards the horizon for sunset
Comfortable and compact, the new Sendai Cord Outdoor armchair smoothly swivels towards the horizon for sunset
×For diverse tastes and lifestyles
Seeking to make life easy for architects and interior designers working on high-end residential, hospitality and yachting projects around the world, when Italian design brand Minotti launched its first outdoor furniture in 2006, it set out on a journey to build an extended proposal of elegant design pieces with personality that could be combined to suit any exterior setting in any global location. In addition, the brand has cleverly connected the Outdoor Collection to the Indoor Collection, thus allowing the delivery of fluid living environments that flow seamlessly with ease from indoor to open-air, matching any cultural scenario.
With the guidance of Minotti’s ever-expanding vision, architects and interior designers are able to craft sophisticated outdoor spaces that meet lifestyles and tastes from all over the world
To achieve this, a team of international designers – led by the brand’s vision – combines broad perspectives with Minotti’s trademark Italian design excellence, commitment to quality and tailoring details. Each year, the Outdoor Collection is enriched with a wide range of furniture, blending various shapes, colours and styles that artfully complement each other. A symphony of designs crafted with universally appreciated materials such as exquisite textiles, solid woods and natural finishes.
The generous forms of the Torii Nest Outdoor loveseat (above) and the Torii Nest Outdoor paolina (below) offer ultimate outdoor elegance
The generous forms of the Torii Nest Outdoor loveseat (above) and the Torii Nest Outdoor paolina (below) offer ultimate outdoor elegance
×New members of the family
Among the latest additions is the Torii Nest Outdoor family of seats designed by nendo, which is the evolution of a swivel armchair originally launched in 2021 following the rounded, cocooning DNA of Torii, an iconic family of seats for indoors. The new outdoor seating includes four types of sofa, a loveseat and a paolina, each with an enveloping nest-like backrest made of woven 100% recyclable polypropylene cord inspired by Vienna straw design, a solid teak frame and slender aluminium feet offering a contemporary edge linked to Japanese tradition.
Each year, the Outdoor Collection is enriched with a wide range of furniture, blending various shapes, colours and styles that artfully complement each other
Fairly rare to find on the market, the outdoor swivel chair has proved to be a successful format due to its combination of style and function, so Minotti has introduced the Sendai Cord Outdoor armchair by Inoda+Sveje. It borrows its delicate aesthetic from the indoor Sendai family of seats launched in 2022, providing a smooth evolution into the outdoors with a 360-degree swivel base in a natural teak finish, upholstered seat and woven cord backrest. Comfortable yet compact, it is perfect for a variety of settings, plus, it allows people to orient themselves towards the horizon to watch the sunset without shifting the seat into an untidy position.
Minotti offers calming, natural fabrics and materials for outdoors – see the Sendai Cord Outdoor armchair (above) and the Torii Nest Outdoor angled open sofa with Isole coffee tables (below)
Minotti offers calming, natural fabrics and materials for outdoors – see the Sendai Cord Outdoor armchair (above) and the Torii Nest Outdoor angled open sofa with Isole coffee tables (below)
×Elevating outdoor living
Both the Torii Nest Outdoor and Sendai Cord Outdoor seats offer visual lightness to the open-air space. Their natural materials and rounded shapes are aesthetically pleasing to combine with other furniture of a similar character, such as the Isole coffee tables by Gordon Guillaumier: a new family of versatile and colourful lava stone and glass tables, each in its own irregular shapes, like ‘small islands’ with a contemporary 1950s appeal.
The Isole family of coffee tables in lava stone and glass, crafted in irregular, organic shapes like islands
The Isole family of coffee tables in lava stone and glass, crafted in irregular, organic shapes like islands
×With the guidance of Minotti’s ever-expanding vision, which anticipates and satisfies both new and timeless requirements of outdoor living, architects and interior designers are able to craft sophisticated outdoor spaces that meet lifestyles and tastes from all over the world, as smoothly as one might step out onto a terrace with a lake view on a still, sunny, clear morning.
© Architonic
Head to the Architonic Magazine for more insights on the latest products, trends and practices in architecture and design.