Satelliet Originals: furnishing hospitality with flair

When Lars Snellaars was commissioned to design a restaurant inspired by the 1920s just as we came out of pandemic lockdown, the connection between what was happening then (emergence from the Spanish Flu, world war and economic downturn) and now, struck him. His seating designs for the project were all richly pigmented velvet, long fringed trim and a gold frame, details that recalled a carefree heel-clicking, skirt-swishing Charleston dancer. For him it represented a feeling of freedom; a call to party. ‘The inspiration was dancing people who are celebrating life after this period,’ he says. ‘The frame gives flexibility for sitting and chatting to everyone around you in a bar area. The velvet fabric gives an exciting feeling together with the gold frame in a crossed shape that symbolises togetherness.’ The design, which he entitled ReUnited, has now been developed into a collection for Dutch design brand Satelliet Originals, the new customisable furniture line for hospitality selling the sort of high-quality originality now craved by the restaurant industry.

Tasselled bar stools may be far from the modernist rigour we associate with the long popular nordic-style hospitality and cool pared-back cafe culture, but that perhaps is the point – after all the prescriptive polish and stripped-down sameness that characterised restaurants around the globe before the disruptions of Covid, war and economic uncertainty, we are more than ready for a bit of flair and adventure in our interiors. We want storied schemes, sensorial wealth and warmth, something just a little bit different.

This is the thinking that has given rise to Satelliet Originals, a spin-off from the 52-year-old parent company, Satelliet, a veteran of hospitality furniture-making. For this new, forward-focused brand, the idea is to combine the making prowess of Satelliet with the inspirations and expertise of designers out in the field like Snellaars and Erik Remmers alongside Studio Satelliet’s own duo of Chris Montijn-Spiering and Wessel Storms. ‘Furniture used in hospitality projects must meet very high quality standards because it is used intensively,’ says Remmers. ‘What makes Satelliet Originals so strong is that all models really have their own distinct character with beautiful details and materials, but can still guarantee a high quality. The designers who contribute to the collection also all have different backgrounds, which results in their own approach to a design with its own signature.’

The value of working with the like of Snellaars and Remmers is that these are people tasked in their daily lives with talking to restaurant owners and conceiving ideas for new hospitality ventures; the stories and inspirations they are fed generate fresh furniture design and keep them moving with the times. Remmers, who has designed ‘Pebble’ for the collection, runs interior design studio Art2Go which shapes commercial interiors.

When furnishing Kyatcha, a restaurant project in Rotterdam, he felt the need for more wood in the seating offering. ‘I approached Satelliet Originals with my design because I thought there were too many chairs with metal frames. I love wooden frames with details that show that craftsmanship was required. ‘Pebble’ has slender, tapered legs and a beautiful curved wooden detail at the backside against the softly upholstered back.’

Joining Satelliet Originals’ brand book, which will officially launch at Salone del Mobile in Milan, is also Elise Luttik’s chair Chester, which like ‘Pebble’ pulls wood up to the table. Chester is made entirely from ash, but gives the illusion of cushioned leather through the back with clever impressions in the wood. Studio Satelliet, meanwhile, has been working hard to bring Code and Current to the mix – chairs made entirely from post-consumer recycled materials.

The collection is set to grow, but the point of bringing uniqueness and edge to restaurant interiors would be lost but for Satelliet Originals’ equal commitment to customisation – through careful selection of colour, material and finish, every project can be original. ‘Each piece of furniture has its own character, its own face, and in this way supports the identity of a concept or interior. What makes it complete are the infinite possibilities in terms of upholstery and finishes,’  explains Maico Pheninckx, creative consultant at Satelliet. ‘Entrepreneurs, creatives and project developers are given the tools they need to jointly create the most inspiring hospitality locations. Design truly is what you make of it.’ 

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