Little Luxury, Big Luxury

Moroso Gentry Sofa by Patricia Urquiola

JO CULLERTON
Commercial manager

Little luxury: Last year Moroso launched the Jardin Suspendu collection, and I would love a few of these to add a bit of fun and greenery to my place. They're hand-woven from fishing line material by African craft weavers, and they're 
all unique.

Big luxury: I have a place in my mental dream lounge for the Moroso Gentry Sofa by Patricia Urquiola. I'm a big fan of Moroso — their pieces are quirky and always push the boundaries of design. I love the exaggerated knit pattern on the Gentry Sofa, and it's unbelievably comfortable to lounge 
around on.

Wilkhahn Office Chair
Wilkhahn Office Chair

EUAN MCKECHNIE
Business development manager

Little luxury: I love the simplicity of the Japanese shoji paper 1A Akari Light Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi. They’re very well-priced, with a lovely linear shape.

Big luxury: I spent four hours working at my kitchen table on an Eames Dining Chair the other day, and a Wilkhahn In Office chair would have made it a lot more comfortable. The Germans do this kind of thing so well. I’d get it in a soft grey-white with a polished aluminum base to dress it up a bit.

Serie Up 2000 Armchair by Gaetano Pesce for B&B Italia
Serie Up 2000 Armchair by Gaetano Pesce for B&B Italia

JEANNE BERTENSHAW
Director

Little luxury: I love my orange limited-edition Bitossi Cat, and now have my eye on the limited-edition mustard yellow ones that have come in as well. I’m not allowed to have a real cat in my apartment, so these ones will have to do for now.

Big luxury: I have always loved the Serie Up 2000 Armchair by Gaetano Pesce for B&B Italia in the classic stripe pattern — although, of course, you can get it in a range of fabrics. It’s just so eccentric and fun. Sitting in it makes you feel like a kid sitting in your mother’s lap. It’s known as the Big Mama, and it really is enormous. I wouldn’t be able to fit it in my apartment, so like the real cat, it will have to wait until I have the right home for it.

Rietveld Red and Blue Chair
Rietveld Red and Blue Chair

CAROLINE MONTAGUE
Sales consultant

Little luxury: I would choose Vase No.2 by Fabio Novembre for Bitossi. With his background in architecture, film and somewhat eccentric projects, he always produces works of style, often with subversion. I think this one is really only suitable for anthurium flowers.

Big luxury: I’d love to take home the Rietveld Red and Blue Chair. It’s iconic. As a chair, it really has no antecedents for its form. Rietveld said he made furniture that was “stimulating for the mind, not for the body”, so in a way it’s almost anti-comfort. There are so many layers to it, from the way it’s an early kind of flat-pack furniture, to the colours, which are part of the Neo-Plasticism movement, with its Mondrian references. You can probably tell I’m not really into comfortable chairs!

Classic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman
Classic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman

LISA DE COEK
Chief operating officer

Little luxury: I do have my eye on the Dog from the Vitra collection of Alexander Giraud dolls. They’re just really fun and decorative.

Big luxury: I’d love to have a classic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, but I’ll have to get a new house for it to go in first. It’s a beautiful, comfortable piece — I’ve test-driven the one we have in the showroom. I wouldn’t get it in black though, I’d get the white leather version.

Vieques tub by Patricia Urquiola for Agape
Vieques tub by Patricia Urquiola for Agape

XIAOLEI JIN
Sales consultant

Little luxury: I love the Vitra Eames elephant. The original version was designed in plywood by Charles and Ray Eames in 1945, but it never went into production. The plastic one is more durable, an iconic piece to keep. I got one for my boy’s first birthday.

Big luxury: The Tufty Time 15 Sofa designed by Patricia Urquiola in 2015 for B&B Italia. This version was inspired by the first Tufty Time Sofa, designed back in 2005, in celebration of 10 years of one of the company’s greatest successes. This sofa was designed as a modular system, so it’s suitable for any kind of space.

Tufty Time 15 Sofa designed by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia
Tufty Time 15 Sofa designed by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia

KOTOMI LOVE
Sales consultant

Little luxury: I would have to say the Vitra Eames House Bird. It’s a real classic that can go in any style of home, and it always makes a lovely gift.

Big luxury: I would love to have one of the freestanding Vieques tubs by Patricia Urquiola for Agape. I like a bit of country style but don’t like it to be too old-fashioned. The Vieques tub has that country feeling but it is still contemporary. I love the wooden back-rest accessory detail.

An Arclinea kitchen
An Arclinea kitchen

LAURA ELLIS
Kitchen designer

Little luxury: The Wiggle Side Chair designed by Frank Gehry and manufactured by Vitra. The architect Frank Gehry has been my favourite architect since I went to New York 10 years ago and saw some of his work for real. He’s known for his use of unusual materials. The Wiggle Chair is actually made out of cardboard, but its sculptural form makes it stand out. I’d love this chair and matching Wiggle Stool for myself as a talking point.

Big luxury: I currently rent, but one day when I can afford my own home, I will be designing my own Arclinea kitchen. I’m in love with the brand for its quality and attention to detail. I would have the Convivium Elegant door in NTF fumé oak. I have actually just designed this finish for Matisse’s new showroom kitchen, so I can admire it here in the showroom first. An Arclinea kitchen would definitely be a must for me. If I won the lottery, I would have one in all my houses, all over the world, haha.

African craft weavers from the Jardin Suspendu collection
African craft weavers from the Jardin Suspendu collection

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