The industrial style in sophisticated variations

24 February 2022

The industrial style is a set of design, color and material choices that recall, in the suggestions, the workshop atmosphere. The imperfection, the lived-in, the rough are all characteristics to be supported if the goal is to give the environment such an accent. Of course, to be declined in a sophisticated way, without forgetting the final goal of the design: to create a welcoming, functional and tasteful interior. Balance is the key to use to create the right ensemble of industrial-style furniture and accessories. Metal is the recurring material and is almost exposed, as is wood, whose grain is enhanced. The finishes, in fact, are aimed at enhancing the physical characteristics of the materials and treating them as decorative elements on which to project attention. The design, on the other hand, is essential and linear, devoted to function, starting from which it also finds its formal direction.

Triedro by Joe Colombo for Stilnovo

To focus on industrial aesthetics, the Triedro lamp (on the cover) designed by Joe Colombo in 1970, when this style was not yet codified as a trend, is very interesting. This lamp is reminiscent of the technical lights of photographic studios and the configuration of the lampshade reflects the light without glare. The function determines the design of the lamp and therefore its style, austere but graceful, perfect for the study but also for a cozy living room.

Graduate by Jean Nouvel for Molteni & C.

Jean Nouvel reverses the perspective by anchoring this modular bookcase no longer to the floor but to the ceiling or wall. Modular, it consists of an upper shelf that acts as an anchor, to which tie rods and relative shelves are connected. The latter are in plywood covered in anodized aluminum which gives an industrial but sophisticated feel to the whole.

Metrica by CTRLZAK Studio for Mogg

The industrial soul of a piece of furniture can also be read in the essentiality of its structure. A feature perfectly expressed in the Metrica shelving by CTRLZAK for Mogg. A forest of chasing iron rods forms the vertical structure and supports the glass shelves, whose transparency makes them ideally invisible.

Dorotea by Claudio Lovadina for Minotti Italia

Dorotea is a sideboard whose external casing, in teak, is characterized by a particular processing that returns a very intense material and visual effect. The wood, in fact, is worked in triangular sections with a three-dimensional effect and the overall result is a perfect match between industrial style and craftsmanship.

Tense by Piergiorgio and Michele Cazzaniga for Mdf Italia

Tense is the archetype of the table: in appearance it is pure matter with single-material surfaces in various types of wood. Inside is refined design which is expressed in the aluminum profile frame and a polystyrene filling and steel legs with internal structural tie.

Clay by Marc Krusin for Desalto

Essential overlapping volumes create the Clay sculpture table in which two cones of different proportions connect in a single, almost invisible point. The proposed shapes are two: round or oval, in both cases the softness of the shapes is a counterpoint to the grit of the finishes with an industrial touch. Clay challenges the perception of gravity in a surprising game of balance.

Frame by Fantin

Finally, even the kitchen ideally lends itself to taking on an industrial style: an operational and informal environment par excellence, it welcomes functional furnishings but always to be interpreted with a refined taste. The Frame collection by Fantin is an example of this: in the steel finish it recalls professional kitchens but the elegant lines and delicate thicknesses make it perfect for a domestic interior.

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