A Stylish Spring

Arper is a family business based in Italy that understands how to harmoniously meld Scandinavian, Mediterranean, Japanese and North-American influences in its designs. Since 1989, the credo of the successful furniture manufacturer has been openness and curiosity combined with a striving for the synthesis of all the numerous small components and nuances that the unity of product and space or of space and people entails. Arper is especially concerned with the physical and emotional health of its users and the company’s creative minds regard the playful and invigorating design of open spaces to be crucial for a sense of wellbeing.

A first harbinger of spring: The “Leaf” collection of chairs and tables (designed between 2005 and 2011 by Lievore Altherr Molina) start to pop up again on numerous patios in a chair, lounge chair, stool or table version just in time for the start of spring making it one of the hardy perennial classics among outdoor furniture. For good reason: Tables whose surfaces resemble stones polished smooth by water are accompanied by table and chair frames that recall a tree’s branches or the veins of a leaf. The choice of shapes of timeless objects is clearly reminiscent of the perfect imperfection of nature. And what makes it especially beautiful – “Leaf” accompanies its users throughout the whole year – sometimes well upholstered, other times airy and refreshing, and even in the cold season it does not need to hide in our living rooms.

Another lounge chair that can be carried from the living room directly out onto the patio or a grassy area depending on the weather and your mood is the design by Lievore and Altherr Désile Park from 2020. As soft as moss and as round as a pebble “Adell” provides lasting relaxation. The upholstery fabric is made of 80 percent recycled polypropylene – while the chair is so comfortably shaped that once you have sunk into its gentle curves you might feel loathe to get up again. The concentric design of the pattern for the textile is inspired by tree rings and seashells with over 500 lines applied by hand running irregularly and randomly across the entire seat. At the end of its life cycle, “Adell” can be broken down into its individual components making for sustainable disposal. Alternatively, both the four-leg frame of wood or metal as well as the version with steel sliders can be refurbished with a seat of recycled polypropylene, a completely upholstered shell, with a simple seat cushion or a removable cover for indoors and outdoors. April showers bring forth May flowers?

The successful collaboration with Arper inspired Altherr Désile Park in 2021 to design the first armchair with a solid wood frame for the family-owned company. With its clean lines and elegant feel lounge chair “Kata” can be read as a contemporary and sustainable interpretation. Not only that the minimal silhouette with its textile cover made from innovative, material-saving 3D-weave is also convincing on account of its light ecological footprint. Kata’s seat frame is fashioned from FSC-certified wood, while the recycled polyester material is made from post-consumer plastic – a strategy that saves both plastic waste and energy. In other words, a chair in which you can lean back and enjoy the sun on your face with a clear conscience.

When will it truly be summer again? Perhaps it’s worth looking back to 2012, when James Irvine designed his slender polypropylene chair “Juno” for Arper. In 2022, the classic was relaunched and under the name “Juno 02“ epitomized in a restrained and elegant fashion new options for the use of the material. Made from up to 70 percent recycled plastic, the chair is available in a range of colors suffused with nature, while remaining true to its motto of” elegant and efficient, simple and sleek”. This handsome model is to be found all year round in both residential and commercial settings as well as inside and out. Whether snow white, sage green, rust, turtledove gray, anthracite gray or black – “Juno 02” cuts a fine figure in every season – and it might not make summer feel more like summer, but it certainly makes it a little more comfortable.