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When contemporary elegance draws upon traditional techniques.
The Portofino Series
In 2015 Italian outdoor furniture maker Paola Lenti commissioned Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen, renowned for his minimalist style and passion for natural materials, to create a directors style chair using traditional craftsmanship to achieve a chair with the understated elegance for which Paola Lenti have become best known.
The iconic directors style chair found on the decks of boats and mountain top cafés, in gardens and restaurants worldwide has long been a victim of reinterpretation and often for the worst. The traditional tenon and mortar joint used to absorb weight and movement has been replaced with efficient but short lived metal parts producing a chair, though inexpensive to produce, that offers little of the qualities of its predecessor.
The Portofino chair returns to the generosity, comfort and strength of the original by combining traditional construction methods and craftsmanship with fine timber and sophisticated technical fabrics.
The frames of Portofino are solid locust wood a timber renowned for its strength, stability and rot resistance. The sling and back of Portofino are upholstered in Madras or Tamil, unique to Paola Lenti, these technical fabrics are available in 48 solid colours or combined into plaid colours in clever subtle blends.
Madras
Tamil
Since its inception in 2015, the Portofino series has been extended and now includes an elegant low directors seat, generous sofa and lounge chairs, a classic deck chairs and stunning dining tables.
Portofino won the Good Design Award in 2015
Download the Portofino catalogue