Rafael

Exotic, natural and… special. This is the start of RAFAEL, the new story told by Ethimo and Paola Navone. A project that is a child of the exceptional ability of this designer to interpret and rework the aesthetic and formal approach of distant cultures and landscapes and of the Ethimo passion for creating the ideal, harmonious relation between furnishings and their surroundings. RAFAEL is the collection of lounge furnishings that aspires to be the emblem of an exotic idea springing from contemporary imagination, capturing the essence of the world’s most fascinating locations to arouse extraordinary sensations of wellbeing and generate new outdoor living experiences. Created to bring alive the most exclusive outdoor spaces with their own unique personality, this collection ‘absorbs’ the changing, multi-faceted shapes of nature and preserves its vital influences, which shine through in the strength of its lines and the rough beauty of its materials. Design, materials and decoration in this way generate furnishings with an eclectic soul. Sturdy, welcoming articles with cosy volumes that express colour and energy. Fine artisan crafting of teak, marble and lava stone in fact combines with the sophisticated range of textile colours, again designed by Paola Navone, that enhance the padded furniture. RAFAEL is a modular system comprising a lounge seating, day beds and coffee tables. All the elements can be used together or stand-alone. The alternating slats that make up the backrests bring alive the unusual original hexagonal profiles of the frame, in the new distressed natural teak finish. A dimensional rhythm that lends movement and visual aperture, lending these furnishings dynamism and ‘air’. The backrests are a series of asymmetrical slats held together by special metal ‘staples’ that, together with the frame, create a woody organic shell holding a soft ‘alcove’ of cushions with refined weave and intense colours.