Cross Team Properties

If you are looking for a reliable brand of Italian furniture, Bontempi Casa is probably one of the best sources available today.  Bontempi is a trusted and revered brand of Italian designer furniture that retains the confidence of its customers.  Because they know what to expect, customers keep returning to Bontempi for all their furniture and household design needs.

Innovative Designs from Bontempi

The company’s furniture collection really is a step above the rest in terms of design, quality, functionality and innovation.  Whether you are looking for a simple designer dining table or a splashy contemporary dining table or any other piece of furniture for that matter, Bontempi has it all.  Their designers are expert at combining colour and texture that redefine classical pieces into modern, edgy furniture.

Classical and Modern all in One

The style of furniture manufactured by the company is a combination of classical and modern.  Almost every Bontempi Casa piece will fit seamlessly in with your other contemporary furnishings.  Though a Bontempi piece will look fabulous, even in the most traditional settings, it really comes into its own in a contemporary environment.  In fact the impeccable designs are perfect for any modern home.

The Future of Bontempi

Despite Bontempi Casa being a relatively new designer furniture company, it already has a quite faithful community of customers.  Because its core values focus on competitive goals and high quality, we are sure to see a lot more from Bontempi Casa in the coming years.

Everyone expects a tremendous amount from his or her dining table.  They expect them to look elegant for a holiday feast, show their rugged and durable side at daily meals and still be serviceable as a desk or worktable.  To top it off neatly, you expect a generation of use out of that same table.

You might think that a designer dining table is ill equipped to handle the pressure.  Nevertheless, the opposite is true.  The rugged construction, solid woods and high-tech durable materials used in a designer dining table guarantees its longevity.

However, an important factor that may be overlooked is the dimensions of the table.  How much room is needed for each person?

When choosing your designer dining table, allow for 59cm for each place setting.  Ideally, 76cm is even better, providing the same amount of space as an armchair.  The width of the table is important also.  The 76cm width is intimate and works well in small areas or kitchens.  A table width of 102cm is ideal for entertaining and family dinners.  It leaves ample room in the middle of the table for food, centrepieces, and dishes.

The table design can work to your advantage as well.  A round table has no sharp corners and with the natural curve away from the diner, it is easier to get up or sit down.  A square or rectangular table may be easier to adapt to the space, especially if it has a drop leaf or extension piece.

A designer dining table is a functional element of the home and the proper specifications will ensure many years of happiness with the choice made.

The majority of modern and contemporary designers look at a space and create furniture that functions within the area.  Ozzio Design looks at space as a fluid concept and creates multifunctional products that adapt to their surroundings.

Its unique perception of products and shapes keeps Ozzio at the forefront of modern design.  An Italian company, the evolution of Ozzio came from woodworking techniques perfected by Pozzoli in 1961.  Ozzio has been, and continues to be, a transformational company in growth, innovation and design.  Combining a love of beauty and functionality, Ozzio is constantly realising something original.

The designer furniture created by Ozzio comes with transformable concepts built right in.  From an adjustable coffee table, chairs that rebel against taking up space but instead conserve it, to transitional living and dining room furniture, the concepts of Ozzio’s designs create new and exciting possibilities for people with limited space.

Take, for example, the extendable table.  Going far beyond minimalist design, the table has the capacity to extend to three different sizes.  A built-in telescopic mechanism allows you to use it as a console table at its smallest setting or as a dining or kitchen table on its other two extendable settings.  It is not only functional but also beautiful, featuring a lacquered wood frame in a white or black finish and table legs carved with Swarovski details.

For people who need versatility in their designer furniture or prefer a continuous play in their space, Ozzio not only produces brilliant conceptual designs but also provides perfect solutions for space problems in compact apartments, dorm rooms and small urban homes.

Are you on a budget, but still want to fill your home with the best in designer furniture?  It is possible to make your home look great without breaking the bank.  The first thing to do when shopping for contemporary furniture is to have a budget in mind and stick to it.  This will help you decide exactly how much you can spend and will also help narrow your search.

Shopping around will definitely help you find designer furniture at discount prices.  You can do this by visiting local furniture stores, as well as looking on the internet.  It is always a good idea to do a little comparison-shopping before spending your hard earned money.  You will then have a better feel for what is available that fits your budget and you will also have a good idea of what each retailer has to offer.

When shopping for furniture, perhaps a contemporary dining table or a modern sofa, look for stores that specialise in designer furniture at discount prices; believe it or not, they do exist.  Many of these retailers offer close to wholesale pricing and may have an online catalogue for you to take a look at.  Visiting trade shows is also a good way to find designer furniture on the cheap.

One final thing to consider, when pricing designer furniture, is the delivery charge.  Some discount furniture retailers will also provide discounted or even free shipping and delivery.  However, if the piece requires assembly or is particularly large, you may want to make sure that delivery and assembly are included in the basic price.

As you shop for designer furniture for your dining room, you will probably hear the terms ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ mentioned fairly frequently.  If you prefer modern design, a contemporary dining table and some simple chairs is probably the way to go, but do you actually know what contemporary dining room furniture is?

Contemporary is not Boring

A contemporary dining table set can update your boring old dining room, because it is sleek and modern with a casual and comfortable twist.  The basic thinking behind the contemporary style of furniture is to be uncluttered and casual.  There are few accessories and not much art, which is not to say that the contemporary style is boring and bland, because it is not, it is just lighter and more neutral than classic, traditional styles.

Make Use of Space

In a contemporary dining room there is usually plenty of space.  You should make use of this space in a smart way and incorporate as much natural light as possible.  Take down those dusty, heavy drapes and let the light into the room.  Roman blinds or wooden shutters are a great way to accent your designer dining room while still allowing for privacy during family events.

Contemporary Design Choices

Designing a contemporary dining room is not too hard to do.  The style commands natural accents and neutral colours, sometimes with a pop of a primary colour here and there.  Wood, granite, rattan and stainless steel are all popular materials used in making contemporary dining furniture.

It seems no coincidence that contemporary furniture design has its roots in the early 20th century, at a time when change on the grand scale was sweeping through Europe.  A second Renaissance was underway in all the arts, and with the likes of Epstein and Picasso transforming sculpture and painting, and Berg reducing music to its underlying tonal qualities, furniture too came under scrutiny and experienced its own quiet revolution.

Furniture had previously been seen as decorative, and the late Victorian period especially had witnessed an efflorescence of rococo flamboyance in heavily carved wood.  The furniture designers of the early 20th century did away with all that in a clear reaction against the Victorian excesses seen in cluttered drawing rooms and even carved piano legs, to concentrate on clean lines and a rigid functionality.

The Werkbund and Bauhaus movements in Germany especially helped foster an atmosphere of new creativity and a fresh approach to contemporary furniture design, and there was an input from African art as well as the arts and crafts movements of the previous century.

Nowadays, designer furniture is still going strong, and most of the major producers in Italy and Scandinavia in particular have their own design teams who concentrate on coming up with new and innovative approaches in their use of the latest materials.

Dan-Form in Denmark and Bontempi, Magis and Calligaris in Italy lead the way in designer furniture production, with outlets across the world.  Contemporary furniture design is witnessing a new revolution in the fusion of computer technology, new materials and innovation.

The leading place that Italian furniture designers now occupy in the world of designer furniture has its origins in the period immediately following World War II, when devastated towns and cities created a sort of tabula rasa for Italian designers to start from scratch on.  Their primary purpose was to come up with practical, functional and simple designs to refurnish dwellings.

This involved a lot of research and experimentation, and engendered a fresh approach that breathed new life into what had become a rather dull industry.  Steel fittings, door handles and electrical control units were all experimented with, and by the 1950s young rationalist designers came into their own when industrial manufacturing techniques demanded simplified and innovatory shapes to aid mass production.

More recently, since the 1970s, a post-modern movement in furniture design has grown in Italy, with companies such as Bontempi, Calligaris, Effezeta and Magis coming to fruition with a new range of contemporary furniture designs that have taken the home furnishings world by storm.

Italy, long renowned for its clothing design industry, now has furniture design as its single largest range of industrial design, and influences the international market with its exciting ranges of fresh-looking furniture and peripheral items for the home and work spaces.

With their bases mainly in northern Italy, the modern Italian furniture companies have outlets for their products worldwide.  These designer furniture creations are not only aesthetically pleasing but supremely practical and built to last.  They embody timeless design concepts and will outride changes in fashion.

There are a vast number of designer furniture items available at affordable prices these days, from bathroom and lighting fixtures to all manner of dining room and bedroom furniture.  The modern house exemplifies a trend over recent years towards an expression of individuality and lightness. Whereas the 1950s was characterised by a drab sameness, and the 1960s by mass produced goods for the emerging middle classes, the modern period has emphasised individual taste and an appreciation of innovative design methods that complement the modern lifestyle.

Hand-finished furniture from Italian companies like Bontempi, Effezeta, Magis and Calligaris, and Dan-Form in Denmark, place the emphasis on the innovative use of quality materials, simple forms and lightness.  With walnut and oak designer furniture from Belgium, Italian interior design principles and a range of rugs and accessories from Scandinavia, the market in contemporary furniture has moved towards the furnishing of modern, open living spaces that frequently have wooden flooring and whose owners are concerned about expressing their individualistic tastes as well as being comfortable.  Designer furniture is about much more than having something to sit on or a table to eat at or a bed to sleep in.  These functions are just the starting point for the addition of multiple layers of expression until in many cases what the designers create are to all intents and purposes functional works of art.

Contemporary furniture transcends passing fads and as well as being beautiful will be forever truly contemporary.

Magis is typical of the newer contemporary furniture designers that have emerged in Europe over recent decades, and like the others grew from a fairly humble base to become a leading innovator and trend-setter on the contemporary furniture design scene.

Magis, with its dedicated workforce and huge emphasis on research into consumer trends and materials, and the creation of the new designs that are its life-blood, is at the forefront of the latest revival in furniture design to sweep Europe.  The deep roots of contemporary furniture design lie in the Bauhaus movement of almost a century ago, but the fresh approach to furniture design that this instigated has undergone many transformations since then.

Designer furniture from firms such as Magis, Calligaris, Effezeta and Bontempi, to name just a few, is characterised by a break with the older traditional furniture design approach, and embraces new and diverse materials and fresh concepts to create exciting new forms and variations on the original contemporary furniture classic models.

Contemporary furniture lightens up the home with its use of vibrant colours in unusual combinations, bentwood design, use of materials such as plastic and steel as well as the traditional wood in creative ways, and its frequently playful approach.  The Magis Puppy chair is a case in point; a humorous take on the traditional chair that is popular with adults and children alike and has become something of a modern fashion icon, achieving the ultimate accolade of having made an appearance on Big Brother.

These are interesting times, characterised by a drive towards self-expression and individuality, the promotion of personal taste and a craving for as much choice as possible.  The consumer now lays the ground rules and producers and retailers must adapt to this still emerging consumer awareness and confidence.  This may be a combination of a reaction to the uniformity of previous centuries and the rise of modern technology that makes more choice possible.

The modern home is viewed by its owner as not only a place to eat, sleep and relax but also as an extension of their personality, an expression of their individuality, and furnishing it has pushed designers of contemporary furniture in a whole new direction over recent decades.

Italian furniture and Scandinavian furniture manufacturers and designers have led the way in innovative use of materials to create a range of European designer furniture with a new approach. The older emphasis on useless decoration has been banished in favour of lightness, shining metal, planed wood and fluid forms.  An element of fun is also there, with creations such as the Magis Puppy chair employing an abstract dog shape that has appeal for both adults and children.  But other companies like Calligaris, Bontempi and Effezeta in northern Italy have whole design teams working on fresh ways to use materials and production methods to get their goods into outlets across the world.

Designer furniture allows every one of us to become a domestic artist and breathe a fresh breath of life into our homes.