Paolo Ferrari uses rolled velvet cushions and bleached wood for Editions furniture collection
Toronto designer Paolo Ferrari has crafted a series of furniture pieces, including a velvet sofa with large rolled cushions and a perforated pale wood cabinet, all made in Canada.
The series titled Editions includes 20 pieces, ranging from a sofa and bench to side tables and wooden stools, which are due to go on show at the Colony design gallery in New York's Tribeca next month.
Ferrari was influenced by architectural elements, like curved surfaces and angular lines, when designing the range. "The collection is about exploring the balance between the formal and sculptural," he said.
Items include the Rolled Back Sofa, which has a chaise-lounge base with tubular back and side cushions, covered in a Prussian blue velvet and featuring bronze legs. The piece is joined by a matching lounge chair.
"Each is a dialogue between pieces and the tactility of pure materials like solid oak, marble and brass," said Ferrari.
The tall, narrow Perforated Wood Cabinet is crafted from off-white timber and features large corner doors that, when open, reveal three-quarters of the interior. Hundreds of tiny drill holes line the exterior, giving the storage unit its name. Inside, a set of slatted planks form seemingly floating shelves.
Another chair has a high hollow back made from thin piece of metal, which arches close to five feet (1.5 metres) in height.
"I love when objects reveal themselves as you engage them," said Ferrari. "For instance, the High Back Stool was inspired by the desire to frame someone sitting. The perforated cabinet offers an unexpected functionality with the perforations serving as finger pulls."
The collection also includes a screen made from vertical tubes of linen attached in a curvy, a wave-like frame. This piece can be used as a room divider, or for improving the acoustics of a space.
"There is a cultural freedom that comes from being Canadian and raised by Italian immigrant parents," said Ferrari. "I try to explore a kind of cultural mash-up through my work."
Another fully white chair has a bleached wood frame, white leather cushions and mohair arms for tactility.
The cushioned Layered Seat Bench also functions as a bed, with a thin green cushion designed atop a navy and wood construction, and a pillow strapped onto one end.
Other pieces in the series include white marble coffee tables, navy blue wooden side tables, and more small stools and tables.
Ferrari worked as a design director at Yabu Pushelberg – a furniture and interiors firm founded in 1980 with offices in Toronto and New York – before starting his own firm Studio Paolo Ferrari.
Editions will be go on display from 15 December 2017 indefinitely at Colony, 324 Canal Street, New York City.
Photography is by Eric Petscheck and Jeff Green.