Planning the furniture for a new, or newly-renovated house is certainly no easy task and when it comes to modern furniture for the living room, there’s so much choice that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
Nowadays, with e-commerce and large chain stores it’s possible to furnish interiors relatively cheaply, but it’s not the best choice if you’re looking for sturdy furniture that can withstand the rigours of constant use for many years.
And it’s essential to be even more careful if you have to choose furniture for waiting areas, offices or cosy corners in bars, pubs or restaurants.
Over the years, the concept of the living room has changed, and designers have had to adapt to this by coming up with new solutions.
Designer furniture: the devil is in the detail.
When it comes to furniture as important and costly as the purchases you make for your living room, choosing on impulse really is false economy.
After visiting a few websites and showrooms you’ll probably have been struck by a certain style of decor or particular furniture. This is an excellent start, because you’re starting to pin down exactly what you want, but aesthetics mustn’t be the only, or indeed, most important factor you consider when making your choice.
The real quality of furniture lies in the details. You need to seek out information regarding the construction materials used, and when possible, also the manufacturer, in order to be sure that the production processes (artisanal or industrial) that are employed live up to your expectations.
When such information is not easy to get hold of, the best advice is to ask targeted questions to retailers or to the manufacturers themselves.
What’s more, by evaluating the finishes used and any smart design details incorporated into the furniture, you can gauge how attentive the manufacturer has been and this may justify the higher price tag when compared to medium/low quality alternatives.
Small, trivial details can end up revealing the truth about the piece of furniture you’re about to buy.
Is Italian designer furniture always synonymous with style and quality?
Italian designers are renowned throughout the world, especially in the fashion, automotive and, of course, furniture industries.
But don’t be taken in by companies that boast their “Made in Italy” credentials without backing up such a grand title with some tangible evidence of quality.
Designer furniture companies that are the true ambassadors of Italian quality around the world have the ability to design and create durable, functional and beautiful furniture.
As mentioned in the introduction to this article, if living room furniture is used in commercial environments, you need to be doubly careful when making choices, because they involve significant financial outlay by the owner and will be closely scrutinised by customers.
Don’t focus only on the living room but also bear in mind the kitchen design.
Nowadays living rooms and kitchens are almost always combined into a single living space that we call open-plan. Consequently, there must also be some coherence between the area where meals are prepared and where they are eaten.
In the past, it was typical to have two tables in the house, with one in the kitchen and one in the living room; nowadays modern households have just one table and it’s used to do a thousand different things. The same reasoning applies to chairs.
The natural consequence is that nowadays there is a need to have furniture which is both more durable and versatile, whilst still being aesthetically pleasing.
Whether furnishing your home business, a touch of eccentricity and creativity doesn’t hurt, and there are companies with designers who are highly skilled at creating furniture that impresses immediately and is a pleasure to use, day in, day out, for years to come. Examples of quality and creativity are the modern furniture for the living room by Albaplus, a long-established Italian company offering surprising designs and innovative solutions.
