Contract furniture has recently had a major overhaul, due to the ‘casual dining’ phenomenon. Diners now shun stuffy-dining rooms and instead seek good quality food in relaxed interiors. This has resulted in many traditions of eating-establishments being reinvented. Interior designers and contract furniture manufacturers have responded swiftly by adapting and reinventing traditional designs . The way in which Windsor chairs have been reinvented by contract furniture exprerts Billiani is a perfect example of this. Historically Windsor chairs have been painted due to the variegated nature of the wood, this lends itself perfectly to modern design where RAL colours can be used to produce bold and long lasting finishes.
Billiani launched the ‘W range’ in 2014, designed by award-winning furniture expert and visionary Fabrizio Gallinaro, all of which was based on the Windsor. The dining chair, lounge chair, barstool and high back chair all feature tapered legs (the dining chair and high back are also available with a rocking chair base) a bold move away from the Windsor tradition, but they do have a saddle seat and spindled back with an expertly crafted arm-bow top. All of the designs are crafted from Beech, where historically only the seats were, but modern techniques paired with respectful understanding and expertise ensure the back spindles and arm bow can be finished to perfection. As with all Billiani designs the pieces are contract-grade and built to last. The attention to thickness, angle and shape of the design provides a stunning aesthetic for the range which is seemingly simple yet rich in history.
The W range is truly a modern reinvention of the Windsor which is versatile, robust and stunningly simple.