Numero 111: Insulaire

Whereas in recent years kitchens have become places that encourage conviviality with Insulaire the studio Numero 111 have detached the lounge room more as a bubble of intimacy, a specific area within living space – one in which furnishings structure and reconfigure usage. Instead of a ceremonial reception area for social representation, the lounge room becomes a family environment designed for familiarity, rest and relaxation.

The designers decided to approach living on two levels. Their programme proposes different experiences of comfort and usage. One is the structured mode, which focuses on the sofa. The other is even more laid back, encouraging greater freedom of movement in relation to floor space. In this mode the rug is seen as a piece of furniture in its own right – it becomes the central element that articulates surrounding space. This is an alternative to the classic layout of armchairs around a low table. The rug is composed partly of lacquered rattan cane, forming a sort of plateau, covered by a comfortable thick foam and fabric mat of Japanese inspiration, like a tatami. Scatter cushions take up position and serve as head and back-rests or as seating, depending on the way they are placed.

Three other pieces create links between floor comfort and sofa comfort: two flying tables and a lamp. The upper plateau of each table can be removed to be reconfigured on the floor or on the sofa. As for the lamp, its shade slides up and down on a wooden shaft: high it sheds an even intimate light as a standing lamp, low it becomes a reading lamp. The set is completed by a screen that delimits lounge room space without shutting it in. Its full part acts as an acoustic shield and also has a large integrated storage pouch. Its openwork part, which is made of rattan cane on which things can be hung – tablet, mirror, accessories –, adds functions for users standing up. Numero 111 wanted to make Insulaire “an open lounge, composed of many fragments.”

To elaborate their lounge suite the designers chose rattan cane. But instead of employing the usual method of tying members together with strips of rattan, they paired the material with textiles surfaces and developed a discreet assemblage technique that reinforces the graphic dimension of pieces. They settled for gentle curves and a natural finish. The use of textile and the choice of soft colours – greys, green and pale pink, with a touch of mustard yellow – magnify the impression of comfort and the sensation of a friendly atmosphere conducive to rest.

Insulaire
Design: Numero 111