World-class designer David Dolcini collaborates with the biggest Italian brands, setting the tone for international decor. He wants us all to slow down by choosing the right kind of furniture, he tells our editor Pip Rich
The Designer
Who Wants You to Relax
ward-winning designer David Dolcini started his career at Luceplan and now regularly designs for some of the biggest Italian brands such as Arflex and Porada. His work has a timeless and relaxed quality to it and is just perfect for how we live now.
Pip rich I know each product you design is a labor of love – you think at length about each corner, angle, surface and how they all come together. As you design at the moment, what issues are you thinking about? David Dolcini I spend a lot of time thinking about how the issue of modern living is that we rush even when we’re enjoying things. And the problem is when you rush, you miss. Like downing a glass of wine, the pleasure is over too fast. With the pieces I’m working on at the moment I’m trying to present something that is simple in appearance but complex in reality – the more you use it or look at it, the more you discover about it. And the more you love it.
PR I love that idea of slowing down to appreciate your surroundings as a sentiment, but what do you mean by that in reality? It’s hard to slow down. DD Well, when I am designing I am thinking about how people will use the piece I’ve made. Take a dining chair, for example. A chair is not just how you sit on it in one position, it’s how you move around its seat, shifting positions to talk to the person on your left then on your right. You twist, you lean back, you sit forward. The more enjoyable evenings you have in a chair, the more you’ll discover about how it facilitated that evening for you, and the more you’ll love it.
Main image: The Argo sofa David Dolcini designed for Porada
PR That makes sense. So many times when I’m buying a new piece of furniture I focus on how it looks, but not always as much on how I’ll use it. DD Most people are guilty of that. When buying something, it’s more useful to really think long and hard about how you’ll use it first. You’re lying – not sitting – on a sofa for about half of the time so make sure it’s comfortable enough to do that on. I designed one specifically for my home to have a low back – it’s between the living room and kitchen and I didn’t want something high so I couldn’t see between the two. And I knew that people would sit on the backrest and then sort of roll over it on the couch – and that’s what I now do all the time! So really focus on how you’re actually going to move around a space. PR I once heard you describe your designs as ‘lighthearted’ and I wondered what you meant by that? I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how design can make you optimistic, filling you with creativity and joy, but how can it be lighthearted? It’s such a lovely sentiment! DD I think back to when I used to go to my aunt’s house in the mountains. It was beautiful, but I was young, I didn’t know anything about design, I just wanted to ski! The house was filled with furniture such as Vitra chairs, Cassina sofas, an Eames lounger. Nothing there was for show, but chosen purely because it was comfortable, relaxed. Lighthearted, in a way. It filled me with joy. And that’s the result of designing for real life, not being too serious about the aesthetics but just being sensitive to how the decor is going to help you live.
You’re lying - not sitting - on a sofa
for most of the time, so make sure
it’s comfortable enough to do that on
Photography Shane McCauley / @shanemccauley
stylist Danielle Goldberg / @daniellegoldberg Hair Stylist Irinel de Leon @ Mane Addicts / @hairinel
Makeup Artist Dana Delaney @ The Wall Group / @dana-delane
Manicurist Natalie Minerva @ Forward Artists / @natalieminervanails
Set Designer Cecilio Dolcetto Lara Ramirez / @dolcetto
Director / DP James Ollard @ Amusement Productions / @amusementproductions.la
Director of Production Samantha Rockman / @rockman_productions
Executive Director, Entertainment Jessica Baker / @jbake21
VP of Creative Alexa Wiley / @awiley_creative
Global Brand Director Sarah Spiteri / @Sarah Spiteri
Left: The Lita lamp David designed for Luceplan; Right: The Lizzy dining chairs designed by David for Arflex
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PR That elegant balance between form and function is what I most associate with you. I remember the first time I sat on the Lizzy chair that you designed for Arflex, and how comfortable it was. What are you working on next? DD It’s my tenth year designing for Porada, and we’ll be launching the Aria Night at Salone del Mobile in Milan]. It’s an update of the Aria bookshelf I already designed, but this time a little starker in black. It feels very modern, very right for displaying books and objects in a contemporary home. PR Yes – I’m seeing many more strong, black and sculptural silhouettes being used in modern homes. DD Black is perfect for homes now. It has a sense of purity.
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it should make you feel
decorated this way, and
in a room that is
to touch everything
You should want
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