The premium Italian design manufacturer B&B ITALIA teamed up with designer heavyweight Piero Lissoni for the new SAKé sofa collection. Milan-based architect and designer’s collaborations for Italian design brands are what we call “design of excellence”.

Contemporary and beautifully simple, the SAKé series of sofas is emblematic of Lissoni’s work, which he’s described as “minimalistic, simple and elegant”. For this piece in particular, he says his aim, was to create a sense of lightness. Available with seats in three lengths, (175cm, 210cm and 270cm) and with arms positioned at right angles to create a modern, box-like feel, or sloping for a more gentle enveloping effect, the various elements can be configured in a number of ways, thus creating the perfect seating system to suit any conceivable space from compact urban apartments to generous, open-plan living areas.

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Alternatively, push two chaises together to form an intimate arrangement with an extra deep seat. By switching up the interchangeable back elements and arms, the 210cm, 225cm and 245cm models can also be reconfigured to create a sofa bed complete with sturdy headboard.

Piped cushions are cosy but not weighty, and upholstery comes in a wide range of fabrics from the B&B Italia textile collection, including woven wools, natural linens, and velvets in cool neutrals, punchy brights and smart dark shades. Also available in quintessential Italian style is a range of six high quality leathers. These materials complement the steel base with pewter-painted finish – slender and minimal it lends the sofa lightness, so that it appears to float and defy gravity.

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A technological platform, magically suspended in the air like a flying carpet, is how Lissoni has imaginatively and romantically described the essence of his latest design, and although it sadly cannot whisk one away to a faraway land, the clever, multi-functional nature of the SAKé series means it can magically transform into a host of incarnations that will offer comfort, flexibility – and even a peaceful night’s sleep – for many years to come.

The SAKé series is another project defined by research, innovation, functionality and excellence and is, furthermore, an expression of that “timeless design”, the hallmark of all B&B Italia’s projects.

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