We are not midcentury 'people', so it would surprise most people were we to take a stroll around our house pointing out the bent wood side tables and Chase copper lamps, that may not scream 1960s but are absolutely midcentury in form and make. They bridge what we love about classic design and what most people think of as 'midcentury'. Cassina is an Italian brand that shines in just this same sliver of the 20th century design world.
Founded in Meda, Italy, in 1927 by brothers Cesare and Umberto Cassina, Cassina played an important role in the development of Italian furniture design. The company’s collaborations with architects and designers including Gio Ponti, Vico Magistretti, and later Afra and Tobia Scarpa, helped establish a distinctly Italian approach to furniture that brought together industrial production, innovative technology, and traditional craftsmanship. It was good design and good furniture.
By the 1950s, Cassina had expanded beyond its origins in cabinetmaking, taking on major contract projects including the interiors of the Italian transatlantic liner Andrea Doria with Gio Ponti. In the decades that followed, the company’s collaborations produced iconic furniture designs of the time, many of which still command top dollar at auctions and in the vintage and antique market.
source: Cassina (link)
Among these is the Model 920 sofa, designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Cassina in 1966. A compact, low settee, this vintage example we have in the store pairs a dark wood frame with rich brown mohair velvet upholstery. Its scale makes it versatile as an elegant accent in a bedroom, study, or sitting room, while its material choice gives it the presence of a larger piece.
Sixty years after its production, the sofa serves as a reminder of Cassina’s enduring design and impeccable craftsmanship through thoughtful proportions, excellent materials, and a design language that remains relevant today, especially when piled with pillows.