Use of Colors to Increase Well-Being / Anna and Paolo Bartoli, Bartoli Design
Colors have an intrinsic meaning for our mind and generate an important impact on sensations, choices and mood. They have an immediate perception component that has accompanied us for hundreds of thousands of years: man’s life was governed by the dark blue or black night, by the bright yellow and white daylight, by the hunting activities, red, and defense and conservation, linked to the green vegetation.
Chromotherapy and color psychology study how the various shades and their combinations influence our thoughts and emotions, as the brain instinctively reacts to the stimulus of one or more colors together. Furthermore, the hues are influenced by factors such as quantity, combinations and light; similar shades influence each other and the perception they generate also depends on the physical and emotional context.
A wise use of colors is therefore not only a matter of taste but also a strategic knowledge for those involved in furnishing and decorating rooms.
This is why Bartoli Design, in the search for solutions that increase psychophysical well-being, has developed a proposal of shades based on different intended uses and with different possibilities of combinations and details of percentages of use of the colors, in order to improve the positive effects that these can generate in people and environments.
Consciously using color, in places and furnishings, leads to positive effects for the functionality of the spaces and for our well-being.
To create comfort in residential environments, Bartoli Design prefers to use “similar” colors, a combination of tones that are located next to each other on the color wheel.
This generates a sense of harmony as they tend to merge together having a part of pigments in common.
The effect is also obtained with contrasting shades, however focusing on very light or dark intensity: in fact, by desaturating a bright color with white or black in quantity, we provide the common element and soften the contrast between the colors.
Bartoli Design also prefers combinations where a single tone stands out on a base of neutral gradations, creating an important point of interest and affection to give meaning to the spaces of everyday life.
MILLE – tables and consoles with sculptural bases
For this project, Bonaldo asked us to design a system of tables with a “sculptural base”; our design idea was to create a model to became a centerpiece in the dining room, offered at a democratic price.
The design started from a simple geometric element, a stainless steel cylinder from standard production, that, multiplied in an apparently random way, creates a rhythm with balanced proportions of solids and voids, as tree trunks in a forest.
Mille is an industrial but flexible product, a system adaptable to different table sizes and shapes where technical materials meet with the “natural” pattern of the legs, made of chrome-plated or lacquered steel; glass or ceramic tops are available in numerous sizes.
Mille was also conceived as a consolle in four dimensions. In this version as well, we preserved the sculptural aspect of the chromed-steel legs, whose number varies, depending on the top size, to ensure maximum stability and visual consistency.
The top is in transparent glass.
DRAPÈ
DRAPÈ is a collection of upholstered furniture characterized by the abundant drapery of the upholstery which makes it immediately recognizable.
The particular tailoring process designs the soft shapes and ensures that each piece is unique and unrepeatable, creating an aesthetics that is both rich and informal, suitable for both a residential living and waiting and conversation areas and prestigious work environments.
Sofa, swivel armchair and pouf, in three sizes, make a complete collection.
1085 Edition chair
The 1085 Edition chair is manufactured in natural leather hide, with visible stitching and stainless steel tie-rods, supported by a steel frame and four solid oak legs. Developed by Bartoli Design, with the collaboration of the Presot tannery, the chair has been introduced by Italian company Kristalia.
The 1085 edition chair values time: its main material, a thick natural hide leather, will eventually change with time in color and texture, making the chair a witness of this transition, preserving its functionality for years to come.
The processing of this material goes back to the legacy of the Pietro Presot tannery that, starting in 1933, manufactures shoe soles for the best Italian fashion brands and that during its history has been able to adapt to technology evolution without losing its authenticity.
For this project Bartoli Design successfully took inspiration from many worlds: from high fashion came the visible stitching and from boating the use of tie-rods. Expression of a typical Italian heritage, high-level craftsmanship has been added to that, together with the development of a sustainable manufacturing process.
The 1085 edition chair is therefore the successful meeting of the entrepreneur’s exploration spirit, the designer’s talent and the competency of a refined craftsman.
MELLOW – indoor table
The smooth shapes of two curved eyelids, embraced in a gesture aimed at creating an apparent volume, form the base supporting the table top in a perfect balance game.
Mellow is characterized by a volumetric base – made by two opposing elements, moulded in compact polyurethane – combined with a soft-shaped top.
The base is available in lacquered metal finishes: burnished, pickled, opaque copper, brass, matt brass.
The matching top is available in three oval and four circular sizes, in solid wood – Walnut, natural brushed Oak and anthracite gray brushed Oak – in Calacatta, Onice Gold or Ardesia ceramic, in Calacatta, Carrara, Marquinia and Emperador marble, in extra-clear polished glass, in frosted black and extra-clear white glass, and in matt white lacquered finish.
Octa extending table
Octa is derived from the Greek octo which means eight: that is the number of legs that equip this table designed by Bartoli Design for Bonaldo.
The legs are indeed the key players in Octa: built out of metal rods that have been bent and welded, they form a base which is light in appearance, but which still gives an impression of great solidity and stability.
“The idea of a table with legs made of metal rods came from playing the game of Mikado pick-up sticks. Order in disorder, lightness, a filigree pattern – these are some of the characteristics that come to mind when thinking about this product, which is designed to be unusual and elegant”. (Bartoli Design)
Octa is available with a fixed circular and rectangular table top (in matt anthracite grey or white lacquered wood finish; in solid American walnut or solid anthracite grey brushed oak; in natural Canaletto walnut-wood; in acid-treated black or acid-treated white extra-light glass) and in the extending version (in the anthracite grey or white lacquered wood finishes; natural Canaletto walnut wood; acid-treated black or white glass). The base is in painted metal (white or matt anthracite grey), chromed or black nickel.
SUSHI – fixed and extendable tables
The Sushi table is an elegant piece of furniture and one of a collection of fixed and extendable tables, which is very popular and has been for many years, loved for its timeless style, resilience and innovative design. A product meant to last: rigour and beauty, innovation and durability.
Sushi is very versatile, perfect to use as a dining room table, a desk in an office, or table for a conference room. The table makes for a wonderful centre piece, evoking sophistication to living and working spaces.
The extendable version, when pulled out to its full extent, still manages to retain its aesthetic style, with the legs remaining at the ends of the table and the thin, sleek top remaining even.
The table is strong, sturdy and simple, although unforgettable in design.
The aluminium frame is combined with different kinds of table top materials: Alucompact laminate, Pure-white full-core, Fenix-NTM, painted glass and Dekton by Cosentino. Table tops are easy to keep clean and are water and scratch resistant. The mechanisms used in the extendable tables are extremely precise and merge perfectly into the design aesthetic of the table, being virtually invisible, while safe, secure and child-proof.
Decor.Acoustic
Decor.Acoustic is a system of wall and ceiling claddings, and doors, designed to combine acoustic comfort and aesthetic.
The collection was created by Bartoli Design for Laurameroni with acoustic engineering by Exhibo, a company specialized ambient acoustics, soundproofing and sound diffusion. The result is a distinguished architectonic solution which improves the quality of life and wellbeing both in private and public spaces.
Decor.Acoustic is a sophisticated and innovative blend of the Decor system of claddings – designed by Bartoli Design, featuring a carved wood pattern available in several types of wood – and textile surfaces, to meet different aesthetic needs and get acoustic performances. The Decor system also offers a wide variety of boiseries, doors and add-ons, to create soundproof environments. The engineered layers of materials actually provide optimal acoustic comfort, combined with surface design.
The system controls and favours optimal sound propagation, by intervening in the environment crossed by the acoustic waves. Each enclosed space has its own unique natural resonance linked to its specific geometric parameters.
Engineering optimal acoustic comfort inside an environment translates into properly simulating and managing its natural response to the sound frequencies that will come along with its intended use. Bespoke engineering work for each environment, implemented by Decor.Acoustic, allows the achievement of excellent results.
In example, a large number of pubic spaces are so noisy to make a conversation around a table or proper relax difficult.
Decor.Acoustic optimally treats those environments, resulting in enhanced sound experiences, better speech and hearing intelligibility, concentration and, ultimately, improved health and wellbeing.
Joko – chair
The result of Bartoli Design’s years-long research on the project for a poetically minimalist chair is Joko, an absolute product. The difficulties were in simplifying it as far as possible, yet making it expressive avoiding banality. The distinguishing feature is the single, soft and organic shape of its surface from the front legs, to the seat, the backrest and the rear legs. Rear legs are tilted 90° in relation to the front legs.
Joko’s continuous surface can be upholstered in a variety of materials: plain leather or fabrics but also printed textiles, which give the chair a different meaning.
NOA – indoor tables
Noa is a family of compact tables designed to utilize at its best the space available in contemporary houses. The project was born as a formal synthesis: a sheet of steel that folding on itself turns into a sturdy structure.
Tops are available in rectangular and oval or rectangular extensible shapes with different finishes depending on the chosen version:
– rectangular: lacquered matt white, Canaletto Walnut, brushed Oak thermowood, American Walnut, brushed natural Oak, brushed anthracite gray Oak, anthracite gray satin glass, white extraclear satin glass, glossy Calacatta ceramic, matt graphite gray ceramic, matt white Iridium ceramic, matt gray Slate ceramic.
– oval: anhydrous gray crystalline crystal, white acidified extraclear crystal.
– extensible: lacquered matt white, Canaletto Walnut, brushed Oak thermowood, anthracite gray satin glass, white extraclear satin glass, glossy Calacatta ceramic, matt graphite gray ceramic, matt white Iridium ceramic, matt gray Slate ceramic.
Structure is available with lacquered matt finish in different colours: anthracite grey, white, Bordeaux red, Turtledove gray, brown and burnished or bronze copper metal finishes.
NORI – fixed and extendable table
Nori, a table with a modern design with multiple finishes and colors.
The Nori legs, made of anodized or painted aluminum, draw sharp and aggressive geometries, leaving a deep mark on the surrounding space and on the observer’s mind.
The top is in turn extremely thin and light, but at the same time very resistant, thanks to the materials used.
The combinations between the structure and the top are infinite, to satisfy every desire and requirement.
The table is available in a fixed or extendable version for indoor use only. The fixed version table can become a design desk thanks to the insertion of the cable hole.
