The opening of a new showroom from Bachli Furniture marks a significant step in the young company’s expansion in Australia. Located in Surry Hills, the space has been conceived less as a conventional retail showroom and more as a meeting point for architects, interior designers and clients to engage with furniture in a considered environment.
Established in 2022, Bachli has quickly positioned itself as a curator of international design brands, focusing on pieces defined by craftsmanship, longevity and thoughtful construction. The Sydney showroom reflects that approach, presenting a selection of furniture that balances architectural clarity with softer, more expressive forms.
“Expansion isn’t about scale for us,” says founder Nathan Bachli. “It’s about being closer to the people we work with and ensuring our work is done well. We’ve always believed that good things take time and that growth should serve the work, not distract from it.”
The opening event brought together figures from both the Australian and international design community, including representatives from Italian brands MDF Italia and Saba Italia, as well as collaborators and industry guests. Their presence reflects the long-standing partnerships that shape Bachli’s curatorial approach — one grounded in relationships as much as in objects.
Within the showroom, furniture from MDF Italia provides a foundation of structural minimalism. The brand has long been associated with a rigorous design language defined by reduction and technical precision. According to creative director Marco Cassina, that philosophy begins with removing the unnecessary.
“We design by subtraction,” he says. “You eliminate everything that isn’t essential until what remains is the pure idea of the object.”
That approach is evident in pieces such as the Tense Table by Piergiorgio Cazzaniga and Michele Cazzaniga, one of the brand’s most recognisable designs. At first glance the table appears almost diagrammatic — a simple surface supported by slender legs — yet its minimal profile conceals a complex internal aluminium structure that allows spans of several metres while maintaining a remarkably thin edge.
“The idea was to design the most essential table possible, almost like the way a child would draw one,” Cassina explains. “But inside there is a lot of engineering.”
The same tension between visual lightness and technical sophistication runs through the brand’s catalogue. The NVL Table by Jean Nouvel creates the illusion of a floating tabletop poised on a sculptural base, while the Goom Sofa by Jean‑Marie Massaud explores the visual relationship between weight and softness through sculptural volumes and deeply cushioned seating.
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For Cassina, minimalism itself is evolving. “Today we are looking at how minimalism can become warmer,” he says. “Still essential, but more connected to materials and tactility.”
Sustainability is also shaping the brand’s research. One of the most technically ambitious pieces displayed in the Bachli showroom is the Array Sofa, developed in collaboration with Norwegian architecture studio Snøhetta. The modular system rethinks the structure of upholstered seating, using injection-moulded components designed to maximise internal air while maintaining strength, reducing the amount of raw material required.
“The brief was to rethink the sofa from the ground up,” Cassina says. “From micro to macro — every part was reconsidered.”
CEO Frederik Billiau adds that longevity remains central to the company’s approach. “Sustainability is not only about the materials,” he says. “It’s about designing products that last — structurally, aesthetically and in the way they are used.”
If MDF Italia establishes the architectural framework of the showroom, Saba Italia introduces a more emotionally driven dimension. Founded near Padua in 1987, the company has developed a reputation for modular seating systems characterised by softness, flexibility and a strong relationship with textiles.
Sales director Cristian Lapolla describes the brand’s philosophy through three ideas that have shaped its development: freedom, poetry and memory.
“A sofa is not only a functional object,” Lapolla says. “It’s where people live, where conversations happen, where memories are created.”
This thinking is evident in the Pixel Sofa by Sergio Bicego, a modular system built from individual elements that can be freely reconfigured using an internal connecting mechanism. The design allows different compositions while maintaining a compact footprint and visual lightness.
Similarly, the Simposio Sofa by Studiopepe approaches seating as a social landscape, with curved elements forming small conversational arenas within the home. The sculptural Anam Armchair by Federico Peri, meanwhile, explores softer forms that appear to float lightly above the floor.
For Saba, colour and textiles are integral to this emotional language. “Fabrics are fundamental,” Lapolla says. “They help define the atmosphere of a space and the personality of the piece.”
Placed together in Bachli’s Surry Hills showroom, the two brands reveal a productive contrast. MDF Italia’s architectural clarity and restrained palette provide a structural foundation, while Saba Italia introduces warmth and tactile richness.
For the designers visiting the launch event, that balance reflects a broader shift in contemporary interiors — one that moves fluidly between minimal form and lived comfort.
Ultimately, the new Bachli showroom is intended as a space where those ideas can be explored in dialogue. As Nathan Bachli notes, the goal is not simply to present furniture, but to cultivate relationships around design itself.
“It’s a place for conversation and collaboration,” he says. “A place where people can discover how design works in the real world.”
