In the Azores archipelago, each island is distinct – a self-contained world of form, texture, and rhythm. As a suite of furniture piece, they coalesce as more than the sum of their parts. And this is what Luca Nichetto distils into the Azores Collection for De La Espada. A Portugal-based brand, De La Espada is renowned for its union of fine timbers, timeless European craftsmanship and global design vision.
In this collaboration, furniture becomes landscape. Sofas curve like a sheltered bay. Every piece is designed to be beautiful from all angles – freestanding and endlessly re-configurable to suit the shifting tides of contemporary living.
“My idea was really simple, to work really deeply with details and the handcrafted quality of what De La Espada does,” Nichetto says on this approach. The output is a series of sculptural, tactile forms that invite movement and touch, with a presence that is both grounding and fluid.
The Miguel Right Hand Sofa anchors a space like a main island – generous, softly contoured, and attentively detailed. Upholstered in plush textiles and elevated on a solid timber base, it blends a sense of permanence with an easy adaptability: a piece that can sit proudly in open space or form part of a larger seating topography.
Nearby, the Faial Lounge Chair offers the intimacy of a sheltered cove. With its embracing silhouette and rounded, organic frame, it invites the sitter to pause, to sink into a moment of calm. The chair’s timber structure – crafted in rich walnut or oak – is as much a work of sculpture as it is of joinery, celebrating the grain and tone of the wood.
Completing the composition, the Graciosa Small Side Table acts as a nimble satellite. Its turned timber form is deceptively simple: light enough to be moved with ease, yet finely proportioned so it holds its own in any arrangement. Like all islands, its value lies in its relationship to the whole – a place to rest a glass, a book, a hand.
Across the collection, solid wood and luxurious upholstery are brought together with intent. De La Espada’s master craftspeople in northern Portugal work each joint, curve and surface to exacting standards, ensuring that every piece has both visual finesse and structural integrity. The timber is finished to enhance its natural character – Danish-oiled walnut that lets the form speak.
The flexibility of the Azores Collection lies not just in its modularity, but in its philosophy. Pieces are designed to float, with beauty captured in every angle to reflect the reality of how we live now – spaces that shift with seasons.
Like islands, these designs are independent yet connected, each one a crafted destination in its own right. As a collection they form an archipelago of comfort and elegance.
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