Tectona and the art of outdoor living

In partnership with Tectona

Let’s go outside. That’s the international memo for summer 2021. After a year of very necessary indoor isolation, being outside – on garden furniture such as Tectona’s 1800 collection – is the prescriptive pleasure and instant vacation that will heal, energise and gently reboot the global spirit.

In the open air, we can be the best versions of ourselves. Life is lazier and lunches longer. Our bodies, languid and horizontal, are more relaxed, our minds a little freer from stress and concern. Of course, under sun and blue skies, innovatively designed and well made, sturdy and weather-proofed outdoor loungers, tables and chairs, are important. Somewhere to relax with a book, lie nursing a chilled glass of wine, or sit serving salad to a group of friends. 

Tectona garden furniture: contemporary meets classic

Founded in Paris back in 1977 with the aim of helping France rediscover the art of outdoor living, Tectona’s guiding principles have been simple from the outset. A quest for a simplicity of form, a rigorous selection of materials, proficiency in traditional carpentry techniques and an open mind towards modern technology and contemporary design. Furniture that adapts perfectly to its garden environment.   

Initially, Tectona’s inspiration came from English country garden chic of the 1920s and 1930s, but this soon gave way to new creations more in sync with changing, outdoor lifestyles. Since then, the repertoire of Tectona’s forms has been enriched with increasing attendance to lightness, ease of use and optimisation of space. Tectona was also a trailblazer for collaboration; from the 1990s onwards, it has invited designers such as Andrée Putman, Nendo, Barber & Osgerby and the Bouroullec brothers to revisit and reimagine concepts such as the garden bench, the sun bed and the swimming pool lounge.     

The iconic, ‘contemporary classic’ style of Tectona garden furniture – typified by its new 1800 collection and present on the terraces and poolsides of such grand European hotels as La Réserve in Paris, the St Regis in Venice, the Mandarin Oriental in Lake Como, and the Loire Valley’s Château du Grand-Lucé – has gently revitalised the art of outdoor living. 

The inspiration for Tectona’s 1800 collection was a wrought iron bench owned by famed interior designer Madeleine Castaing (1894-1992), a central figure in Paris’ Montparnasse scene during the period between the First and Second World Wars. A patron of the painters Amedeo Modigliani and Chaïm Soutine, Castaing exercised her talents as a decorator for several leading figures of the day, including Jean Cocteau and Francine Weisweiller. In doing so, she propagated the ‘Castaing’ style. 

Today, 1800 is a complete collection of furniture and accessories. Offering the elegance of the Neoclassical-influenced ‘Directory’ style in vogue in France during the post-Revolution years of 1795-1799, its rigorous contours are tempered by the curvature of the backrests and the nub motif at the intersections of the various aluminium elements. The collection’s India ink black blends harmoniously into not just landscapes and nature – the blue of the sky or sea, the green of leaves – but also with the mineral colours of the city.  

Discreet and sober, Tectona’s al fresco aesthetic sits gracefully in natural spaces, parks and gardens, bringing an elegantly human dimension to inorganic urban landscapes, lending itself to hours of idleness at the seaside or poolside, reaffirming the joys of outdoor living – season after season.

INFORMATION

tectona.net