824 Dundas St. W., Toronto
416.762.0167
Mon – Fri 10 am – 7 pm, Sat & Sun 12 – 5 pm
There’s something otherworldly about some of Futé Design’s indoor/outdoor furniture and original lighting. Organic shapes rendered with traditional basket weave techniques in materials like rattan, bamboo and abaca reference the Far East (where the manufacturing is done) yet many of the designs have a modern, almost sci-fi quality to them.
The Voyage bed, above (currently $2,194, reg. $4,388), designed by Kenneth Cobonpue, summons visions of baby Moses floating on the Nile in his reed basket, or of a giant leaf bending up and over the sleeping platform. The bed is constructed of buri (coconut leaf cores) woven over a steel frame. Cobonpue’s companion loveseat, dubbed the croissant (inset, woven abaca over steel, $4,850), is just as sensuous with its folded, airy curves.
And then there’s Futé lighting, all of it designed in-house and manufactured in Asia. Woven natural or synthetic materials form the skins of a range of fabulous floor lamps, sconces and pendants.
Formerly located on St. Clair West, Futé has moved to the nascent design zone emerging at Dundas and Bathurst Streets where you’ll also find Made (867 Dundas St. W., 416.607.6384) and Skypad (183 Bathurst St., 416.762.8129).
The room-sized Remi modular sofa (below) is covered in outdoor sunbrella fabric but would be equally at home indoors. Designed by Quynh-Tran, the mamoth configuration pictured would cost about $9,000 but individual pieces are in the $4,000 – $5,000 range. Not cheap, but definitely cheerful.
Leave a Reply