Chicago-based designer Lucy Penfield has an expansive Gulf Coast practice and a longstanding appetite for color. Rather than treating it as a finishing touch, she uses saturated hues to bring out form, material and personality. Here, she turns to four global finds that approach color with the same conviction.
Photography by Spacecrafting
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Moirai Chandelier by Sé Collections lucy penfield
Moirai Chandelier by Sé Collections
Designer Ini Archibong leans into materiality in his Moirai series for London-based Sé Collections.Ini observed master glass artisans in Murano, collaborating with the artists to distill their techniques and color palettes in a lighting series of cloud-like chandeliers, branching floor lamps and table lamps. Each piece is created through a cold working process where glass is smoothed and polished into cylindrical bubbles and strung onto brass stems. “The fixture in itself is wispy and ethereal,” Lucy says. “It’s the bold bursts of fuchsia, turquoise and cobalt that ground the piece.” se-collections.com
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Bianca Chair by Orior lucy penfield
Bianca Chair by Orior
After more than 40 years in the industry, Ireland-born, New York-based brand Orior knows a thing or two about crafting contemporary classics. Their Bianca chair, with its walnut base and cradling, blossom-like leather seat with soft velvet cushions, is just that. The Bianca is available in a range of colorways, from a creamy yellow-beige to a decadent merlot red. “The infusion of color changes the form completely,” Lucy says. “It highlights the shape and adds grandeur to the low-profile design.” oriorfurniture.com
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Glint Cabinet by Draga & Aurel lucy penfield
Glint Cabinet by Draga & Aurel
The Glint unit takes the classic curio cabinet in a new direction with a transparent exterior and reflective interior. Italian design studio Draga & Aurel, in collaboration with Galleria Rossana Orlandi, experimented with materials until they landed on Lucite for its visual lightness and unexpected durability. Light refracting across the surface adds a delicacy to the 5-foot-tall form. “This piece is optical art,” Lucy says. “The longer you stare at it, the more it shifts and transforms.” draga-aurel.com
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Endgrain Bench by Raw-Edges Design Studio lucy penfield
Endgrain Bench by Raw-Edges Design Studio
The Endgrain collection by London-based Raw-Edges Design Studio grew out of a problem. Disappointed by the impermanence of traditional wood staining, the studio developed a dye infusion technique that involves submerging each piece in dye so the color fully penetrates the wood rather than just coating the surface. In the Endgrain collection, the hand-dyed pieces are glued together and machine-sculpted. “This collection combines the worlds of craftsmanship and technology beautifully,” Lucy says. A 2015 winner of the U.K.’s architectural Wood Awards, the Endgrain Bench is part of the Carnegie Museum of Art’s permanent collection. raw-edges.com