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Design

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How different perspectives can change a single piece of furniture

Each choice leads to different roads, different moods, totally different journeys.
By choosing among the SALDA finishes and fabrics, we have made the same piece of furniture live three parallel and different lives. 
See how a finish can make a piece of furniture more classic or contemporary.

We were inspired by our heritage to give the piece of furniture a totally new look: a dip into the archive and a remnant of precious fabric was enough to do the magic.

Transforming the same cabinet into a classic piece or a contemporary piece requires great skill, but above all faithfulness to the original design. 

Look how a different fabric and a different treatment can switch the mood: diversity must be exalted, not hidden.

In recent times we hear a lot of talk about AI, artificial intelligence. We are sure that technology can make humanity grow in medicine, science and many areas.

But what about art? And what about the craftsmanship, the details?

In a time when man increasingly turns to technology for all kinds of activities, creative activities included, SALDA wants to rediscover what is most surprising, contemporary and ingenious: the ancient wisdom of craftsmanship.

This is the world of SALDA AI, that doesn’t stand for Artificial Intelligence but Artisanal Intelligence. A world made of ancient gestures repeated for centuries, handed down, reinterpreted and made modern but always faithful to their mission: the creation of unique, personal, unmistakable furniture.

We want to bring at Index Dubai 2023 the vision we spread at Salone del Mobile Milano: we want to share and celebrate with you the authenticity of imperfection, but also the power of perfection: the human gesture, in fact, is also capable of creating flawless pieces.

For us, it is really a huge privilege to bring you the ideas we shared during the Salone del Mobile Milano and to rediscover, together, the intelligence hidden in the hand gesture.

We can’t wait to see you in Dubai!

In recent times we hear a lot of talk about AI, artificial intelligence. We are not surprised by this, and we are sure, after all, that technology can take us by leaps and bounds in so many areas, medicine and science foremost among them.

But what about art? The craftsmanship? The pursuit of detail?

At SALDA we have been wondering about the role of machines for a long time: the result is a Manifesto, which we will bring to the Salone del Mobile in Milan.

“We invest in human talent, not in the speed of machines.”

In a time when man increasingly turns to technology for all kinds of activities, creative activities included, SALDA wants to rediscover what is most surprising, contemporary and ingenious: the ancient wisdom of craftsmanship.

This is the world of AI, that doesn’t stand for Artificial Intelligence but Artisanal Intelligence. A world made of ancient gestures repeated for centuries, handed down, reinterpreted and made modern but always faithful to their mission: the creation of unique, personal, unmistakable furniture.

At Salone del Mobile Milano we will celebrate the authenticity of imperfection, but also the power of perfection: the human gesture, in fact, is also capable of creating flawless pieces.

Ready to join our new Humanism?

Meet Salda at Salone del Mobile Milano
Hall 01 Stand G03

Charming and with an antique flavour, the shellac lacquer antiqued finish never ceases to surprise and attract the eye. Characteristic of the shellac lacquer is the brilliance which, as a standard, is 60 gloss. A yellowish brown bituminous film is spread over the colour, which avoids the colour being too homogeneous accentuating its chiaroscuro.

The stripping carried out on prominent surfaces and on shapes and carvings allows the colour of the wood to emerge.
Let’s follow all the steps of this fascinating process together!

Step 1 – The lacquered furniture arrives in the workshop. The stripping stage begins, a treatment that is done with a solvent and gives the furniture an antique effect

Step 2 – Through a dye the color of the furniture changes from optical white to a softer white, a cream shade that gives an additional sense of antiquity

Step 3 – Finally, with a darker dye, the antiquing is enhanced on all the details.

The furniture is now ready to be delivered!

The magic starts here: after having spread the water-based dye on the product to give color to the wood, the first step is the application of the “patina”.

This film enters the pores so as to bring out the grains, highlighting the material and accentuating the differences, the shading, the chiaroscuro.

A transparent varnish is applied.
The paint is then dabbed with extreme care.

The third step involves the use of beeswax to give a touch of lived-in look to the finish.

The beeswax is then spread further and gently dried with a cloth.

Finally, the last step: the powder is distributed over the furniture, giving it its splendid final appearance.

The patina of time transforms the furniture into contemporary and classic pieces at the same time.

Magic? A matter of details: SALDA brasses like small elzeviro decorate our collections making them unique and precious. Indeed, very precious.

Golden or silver colored, satin or patinated.

The brasses are the final touch of a skilful artisan path made of an unrepeatable manual experience.

They can recall the echoes of the footsteps in the rooms of Versailles and they never, ever can never be banal or go out of fashion.

The brasses give their best in the edges of tables, desks or dressers.

They keep secrets inside the drawers, enhance the mahogany and brown tones of the finest woods and essences. Precious and vibrant materials, beautiful finishes among the crystal glasses and bottles.

SALDA brass components are made in fusion and not industrially printed.

Such they are hand-mounted on each piece and on request they can be customised in the desired finishes.

Discover them all on our website.

A classic effect with a classic technique.

The brushing lacquer is appreciated for its opacity and its naturalness, obtained through the passage of a bristle brush that distributes the color on the surface.

The effect is ancient and splendid. The lacquer is patinated and peeled, giving its best on protruding surfaces, corners and carvings.

The application of the color takes place directly on the surface of the furniture, with a brushstroke of the skilled master craftsmen.

The effect is different but at the same time similar, whether it is performed on carvings or on plain surfaces.


Its unique feature? The streak, the “lines” of the brushstroke.

Unmistakable.

Get ready, we’re about to travel through time.

Since 1300, China has produced the finest and most beautiful furniture with woods and essences of spiritual significance. Artists and wise men worked together to create furniture that told a story worth passing down.

Even our sideboard tells a story, a story that echoes between rosewood, bronze and the finest marble.

The panels of the doors narrate scenes from the past, with a landscape originally drawn by hand on paper and in pencil, in black and white.

The suggestion of color comes later, when the design is carried over with a transfer technique on the doors and then painted in such a way as to become similar to a delicate watercolor.

After defining the details, the design is fixed with a special technique that makes the panel look like an ancient parchment. A precious, unique credenza.

“May you live in interesting times”

Chinese proverb.

2021 has been a busy year, and full of novelties too.

We have been working on new, different finishes with a contemporary spirit and an artisan touch. We present you our straw marquetry finish and our 100% full gloss lacquer, both perfect to refine every furniture, whether contemporary and classic.

Natural straw has only the characteristic straw color. The straw strands we use are soaked with coloured vegetable oils to obtain a wide variety of bright and vivid colors, that give brightness to the product.

How do we make it?

Our artisans open each tube in two parts, then they flatten and lay basing on a geometrical design. This technique creates a vibrant, translucent chiaroscuro effect. The light is captured and reflected by a thousand threads of straw: every reflection is unique.

Colours available:

An inspiration that comes from the East and from thousands of chinoiserie objects.

Our 100% full gloss lacquer gives surfaces a smoothness and a brilliance comparable to traditional Chinese lacquer, an effect given by the application of layers of varnish and the manual polishing process.

It performs best on smooth surfaces, not provide antiquing or peeling.

Colours available:

The union of these two new finishes creates unusual and surprising combinations.

We strongly want to be surprised again, by new combinations and new mixes.

Check out our Tris coffee table with full gloss forest green, with gold leaf and brass details.

Here’s how our new straw marquetry goes superb with the classic design.

An evergreen sideboard coming from tropical Jungla

Welcome to the Jungle.

Salda’s spirit wisely mixes the classic canons – in this case Louis XV style – with surprisingly contemporary and current decorations taking inspiration directly from the branches of the wildest and most unexplored Jungle.

A unique sideboard for design and craftsmanship that replaces the traditional refined carving and inlay relief decorations: the individual parts that make up the decoration are handmade, in plaster and rabbit glue applied to the raw furniture and left on for 24 hours.

Every single element appears different from the others because it really is: the leaves are created with chisels of different sizes, sandpaper of different grain and brushes of all kinds.

After plaster is applied a coat of nitro primer, sanded to make all uniform surfaces ready to be painted.

A piece that seems to come directly from the maps of sixteenth-century explorers but which is actually the re-edition of an original model produced by Salda at the beginning of the twentieth century. The original decoration once consisted of flowers and traditional bronzes, now replaced by a precious relief decoration and refined knobs with floral motif made in bronze casting.