Our XXI-century world is awesome. More and more people think of themselves as a part of humankind, as citizens of the world, and take cultural diversity for granted. In the modern world, lots of multifarious cultures influence – and mutually enrich – one another.
Among common examples of such an intermixing of cultures are trends in the fashion industry, design, pop culture, cuisine… And that’s not to mention borrowing other peoples’ customs and holidays. For example, millions of people with no Chinese ancestry now celebrate Chinese, or Lunar, New Year all over the world.
It would appear that Bellavista Collection – a purely European brand widely known for its Italian luxury furniture – has absolutely nothing to do with Chinese culture. But that’s not entirely true.
For Attilio Zanni, Bellavista’s chief designer and the company’s co-founder, the ever-charming Orient in general, and Chinese culture in particular, are endless sources of inspiration.
A group of pieces he designed back in 2018 got the name “Dulcechina collection”, bears certain traits that clearly suggest Oriental influence. Besides, DULCECHINA contains 12 items sharp, which is the number of signs in the Chinese Zodiac (Sheng Xiao).
This group of pieces includes DULCECHINA sofa and DULCECHINA BENCH, TAO BENCH and TAO SIDE TABLE, SHANGHAI armchair, as well as side tables named SHENZHEN, PECHINO, and GONG, and two consoles – MAO and RITZ. All of them have been extremely popular with Bellavista’s customers ever since they were created.
Let’s take a quick look at some of these remarkable pieces.
To begin with, meet the gem of DULCECHINA Collection – SHANGHAI armchair.
Its structure is made of solid moka stained ashwood. The backrest and metal details are in brass with antique bronze finish, and the feet are clad in the same material. The combination of dark-colored wood and matte surface of metal looks impressive indeed.
When newly designed SHANGHAI armchair was first showcased at Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2018, visitors appreciated it a lot. Many of the attendees said that bright red upholstery of SHANGHAI looked impressive indeed, making the piece stand out.
No wonder: in Chinese culture red is extremely popular. It’s the color of fire and passion, energy and luck. The bright red color symbolizes happiness, love, fortune and wealthy life.
Now SHANGHAI armchair is available in a variety of colors, including bright red. Also, you can choose between fabric and leather upholstery – in fact, Bellavista offers this for almost all its upholstered pieces.
Variable-density polyurethane foam used for the padding makes this armchair very comfortable to sit on. The back cushion is padded with soft goose down and variable-density polyurethane foam in its central part (the cushion covers are not removable). There also is an optional kidney roll pillow for additional comfort.
As to the size, SHANGHAI is a rather compact armchair: it’s 80 cm (31.5 in.) high, 70 cm (27.6 in.) wide, and 80 cm (31.5 inches) deep. The seat height is 43 cm (16.8 in.). So, even if your living-room is not large, SHANGHAI will easily blend into the interior.
One more red-colored Dulcechina piece with a Chinese name is the coffee table PECHINO (the Italian word for Beijing). This table is made entirely of red marble called Rosso Pechino marble. This extraordinarily beautiful stone of reddish color with contrasting white veins is just cut out for attracting attention.
It’s also pretty compact: 57.5 x 50 cm (22.6 x 19.7 in.) and 50 cm (19.7 in.) high. The shape of PECHINO tabletop resembles a triangle with all three corners cut out.
If you enjoy the natural beauty of marble, you’ll surely will be happy with all-marble PECHINO. It’s difficult to imagine more durable material than stone, so this gorgeous table will serve for ages – in the direct sense of this expression. Being really heavy is its only drawback.
Red color, combined with Chinese-inspired design, makes both these items special indeed. Actually, not only the Chinese perceive red as a lively, energetic and joyful color – Western color psychology says the same. Bright red symbolizes love and passion both in the Eastern and the Western culture.
Red color is also associated with the winter festivities in the West and in the East alike. After all, Santa Claus wears a bright red suit, and his sack full of presents is of the same color.
Celebration of Chinese New Year is full of bright red. All 15 days the Chinese New Year is traditionally celebrated – from the first day of the Lunar New Year onward, you will see plenty of bright red everywhere. When on the 15th day the Lantern Festival takes place, lots of those lanterns going up into the sky will be bright red, symbolizing good fortune.
The Chinese New Year is actually just around the corner. On January 25, the Year of Metal Rat will arrive, replacing the Year of the Earth Pig. As you probably know, the Rat is the first sign in Chinese Zodiac – so, it’s the year that starts a new round. That’s why people all over the world believe the Year of the Rat to be the year of the new beginnings, of hopes and dreams coming true.
By the way, the Chinese New Year celebrations are also known as Spring Festival. It indicates that winter is coming to an end and spring is about to begin. Well, from the astronomical point of view, it makes sense: the days are already getting longer, suggesting that it will not be long before spring comes.
Bellavista Collection congratulates everybody, whatever their nation and culture, on the Lunar New Year and wishes good health, plenty of inspiration, joy, happiness, and great success in all future endeavors.
Happy Chinese New Year to everyone!
