Twist and Shout
Re-Trouvé chairs by Patricia Urquiola for Emu, painted pregalvanized steel-wire netting with a tubular steel and sheet-metal seat, $966 each, available through Curran Online, (800) 555-6653.
Trend Watch
Hot Wired
SH&L discovers the latest looks with a modern bent. Wires are flourishing in the design world once again—this time with a sophisticated European twist

Designs made of wire have been on our style radar for a while, but when one of our favorite designers, Patricia Urquiola, introduced her vibrantly painted steel-wire Re-Trouvé collection this spring in Milan, it was just the confirmation we needed to declare wire-framed furnishings a certifiable trend. Loosely translated, retrouvé is French for “rediscovered,” and the name of Urquiola’s collection is fitting: Woven-wire construction has been in vogue before. French wirework baskets and urns were popular in the 19th century, and wire-loving modernists will recall Warren Platner’s steel-wire tables and chairs from the mid-1960s. With these latest inspirations, most notably from Europe, contemporary designers reveal new ways to put a twist on a simple, practical and truly beautiful material—often with a pop of bright color or a high-gloss finish.

 

Woven Wonder
Mesh Side Bowl, chicken wire, 21 inches in diameter by 13 inches high, $465, custom orders by appointment through Yeats Design, (206) 730-5147.

 

Focal Point
Allegro Ritmico Suspension Light by Atelier Oi for Foscarini, aluminum, $3,462 at Inform Seattle, 1220 Western Ave., (206) 622-1608.

 

Elegant Rings
Lyric Table by Baker Studio, bronze steel-finished frame and stone top, available to the trade through Baker Knapp & Tubbs, Seattle Design Center, Ste. P-170, (206) 763-3399. 

 

Sitting Pretty
Beaded wire pouf, $1,800 through London Flat, 12708 Northup Way, Ste. 101, Bellevue, (425) 882-7970.

 

LIGHT: Celestial Ball pendant in brushed nickel, available to the trade through Lighting Universe, Seattle Design Center, Ste. P-391, (206) 762-7335. CHAIR: Woven Stainless Steel Chair by Designer Workshop, $865 at Seva Home, 900 Lenora St., Ste. 116, (206) 323-9920. TABLE: Small wire table with tempered plate-glass top by Arik Levy for Zanotta, $992 at Inform Seattle.