Minotti Portofino

Tradition, exquisite craftsmanship and incomparable quality are at the heart of Minotti, a family-owned furniture design company founded in 1948. But so is being a representative of the best of “Made in Italy” on the global level.

Minotti was established as a small-scale artisan workshop by Alberto Minotti in his hometown of Meda, not far from Milan. The company became known for refined upholstered sofas and other seating, and its profile expanded considerably during the 1950s and 1960s. A collaboration with designer and architect Gigi Radice during the era led to some of the brand’s most classic and coveted mid-century pieces, such as his playful and brightly colored curved sofa and armchairs.

Alberto’s sons, Roberto and Renato, had worked with their father intermittently to learn the family business and, with their mother’s encouragement, took the reins when the patriarch passed away in 1991. By the end of the 20th century, Minotti had grown into an internationally renowned company, helmed by the second and third generations of the Minotti family.

Minotti isn’t a name that is splashed across magazine covers, but the brand is revered for its clever seating systems, such as its flexible and understated Hamilton collection of sofas and chaise longues padded with goose down and classic upholstered furniture, as well as its sleek, modern Elliott coffee tables, which integrate premium marble and polished gold. This marriage of elegant contemporary design coupled with respect for tradition reflects Minotti’s design process: Expert artisans use traditional Italian skills and techniques to hand-finish products made by precise and cutting-edge industrial machinery.

The manufacturing process for Minotti's sophisticated Rivera armchairs and sofas, which include woven polypropylene-fiber backrests and tubular metal frames, for example, begins with computer-controlled machinery that assembles the structures based on designs, but the pieces are joined and finished by hand. It is telling that the company’s motto, known as the Minotti Code, is “Innovation in the spirit of continuity.”

In the late 1990s, Renato and Roberto Minotti initiated a partnership with Milanese architect and designer Rodolfo Dordoni — who created the Elliott tables — and also launched Minotti Studio, the “creative soul of the company” that is central to engineering, design, supply-chain logistics and more. Collaborations over the years have included projects with Nendo, Marcio Kogan and Studio MK27, Christophe Delcourt and more. 

Today, Minotti has a presence in almost 70 countries, and the company’s offerings — which span collections for indoor and outdoor residential and hospitality spaces — include everything from lounge chairs to tables to sideboards, armchairs and more. 

Find Minotti furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.

Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.

Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.

The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.

Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.

With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.

Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.

No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.