Of his mid-century modern furniture designs, which marry minimalist simplicity with elegance and symmetry, Italian designer Giovanni Offredi once said: “Beauty should not be confused with appearance, since the latter is the superficial part of the form.”
Born in Milan, in 1927, Offredi did not pursue formal education as an architect, unlike many of his contemporaries in the first half of the 20th century. He also did not begin designing furniture until later in his career. His earliest known furnishings were commissioned by wealthy Milanese families in 1960.
It wasn’t until the late 1960s — when Offredi met Sergio Saporiti, owner of Italian furniture manufacturer and design shop Saporiti — that his furniture designs would become more prominent. In 1970, Offredi entered into a partnership with Saporiti, producing several innovative and modernistic furniture lines.
Among Offredi’s most notable pieces are the gently curving Wave chair, sofa and lounge chair, the Onda coffee table and the Paracarro dining room table, with its cylindrical concrete base, glass top and metal cross section. He also designed a series of credenzas and sideboards in lacquered wood, featuring a high gloss finish and bold colors.
Offredi enjoyed a successful collaboration with Saporiti throughout the 1970s. In 1984, he began a partnership with Italian cabinet and kitchen manufacturer Snaidero, designing modern kitchens. His final kitchen design, Kube, in 2006, featured streamlined forms, contrasting materials and colors and a recessed aluminum toe kick with a reflective mirror finish, which made the kitchen appear suspended above the ground. The kitchen won a Good Design Award from the Chicago Design Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, in 2008. Offredi never had the opportunity to accept that prize — he died in 2007.
Although Offredi’s works are relatively obscure, they are sought out by in-the-know furniture collectors and enthusiasts worldwide.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Giovanni Offredi chairs, tables, case pieces and storage cabinets.
| Average Sold Price |
| $4,037 |
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| Materials |
| Related Creators |
Coffee table, design by Giovanni OFFREDI for SAPORITI. 70s/80s
By Saporiti, Giovanni Offredi
Located in Torino, IT
Coffee table, design by John OFFREDI for SAPORITI. ORIGIN Italy PERIOD 70s/80s DESIGNER John OFFREDI (1927-2007) MARK SAPORITI MODEL Low coffee table MATERIALS Wood DIMENSIONS...
Wood
$15,800 / set
H 28.5 in W 96 in D 40 in
Pair of Matching Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Leather Wave Sofas
By Saporiti, Giovanni Offredi
Located in Middlesex, NJ
Pair of Matching Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Leather Wave Sofas
Stainless Steel
$7,210 / set
H 32.68 in W 31.5 in D 32.68 in
Pair of Onda lounge chairs in brown fabric by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in amstelveen, NL
Onda lounge chairs, Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti, 1970s Designed in the 1970s by the visionary Italian designer Giovanni Offredi, the Onda Chair embodies the sculptural sophistication ...
Steel
Midcentury Giovanni Offredi "Paracarro" Dining Table, Italy 1973
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in Roma, IT
Unique "Paracarro" model dining table designed by Giovanni Offredi and produced by Saporiti in Italy during 1973. Based on a prototype project, it has a peculiar dome-shaped concret...
Concrete, Steel, Chrome
$3,052
H 30.32 in W 70.08 in D 90.56 in
Bed Double Leather Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Wave Model Midcentury Italy 80s
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in Palermo, IT
The "Vela" double bed, an icon of Italian design, created by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Italia around 1980. The bed features a metal frame with modern, minimalist lines. The gener...
Metal
Saporiti Italia Two Seater "Wave" Sofa by Giovanni Offredi 1970s
By Giovanni Offredi, Fratelli Saporiti
Located in Dallas, TX
Designed in 1974 by Giovanni Offredi, "Wave" two seat sofa / settee. Since 1950 Saporiti has produced some of the most sophisticated and advanced pieces of furniture in the history o...
Steel
$1,586Sale Price / set|44% Off
H 34.26 in W 19.69 in D 23.63 in
Set of 6 vintage 1970s chairs mod. Inaly design G. Offredi for Saporiti
By Saporiti, Giovanni Offredi
Located in None, IT
Set of six chairs with chromed metal frame and gray fabric upholstery, model Inaly, design Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti, 1970s. CONDITION: In good condition, may show signs of wear...
Metal
$961
H 29 in W 21 in D 21 in
Giovanni Offredi White Leather and Steel "Lens" Chairs for Saporiti, Italy, 1968
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in Roma, IT
Marvellous midcentury lounge chair with tubular steel frames and white leather seat. The "Lens" model was designed by Giovanni Offredi and produced for Saporiti in 1968. This chair has a white leather seat with original upholstery and a fantastic tubular structure, available as it is or can be restored. A wonderful space-age design piece, fused with sumptuous and elegant materials. A magnificent and iconic piece that will be perfect for a midcentury-style living room or study and a must-have for vintage leather seats lovers. The condition of the chair has some normal signs of use and vintage condition, as shown in the photos. Giovanni Offredi (born 1927, Milan–died 2007, Milan) was a prominent Italian furniture and product designer of the second half of the 20th century. As opposed to most of the other Italian furniture designers of his time, Giovanni Offredi was not an architect, nor did he start designing early in his professional career. Instead, Offredi partially fits the career path of some of the talented contemporary designers who pursue product design outside of formal education in architecture. The earliest furniture design work known by Giovanni Offredi consists of exemplary furnishings made specifically for some of the wealthy families in Milan. Such is the case of the works done by Offredi for Casa C., in 1960, in Gorgonzola, a small town 14 miles from Milan. These works were designed with a surprisingly minimal simplicity and elegance, and they also clearly display a hallmark of his design work with the use of angular lines and exposed metal or wood frames—not unlike some of the modern Scandinavian design of the time. In the late 1960s, Giovanni Offredi met Sergio Saporiti, the owner of Italian design shop and furniture maker Saporiti, and in 1970, Offredi formalized a partnership with the furniture maker. This partnership would be long and successful and resulted in many furniture designs of distinct precision that were clearly modern and innovative and that went on to enjoy considerable commercial success. The most prominent furniture designs that Offredi made for Saporiti include the Paracarro table...
Steel, Stainless Steel
| Sold Date | Sold Price | Category | Material | Creation Year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| $4,037 |
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months |
| $435-$8,017 |
| Sold price range of items in the past 12 months |