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.
$995Sale Price|30% Off
Folding Table by Giovanni Offredi for MC Selvini Italy
By Giovanni Offredi
Located in Albano Laziale, Rome/Lazio
Table by designer Giovanni Offredi and produced by MC Selvini, 1970s. Works excellent as a freestanding table, desk or against a wall and it can be ...
Laminate
Italy modern Glass and cast iron Consoles by Offredi for Saporiti, 1970s
By Saporiti, Giovanni Offredi
Located in MIlano, IT
Italy modern glass and cast iron consoles by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Italia, 1970s Pair of consoles with semi-oval top in thick glass. The cast iron base is composed by an upp...
Metal
70s Foldable Table by Giovanni Offredi
By Giovanni Offredi
Located in Ljubljana, SI
Foldable table attributed to Giovanni Offredi for MC Selvini, Italy, 1970s. This versatile modernist piece functions equally well as a freestanding table, desk, or placed against a w...
Hardwood
Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Concrete Cantilever Coffee Table
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in Jensen Beach, FL
Rare coffee table designed in the late 1970s by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Italia.
Concrete, Metal
$10,608 / item
H 29.14 in W 59.45 in D 15.75 in
Ico Parisi Console Table by Cassina, Mid-Century Modern, Italy
By Ico Parisi, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Table designed by Ico Parisi in 1947, relaunched in 2020. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. The idea for this console table, designed by Ico Parisi in 1947 for a private client, ...
Brass
$5,449 / set
H 29.14 in Dm 47.25 in
Midcentury Giovanni Offredi Paracarro Dining Table and Chairs for Saporiti, 1973
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in Roma, IT
Unique "Paracarro" model dining table with a set of four chairs. It was designed by Giovanni Offredi and produced by Saporiti in Italy during 1973. Based on a prototype project, i...
Concrete, Steel, Chrome
$2,345 / set
H 15.75 in W 27.56 in D 27.56 in
Set of Two "Inlay" Night Stands by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti, Italy, 1980s
By Saporiti, Giovanni Offredi
Located in Milan, IT
Set of two "Inlay" nightstands - chest of drawers by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti. Extremely capable deep drawers, burnished brass details and iridescent wood surfaces. Also availab...
Wood
$1,033Sale Price|68% Off
H 31.5 in W 84.65 in D 17.72 in
Saporiti Minimal 1970 Sideboard in Solid Chestnut Drawers and Doors
By Saporiti
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Saporiti minimal 1970 sideboard in solid chestnut drawers and doors.
Chestnut
$2,335
H 11.75 in W 53 in D 34 in
Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Italia Postmodern Freeform Coffee Table, 1980s
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in South Bend, IN
An exceptional postmodern free form coffee table By Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Italia Italy, 1980s Red lacquered tiger...
Metal
Crossing Bookcase by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti, 1970s
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in Conversano, IT
A radical icon of 1970s Italian design, the "Crossing" bookcase by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti represents one of the most striking structural experiments of the era. More than a si...
Smoked Glass, Birdseye Maple
1980 Large coffee table by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti
By Giovanni Offredi
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Large coffee table in speckled maple veneer. Comprising a large speckled maple veneer top with rounded edges. The base consists of four cylindrical semicircles, embellished at the b...
Wood
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
$11,490
H 27.56 in W 94.49 in D 47.25 in
Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Executive Desk, Italy, 1980s Maple Wood
By Saporiti, Giovanni Offredi
Located in Sacile, PN
Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti, executive desk, bird’s-eye maple, Italy, 1980s. This postmodern pieces is sculptural and holds various striking elements. Firstly the execution of the...
Birdseye Maple
$6,512
H 35.44 in W 86.62 in D 22.45 in
Credenza modello Lenox di Giovanni Offredi per Saporiti Italia
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in Ghedi, IT
La Credenza Lenox progettata da Giovanni Offredi per Saporiti Italia negli anni ’70 rappresenta uno dei capolavori iconici del design italiano postmoderno e radicale. Realizzata con ...
Hardwood
$12,432
H 16.54 in W 86.62 in D 39.38 in
Extra Large Maple Brass Coffee Table Giovanni Offredi Saporiti 1980s
By Saporiti, Giovanni Offredi
Located in Paris, IDF
Designed by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti Italia in the early 1980s, this beautiful coffee table is fully veneered with birdseye maple wood, with brass inlays on the feet. Its symmet...
Brass
Folding Table by Giovanni Offredi for MC Selvini, 1970s
By Giovanni Offredi
Located in Albano Laziale, Rome/Lazio
Table by designer Giovanni Offredi and produced by MC Selvini, 1970s. Works excellent as a freestanding table, desk or against a wall and it can be used in its full width or as a con...
Rattan, Laminate, Beech