P.R. Lounge. Photo courtesy of AROUNDtheTREE

Portuguese furniture from AROUNDtheTREE, a designer brand, includes chairs, a desk and a sofa.

By Samuel Navarro Serpa

PORTUGAL – Chairs, a desk and a sofa make up the collection from AROUNDtheTREE, a Portuguese designer furniture brand. Portuguese ROOTS, P.R. Lounge, NEST, NESTWINGS, LOCUST and HIVE are born of partnerships between designers and master artisans, with nature as the starting point. According to the company, detail, function and sustainability guide the design, and handwork coexists with current production resources. The brand says it expects each piece to be handed down from generation to generation, until it becomes an heirloom.

Portuguese ROOTS. Photo courtesy of AROUNDtheTREE

Design AROUNDtheTREE by Portuguese ROOTS reinterprets the country’s cultural legacy, according to the brand, and comes in upholstered versions, with high-density foam of varying firmness. P.R. Lounge crosses classic and modern lines in low-moisture wood, which the company says preserves the integrity of the material.

NESTWINGS. Photo courtesy of AROUNDtheTREE

Comfort defines the proportions, seat shape, foam layers and fabrics of NEST and NESTWINGS, according to the company. NEST comes with or without armrests. NESTWINGS appears, according to the brand, in the official residence of Portugal’s prime minister.

LOCUST. Photo courtesy of AROUNDtheTREE

A desk, the LOCUST, serves work and rounds out the line.

HIVE. Photo courtesy of AROUNDtheTREE

On the HIVE sofa, upholstered foam segments fill the front, and precisely fitted solid wood scales form the back, creating texture and shadow, the brand says. According to its designer, the idea “is born inspired by the way bees build their hives.” Each segment requires hours of work to achieve an exact fit, the company says.

Certified origin and plant-based finishes

A seal from the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) attests that all the wood comes from managed, replanted forests. For the company, only a known provenance allows working with solid wood in an environmentally responsible way. Grain, knots and fine cracks remain visible, and the material does not react to small temperature variations or change tone with light, according to the manufacturer.

Glazing, a water-based technique applied by hand, leaves the wood semitransparent, preserves the natural grain and the intensity of the tone, and gives a matte look through its rough microstructure. According to the company, the treatment uses only fruit oils, which allow the surface to absorb and release humidity from the air.

Blasting with steel shot (particles thrown at the piece) degreases the metal structures without water or acids and leaves the surface rough, which helps paint adhere. Powder coating by electrodeposition (application with electric current) follows, baked at 410 degrees Fahrenheit (210 degrees Celsius) to gain hardness. Customers choose colors from the RAL catalog (an international standard). The brand states that the 100% polyester finish requires no solvents.

Sourced from the cork oak, cork is harvested during stripping, from mid-May or early June until the end of August, the bark’s period of most intense annual growth. According to the company, it is 100% natural, recyclable, reusable and free of artificial dye in the patterns.

Who gives shape to the furniture

Chairmaker Carlos Alberto, with more than 30 years in the trade, makes Portuguese ROOTS and P.R. Lounge. Cabinetmaker Adérito Carvalho handles the joints. Father and son Norberto and Norberto Fonseca apply traditional carpentry methods inherited from their ancestors. Victor Costa handles the gluing, sanding and finishing, and supervises the quality of the surface.

Responsible for upholstery, Teresa Nunes da Silva decides how the fabrics are shaped and supervises the seamstresses. Master seamstress Maria Belarmina da Silva combines fibers, natural leather and cork in foam solutions for the seats. Quality control is continuous, according to the company.

Textures and coverings

Manufacturers supply the textiles, for professional use, with Martindale abrasion (a measure of wear resistance) of no less than 55,000; customers may suggest another. Fabric in 100% polyester resists stains, and velvet has a soft touch. Natural leather, dyed and finished with resins and pigments, feels supple and has a matte look. Its synthetic version, vintage in appearance, carries EasyClean technology, which allows cleaning with a damp cloth, in an autumnal palette.

Lightweight, inert and impermeable to liquids and gases, textile cork has a suede-like feel, resists wear and temperature variations, and dampens vibrations. According to the brand, it is hypoallergenic, antimicrobial and antifungal. Patterns result from combining, gluing and cutting different corks.

Awards and distinctions

AROUNDtheTREE won the Luxury Lifestyle Awards 2020, in the Best Luxury Furniture and Homeware category in Portugal. The company presents itself as an original European brand of designer furniture.

P.R. Lounge won gold at the A’Design Awards and the European Product Design Awards, both in 2019. Portuguese ROOTS received the International Product Design Awards, from Design et al, in 2014, and silver at the A’Design Awards.

“For us, AROUNDtheTREE is not just a brand, but a badge we wear with honor,” the company says in a statement. “

And we want to keep believing that this love, respect and honesty are the foundation that allows us to innovate and always give our best to our customers.”

To explore the archive project, visit https://aroundthetree.eu