IT adorns the seats of Ferrari, Bugatti and BMW; furnishes the G8 Summit venues and the Guggenheim and Getty museums; and dresses up the first class seats of airlines and VIP airport lounges worldwide.

Its intricate lamps light up the halls of the Four Seasons Hotels; its sleek tables accessorize the showrooms of Bentley, Hermes, Prada and Rolls-Royce; and its stylish sofas and divans jazz up the homes of royalty, heads of state and Hollywood celebrities.

Nowhere else can anyone find such a powerhouse ensemble of furniture brands than at FURNitalia. And read this: The said furniture pieces are on display in its showrooms worldwide, including the famous Thonet chair, a Pablo Picasso favorite.

On March 3 the exclusive distributor to some 24 top Italian furniture labels opened a bigger showroom at The Fort Global City in Taguig. And this addition to the three-level store in Greenhills, San Juan, was built for a special purpose, according to FURNitalia’s managing director Florence Ko. “We wanted clients to see how every piece can be mixed and matched with the other items in the store. So we created a model house, in which you can see living room, bedroom and other indoor-outdoor arrangements,” she said.

A stylish cocktail party marked the showroom’s grand opening, graced by 15 Italian principals who all believe that “the Philippines is ready to embrace the modern concepts of Italian furniture.” Among them are Patrizio Mattioli for Poltrona Frau furniture, Gabriele Roboldi for Penta lamps, Massimiliano Merati for Molteni and C multifunctional furniture, Carlo Giorgetti and Arianna Bogonova for Giorgetti European-inspired furniture, Paolo Ravelli for Fontana Arte light fixtures, and Paolo Piccinini and Pietro Turroni from the glass fixture label Fiam.

“The market may be premature for our brands at this stage, but we are here to enhance that,” Koh said. “Through this showroom we will create the market for Italian furniture in the Philippines.”

FURNitalia at The Fort, as the showroom is called, holds a huge collection of furniture in a two-floor glass structure. Filipino architect Ed Calma and Italian interior designer Carlo Colombo were responsible for its meticulous construction, rendering every space functional yet airy and uncluttered.

Found on every corner of the showroom are creations of the world’s top design philosophers: Piero Lissoni, Jean-Marie Massaud, Philippe Starck, Jean Nouvel, Hannes Wettstein, Patricia Urquiola and F.A. Porsche. “Each piece in the showroom is not just a unique work of art, but also guaranteed to last a lifetime,” said Ko.

And to those who consider FURNitalia’s pieces too expensive, Ko has this to say: “They’re pricey, not expensive. For when you say it’s expensive, it’s something that’s not worth your money.”

FURNitalia also carries the vases and furnishings of Serralunga, the indoor outdoor steel fixtures of Coro and the sofas and tables of Mood and Plexform. Visit the new showroom on 30th Street corner Rizal Drive, Crescent Park, West Bonifacio, Global City, Taguig, or call 819-1887.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 11th, 2006 at 5:10 pm and is filed under Furniture, Furniture Store. Tags: Anna, AOL, Arianna Bogonova, “Each, Carlo Colombo, Carlo Giorgetti, Cocktail, Crescent Park, Design, Europe, European, F.A. Porsche, Florence, Florence Ko, Fort Global City, Four Seasons, Four Seasons Hotels, Furniture, Gabriele Roboldi, Grand, Green, Greenhills, Guggenheim, Hannes Wettstein, indoor outdoor steel fixtures, Jean, Jean Nouvel, Jean-Marie Massaud, Money, Opening, Pablo Picasso, Paolo Piccinini, Paolo Ravelli, Patricia Urquiola, Philippe Starck, Philippines, Piero Lissoni, Pietro Turroni, Price, Rolls-Royce, San Juan, steel, Table, The Four Seasons Hotel, VIP airport, West, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.