Dezeen Magazine

Note Design Studio's Tonella chair for Sancal is based on wine barrels

Barrel-shaped wire cages form the bases for these compact lounge chairs by Stockholm-based Note Design Studio for Spanish brand Sancal.

Tonella by Note Design Studio for Sancal

Note Design Studio's Tonella chair is based on barrels found in Yecla, the wine-making area of southern Spain where Sancal is based.

Tonella by Note Design Studio for Sancal

"It was actually a coincidence discovered by the Sancal team," Note co-founder Cristiano Pigazzini told Dezeen. "When they told us about this reference we agreed on continuing to work on the curved part of the frame using the barrel as a reference."

Tonella by Note Design Studio for Sancal

Thin vertical supports designed to mimic the lines between staves – the wooden sections that form the sides of a traditional wine barrel – are joined around the bottom to create a horseshoe-shaped base.

The chair's arms and seat are formed from moulded polyurethane foam, covered in either fabric or leather upholstery.

Tonella by Note Design Studio for Sancal

The back of the chair is quilted to follow the vertical lines of the base, available in fabric that can either be matched or contrasted with the inner surfaces.

Note's design is a reinterpretation of a padded chair from Sancal's archive.

Tonella by Note Design Studio for Sancal

"We stripped the original chair part by part and replaced the dated elements of design with a new sophisticated and modern aesthetic, to make the chair more elegant and light in its expression," said Pigazzini.

The updated chair is designed to be small enough to fit easily in the corners of rooms in hotels, shops or other public areas.

Tonella by Note Design Studio for Sancal

Note Design Studio has also launched a lounge chair sized for increasingly smaller homes and offices, and a range of tables with mixed and matched marble tops this year.