Intuitive, measured and sophisticated design is at the heart of Adelaide’s furniture and joinery designer Franco Crea. His work spans across residential and commercial spaces and can be sighted in the redeveloped and iconic Adelaide Oval. The Crea blueprint appears as a well resolved and practical initiative and yet his works embrace a level of playfulness. Changes in his use of materials are discerning and subtle, and yet are the redeeming feature of his technique.
Crea’s established Mila collection is his principal initiative and its growth beyond its foundation is uncompromised. The Mila table, with its familiar shadow line, sits comfortably in the varied marketplaces. The material offerings for the tabletop and frame span from American oak, rich walnut, natural stone and striking Corian. His latest additions of chairs and stools reinforce the conceptual growth of the brand. Exquisitely crafted quilted leather seats and backrests, familiar timber tops and wool fabric upholstered variations are applications of great appeal. His collections are accommodating, hospitable and, with an option to tailor to clients’ environments, genuinely adaptive.
Not to be overlooked is the custom joinery collection creating a permanent force in Crea’s practice. Elegantly resolved kitchen designs are injected with the sparse yet equally impactful natural stone in the background unit with non-toxic materials such as Corian adorning the island bench. Timber warms the design and the shadow line detail and ornamental pulls create coexistence. Crea’s intention is to “rediscover the artistry in joinery” and this is masterfully met and orchestrated in his kitchens.
There is nothing Crea has not considered in his design processes. He prides himself on relationships with manufacturers and bending their ear for advice. He is committed to sustainability and works with an ethos of minimal wastage. Of recent times the Franco Crea brand has crossed borders into his newly established Melbourne studio. It is with excitement we watch from his hometown to await the next installation in his formidably executed design practice.
