Mixing commerce with domesticity, three Italian companies — Boffi (kitchens and baths), Porro (tables, chairs and case goods) and Living Divani (mostly upholstered furniture) — have joined forces in By, a newly opened retail space at 142 Greene Street that looks less like a showroom than a sophisticated loft. “I didn’t want to sell a catalog image,” explains Piero Lissoni, the prolific Milan designer who is also the art director for all three companies. To that end, Lissoni mixed antiques and art with the companies’ products, and used glass partitions instead of walls to maximize light and space, which he calls “the real qualities of luxury.” Too bad the kitchen and bathroom don’t actually function, or we’d move right in.
Click on the link below for a video tour of the retail establishment that feels more like a loft than a shop.
permalink to video
