By Alberto Quinteri Updated Milan Design Guide
Among upscale furniture stores, Boffi Solferino is one you don’t want to miss. The Boffi Milano showroom is home to the best furniture offerings for lovers of design.
Boffi Milano: from its origins to the Boffi Solferino showroom
Boffi spa is one of the most important designer Italian furniture companies. Its name conjures images of the marvelous kitchens signed by some of the greatest stars of contemporary design such as Piero Lissoni and Patricia Urquiola. These and all of the other ‘total home’ projects from the brand can be found in the Boffi Solferino showroom in Milan.
At its founding in 1934 by Piero Boffi, this great company was merely a small workshop for kitchen furniture in the heart of Brianza.
Around the 1950s, business took off. The company began to collaborate with the top designers of the time such as Sergio Asti, Luigi Massoni, and Antonio Citterio. It was also during this period that the collaboration with Joe Colombo, the famous designer lost prematurely at the age of 41, began. He had been the designer for some of the most iconic products of the 20th century design, like the innovative and futuristic Tube Chair and the Mini.kitchen, created in 1963 by Boffi and now in the Moma collection in New York.
The Mini.kitchen is still in the catalog today among the other kitchens from Boffi, but reimagined with a modern twist with a Corian® or multilayer marine top, making it fit also for outdoor spaces. The company has also worked with leading designers and architects of our time such as Zaha Hadid, who created the Cove Kitchen for Boffi, an elegant monoblock kitchen.
The first Boffi Flagship Store in Milan
Following a new business restructuring, Piero Lissoni became the art director for Boffi at the start of the 1990s and began designing the first major projects that established the success of the brand. At the same time, the first flagship stores were opening, among which was Boffi Solferino. The Milanese store was unveiled in 1998 and it was the first of many store openings across the world. The store was initially focused on the bathroom sector. Through the years, the brand has grown, diversifying its offerings in the kitchen, bathroom and storage systems.
Today, Boffi is on the rise and synonymous with the highest-quality Italian design.
Boffi, a continually growing brand
Boffi Solferino is located in the center of Brera, one of the main design districts of Milan. It occupies an exhibition space of roughly 1300 m2 displaying kitchens, bathrooms, and furniture systems. In this unique domestic environment, visitors can discover all of the new collections from the brand.
The Boffi Solferino showroom was designed by Piero Lissoni. The design concept of this exhibition space was inspired by the Milanese lofts d’epoque. In 2010, the Boffi Milano store was expanded to create L’Appartamento, a domestic living space designed and subdivided to create a separate living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathrooms.
Here you can find Boffi kitchens and other high-end products such as Combine from Piero Lissoni and K21 from Norbert Wangen, products suitable for clients in search of top-quality design.
Recent company decisions have brought about a further expansion of the brand. In 2015, Boffi acquired De Padova, another historic Italian design company. In the past few years, MA / U Studio and ADL have also become part of the Boffi group. These changes have contributed to broadening the group’s range of offerings and its showroom, which has been recently expanded and a new store opened on Largo Treves.
Boffi Solferino today represents an essential point of reference for architects and designers in Milan as well as all over the world. Especially if you come for Eurocucina during the design week, you will only find Boffi kitchens in this unique Milanese setting, as the company decided not to display at the Salone del Mobile in Rho Fiera.
The Boffi showroom is the place to go for those looking for the best of Italian design.
With our Furniture shopping tour service, you can visit Boffi Milano with our Home Personal Shopper and select the best of Italian furnishings for every room of your home.
Additionally, you can enlist our architects and interior designers to plan the best Italian designer kitchen for you. Our own expert artisans will be there to care for the installation directly at your home.
Esperiri, your interior contractor for Made in Italy.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and by whom was Boffi founded?
Boffi was founded in 1934 by Piero Boffi as a small workshop for kitchen furniture in the heart of Brianza, later growing into one of the most important designer Italian furniture companies.
What designer collaboration produced the Mini.kitchen?
The Mini.kitchen was created in 1963 by Boffi together with designer Joe Colombo, and is now part of the MoMA collection in New York, still in the catalog today with a modern Corian or marine top.
Who became Boffi's art director in the early 1990s?
Piero Lissoni became Boffi’s art director at the start of the 1990s, later designing the Boffi Solferino showroom, inspired by the Milanese lofts d’epoque.
What is L'Appartamento at Boffi Solferino?
L’Appartamento is a domestic living space created in 2010 when the Boffi Milano store was expanded, subdivided into a separate living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms.
What company did Boffi acquire in 2015?
In 2015, Boffi acquired De Padova, another historic Italian design company, and in the following years MA/U Studio and ADL also became part of the Boffi group, broadening its range of offerings.