Name: Gordon Tait – Tait Director
Name: Susan Tait – Creative Director
What lounge do you have at home and what is the story behind it?
We were very excited to recently purchase a lounge suite from Jardan, a company we have long admired. We chose the ‘Milo’ for its modern, relaxed and minimal style. It was great fun deciding which modular pieces would work for not only our lounge room space but also cater for our family of two teenagers, a dog and a cat and various visitors. We are thrilled with the result as you can truly lounge all over this sofa and it looks amazing.
Which two lounging/seating products from your range are most important and why?
We always consider how people like to relax outside and try to design furniture to fulfil this. Our Volley Lounger designed by Adam Goodrum is perfect for relaxed seating and comes with a magnetised seat pad for extra comfort. The Breeze Daybed designed by Gordon Tait was inspired by Balinese holidays where afternoons by the pool were spent reading and napping on large wooden Indonesian daybeds. We scaled the size down and modernised the design while maintaining the airy quality by using mesh as the main material, enabling the product to breathe. Using exterior foam and fabrics means all our furniture can be truly left outside.
Which lounging product from another brand/company do you admire and why?
Understanding how difficult designing outdoor furniture can be, naturally we admire other brands that get it right. We have always loved the 1966 collection from Knoll and in particular, the Swell chair designed by Richard Schultz to compliment this collection. It is a comfortable, well proportioned, beautifully resolved piece and the materials and detailing are perfect for outdoor use. A timeless, elegant design which is something we in fact strive for – every time.
Where is lounging/seating going in the future? What directions in technology, manufacture, material and form have you identified?
Specialising in furniture for exterior use we are constantly looking for materials and finishes that will perform well in Australia’s harsh climate, which is quite a challenge. Outdoor fabrics have come a long way in recent times and now look and feel like indoor fabrics and in fact many people use them indoors for the lightfastness and robust qualities yet soft feel. The designs are stunning and have extra benefits like mould inhibitors. Powder coat colours are finally available in a range of bright colours which are UV proof – Dulux Intensity. As far as what type of furniture do people want for outside use, we generally create furniture for our lounge room and then use materials suitable for outdoor use, so everything we have inside, we now want outside too.
Tait
madebytait.com.au
