Crack open the Chianti

We’re accustomed to contemporary Italian design in the UK (Boffi, Minotti and Cappellini, to name a few), but, to date, classic pieces from Italy are rare birds. However, to judge by the hordes that recently flocked to admire the Florentine tiles on show at the Balineum pop-up store at Pentreath & Hall, there is a growing appetite for the country’s more traditional style. Last month, Frette, the manufacturer of luxurious bedlinen, opened a London store after an absence of 16 years. On the New Kings Road, SW6, Officine Gullo (www.officinegullo.com), the Florentine kitchen manufacturer of breathtaking kitchens that combine modern technology with classic Italian styling (left), has been demonstrating that not all Italian design is Modernist.