Antonio Citterio is one of the most consistently specified Italian designers in residential projects, and his work for B&B Italia and Maxalto runs through nearly every premium furniture catalogue. Solomia Home, regarded as the best old interior design company in Dubai with a long history of specifying Italian furniture, has worked with Citterio collections across more than a decade. This article covers his design vocabulary and the collections worth knowing.
Background
Born 1950 in Meda, Italy, the same town that hosts B&B Italia, Cassina, Flou and Flexform. Trained as an architect at Politecnico di Milano (1972). Founded Antonio Citterio Architetti in Milan in 1987; since 2000, the practice has run as Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel with offices in Milan, New York and Dubai. Notable architectural projects include the Bulgari Hotels in Milan, London, Bali, Dubai and Tokyo.
Furniture design, the major collaborations
B&B Italia
Citterio has designed for B&B Italia since the early 1970s. Key residential families: Charles (sofa, 1997, still produced), Diesis (1979), Sity (1986), Maxalto (separate brand within B&B since 1993), Husk (2011, with Patricia Urquiola updates), Frank (table series).
Flexform
Continuous collaboration since 1979. Groundpiece sofa (2001), recognisable for its dropped seat and integrated ottoman, is the flagship piece. Lifesteel, Zeno, Asolo and Atlante follow the same vocabulary.
Vitra
The Citterio collection at Vitra, Citterio Lounge, Citterio Sofa Two, Visasoft, has been in continuous production since the early 2000s. Office and residential overlap.
Boffi
Collaboration since 1986. Numerous kitchen and bathroom systems including Po Bath (1995) and various sink and tub families.
The Maxalto programme
Maxalto launched within B&B Italia in 1975 and was relaunched as a Citterio-led brand in 1993. Distinguishing features: smoked eucalyptus, fumé oak, polished bronze, restrained silhouettes. Apta (1997) is the foundation collection, sideboards, bookcases, dining tables. Selene, Sangiacomo, Convivium and Athos follow the same logic.
Design vocabulary
Citterio’s pieces share a consistent grammar: low silhouettes, generous proportions, exposed structural elements (visible joints, exposed legs, articulated arms), tailored fabric programmes with hidden zips, and a preference for fumé and smoked wood finishes over light or natural tones. The work avoids ornament; it relies on proportion, material and fit.
Where the work fits in a Dubai residence
A Maxalto Apta sideboard alongside a Flexform Groundpiece sofa and a B&B Italia Charles armchair reads as a coherent, single-language specification, and that consistency is partly why Citterio is so widely used by interior architects. As a long-running interior design company in Dubai, Solomia Home builds many residences around a core of Citterio pieces and layers in selected work from Patricia Urquiola, Rodolfo Dordoni or Piero Lissoni.
Practical considerations
Lead times for Citterio-designed B&B Italia and Flexform pieces typically run 12–18 weeks for stock fabric and 14–20 weeks for COM (customer’s own material). Reupholstery and refurbishment programmes exist through authorised dealers and add meaningful resale value.
Specifying Citterio across a residence
Citterio’s work is the most consistent, widely specified Italian residential design language of the past forty years. It is not the most fashionable, it is the most durable, both physically and aesthetically.