A project between heritage, materiality and bespoke craftmanship
Fratelli Boffi has designed a selection of furnishings for the Grand Hotel Savoia in Genoa – Curio Collection by Hilton, a historic landmark of Italian hôtellerie recently undergoing a meticulous renovation and enhancement project. Set in a context reminiscent of travel and Liguria’s maritime tradition, the project develops a coherent language through surfaces, colors, and workmanship, creating distinct atmospheres through consistent material continuity.
From the first to the sixth floor, guestrooms and suites feature the Nocina C and Nocina L armchairs from the Fabula collection. Crafted from solid walnut, the seats stand out for their continuous structure that embraces the backrest with a soft, organic profile, balancing the solidity of wood with the tactile quality of textile elements. The different combinations of fabrics and eco-leathers, developed in relation to the hotel’s various levels, help define ever-changing chromatic identities while maintaining a coherent visual continuity throughout the interiors.
Inside the rooms, the project also introduces a series of trunks developed according to a custom design by the client and produced in two different sizes: a 160 cm version positioned at the foot of the bed and a 100 cm version conceived to fit within the architectural niches of the spaces. The various eco-leather combinations contribute to creating a continuous visual landscape, where decorative detail naturally interacts with function.
Next to the beds are the Mercer bedside tables from the Step Into The Wild collection. Crafted from solid wood, the pieces are distinguished by a dark bronzed brass ring, finely hand-brushed, that develops beneath the top surface, introducing a sophisticated, almost jewel-like detail within the structure. Presented in satin orange and satin light blue finishes, they engage in dialogue with a family of suspended bedside tables designed specifically for the hotel, where back-painted glass, mirrored surfaces, and lacquered structures create a balance of depth, reflections, and chromatic contrasts.
The breakfast tables in walnut-stained beech wood, available in 70 cm and 80 cm diameters, are paired with panels conceived with a dual function – writing desk and TV unit – developed specifically for the project and interpreted in different finishes and upholstery solutions according to the hotel’s various levels. Here too, the variation in materials does not interrupt the overall design language, but rather expands its expressive possibilities.
The intervention continues throughout the hotel’s common areas with a bookcase, a corner bench, and bistro tables designed for the TV lounge. Completing the space is the Ondina mirror from the Velvet collection, distinguished by a “ribbon-like” frame in shaped and curved wood that introduces a softer, more decorative presence within the overall composition.
Through this project, Fratelli Boffi reaffirms its ability to operate across material research, cabinetmaking culture, and bespoke design, developing interventions in which constructional detail becomes an integral part of the identity of the spaces and of the experience of contemporary hospitality.