Teak and Fabric Sideboard by Mario Nuti, Lavagna, Italy, 1960s

This sideboard is a study in clean horizontality. The long, low body rests on four slender cylindrical metal legs with adjustable feet, giving the piece a visual lightness that lifts it decisively from the floor. The front presents a measured alternation of teak panels and surfaces clad in a textured blue fabric, a chromatic choice that gives the composition a character at once modern and distinctly Mediterranean. Closed, the sideboard reads as a composed, rectangular volume; opened, it reveals a degree of functional ingenuity that goes well beyond its unassuming exterior.

The structure is in teak, its warm, honey-toned grain visible across the top, back and internal surfaces. The sides and two sliding front panels are upholstered in a woven blue fabric set within the wooden frame. The right-hand section contains four drawers fitted with recessed black pulls, accessible behind a sliding panel. To the left, a hinged top lifts to expose a concealed bar compartment, its interior lined with mirror panels. The left side of the cabinet opens outward on a hinge, revealing three curved shelves edged with brass rails — a detail of particular ingenuity, designed for bottles or glassware. A small wooden pull below the bar section operates a further sliding element. The interior joinery throughout is careful and well-finished.
The sideboard bears the original metal label of its maker: Mario Nuti - Mobilarredo - Lavagna, a small manufacturer based in the coastal town of Lavagna on the Ligurian Riviera. Far from the major industrial centres of Milan or Turin, workshops such as Nuti's interpreted the formal language of Italian mid-century design with a craftsmanship rooted in local tradition and an originality of solutions that lend these pieces a particular appeal. The seaside context is legible in the choice of materials and colour - the blue fabric, the airy proportions, the spirit of informal hospitality encoded in the hidden bar - all of which speak to a culture of leisure and domestic conviviality characteristic of Riviera life in the 1960s.

The sideboard is in very good condition, with wear consistent with age. The teak surfaces are restored and refinished; the fabric panels have been professionally renewed. The metal legs show oxidation patina, and the mirrored bar interior displays age-related foxing. All mechanical elements, drawers, sliding panels, hinged top and swing-out shelves, function correctly.

Dimensions:
H 86 cm × W 210 cm × D 54 cm (H 33.9 × W 82.7 × D 21.3 in)