Porada: Italian Solid Wood Furniture from Cabiate
Porada is one of the clearest expressions of contemporary Italian furniture shaped through solid wood. Based in Cabiate, in the Como area, the company was established in 1968 by Luigi Allievi, building on a chair-making tradition that began in 1948. More than seventy years on, Porada remains defined by the same foundations: Italian craftsmanship, family continuity, and a deep commitment to wood as the material at the centre of its identity.
That identity gives Porada furniture its distinct presence. Proportion, curve and joinery lead the design language, allowing the warmth and grain of the timber to shape the character of each piece. Canaletta walnut holds a particularly important place within the collection, appearing across many of Porada’s best-known tables, seating pieces and storage pieces, and reinforcing the maker’s long-standing command of wood.
A Furniture Tradition Shaped by Wood
From its earliest production to the current collection, Porada has developed a coherent point of view around furniture made with control, balance and material intelligence. The collection spans dining tables, chairs, sideboards, beds, mirrors, consoles and occasional pieces, yet the language remains consistent because the material thinking remains consistent. Wood gives the collection warmth, structure and continuity, allowing Porada furniture to sit across a room with clarity and ease.
This quality becomes especially clear in person. Selected Porada furniture pieces can also be viewed in our gallery in the United Kingdom, shared with multi-award-winning interior architecture and design studio Dream Design. Seen within a fully considered interior setting, the collection’s material quality, proportion and finish come into sharper focus.
Porada Furniture and Contemporary Design
Porada’s strongest pieces show how solid wood can feel both precise and fluid. Tables such as Infinity express this especially well, combining technical control with an effortless visual lightness. Across the collection, softened forms, clean silhouettes and balanced proportions create furniture that feels sculptural, composed and highly liveable.
Porada’s collection is developed with a broad group of designers, including Emmanuel Gallina, David Dolcini, Carlo Ballabio, Patrick Jouin and Gabriele & Oscar Buratti. That breadth gives the collection range, while the maker’s material language keeps it coherent. Across product types, the same values recur: solid wood, measured proportion, and a clear relationship between craftsmanship and contemporary use.
Porada furniture sits naturally within calm, resolved interiors. The collection carries warmth and definition while maintaining a clear sense of order. It is a material-led kind of authorship, giving the brand lasting relevance across both contemporary and classic architectural settings.
The Porada International Design Award
Porada’s design culture continues through the Porada International Design Award, organised each year in collaboration with POLI.design and with the support of ADI. The programme invites students and professionals to develop new concepts rooted in Porada’s values, with originality, innovation and solid wood craftsmanship at the centre of the brief. Each edition extends the conversation around the material that has shaped the company from the beginning.
Porada Today
Porada continues to reach an international audience while holding a clear and consistent identity. Its design language remains rooted in Cabiate and in the long tradition of Italian woodworking, expressed through furniture that brings warmth, sculptural balance and lasting clarity to a room.
For interiors that call for material richness, measured form and enduring presence, Porada remains one of the most compelling names in Italian furniture.
To learn more about the maker’s history, materials, and philosophy, visit the official Porada website.
