Timeless Elegance Plus Great Usability: FRIDA bench from Bellavista Collection

A bench is a pretty versatile furniture piece, which can add zest to overall look of a room and create interesting ensembles, if combined with other objects. Benches may be freestanding, or placed against a wall, or even fixed to a wall. 

By the way, a bench is one of the oldest furniture pieces: it’s at least as old as a stool and a table. Did you know that Ancient Romans already used paneled benches? Later, in the Middle Ages, benches were much more common in homes and public halls than chairs. Chairs were a luxury – only rich and noble people could afford them. Sitting on a chair was a sign of high status (the word “chairman” dates back to these times), while benches were in any home. 

Nowadays, a bench is often placed at the end of a bed – such a bench is sometimes called ” a bedroom bench”. In a living room, there also are spots where a bench is the best choice.

Modern benches are extremely multifarious: from rustic-style ones with a plain wood plank as a seat to stylish, truly luxurious benches with super-soft cushions, padded seats, and upholstery coming in a variety of materials. Benches from Bellavista Collection brand are of the latter kind. They surely are as elegant and top-quality as all other Italian luxury furniture this company produces. 

Open the PRODUTS section on Bellavista Collection’s website, and in UPHOLSTERED PIECES product category you’ll find OTTOMANS&BENCHES sub-category. Look it through – and you’ll be surprised how beautiful and diverse these benches are.

If you browse through Bellavista’s 2020/2021 collection (WHAT’S NEW section of the website), you will see two grand-looking upholstered benches: FRIDA and LILLIGRE. Let’s take a brief look at the first one.

FRIDA could be described in just a couple of words: elegance and practicability. 

This bench looks really chic, so it will be a great addition even to the most luxurious room. FRIDA’s somehow laconic design leaves an impression of sophistication and grandeur. A brief glance is enough to tell that this piece is truly luxurious. In fact, the same could well be said about every item designed by Attilio Zanni – Bellavista’s genius of a designer and the brand’s co-founder.

True luxuriousness has nothing to do with excessive decorations and pretentiousness. FRIDA looks classic, with clear lines and somehow simple outline, but beauty and elegance are visible in every detail.

Cast brass with an antique bronze finish of the base looks extremely well together with fabric or leather upholstery (just like most of the upholstered furniture pieces from Bellavista, FRIDA bench is available in either leather or fabric).

It goes without saying that this bench is made only of the best-quality materials – well, it’s the case with every piece from this brand. Bellavista Collection has always been very scrupulous when it comes to quality. For instance, all metal comes from Bellavista’s own foundry, where every detail is carefully cast using the technology that dates back to a few millennia. 

The inner structure of FRIDA is made of solid fur wood. The brand always uses natural solid wood rather than cheaper wood products: whatever wooden piece you take, you won’t find a single detail made of, say, particleboard or plywood in it.

As to the padding, high-grade variable-density polyurethane foam is used (fire-resistant foam is available as an option).

Bellavista Collection has always strived to give its customers lots of options to choose from. FRIDA,  for example, has a good number of upholstery options.

Covers of this bench could be made of fabric or leather; each of these materials in its turn is available in multiple variants. Besides, if you want your FRIDA bench to be upholstered in a particular material, Bellavista offers such an opportunity as well. You can provide fabric or leather, for this piece to perfectly match the interior of your room.

If you prefer to select upholstery material from the list of the available options, you will also have plenty of choices.

For example, upholstery fabric for FRIDA could be of five categories: A, B, C, Lux, and Extra Lux; with a number of colors in each of these categories. 

As to leather, it could be of category P1, P3, and nubuck (sanded leather, which looks pretty much like suede) of the P3 category.

In the P1 category, there are as many as 30 colors, including various shades of grey, red, brown, blue, yellow, and black.

P3 category offers 11 colors and shades of grey, brown, blue, and black.

The nubuck of the P3 category comes in 13 yellow shades of brown, pink, grey, and beige colors. As you see, you have plenty to choose from if you want your FRIDA bench to blend into the interior, harmonizing with all existing furniture pieces in your room.  

Decorative stitching with the thread in matching color will highlight the beauty of the material, and so will the lovely piping, made of contrasting material. 

The size of this bench is optimal to suit the needs of most customers. FRIDA is 170 cm (66.9 inches) long, 52.5 cm. (20.7 in.) wide and 45.5 cm. (17.9 in.) high.

Where to put this bench? Well, there could be lots of ideas, from using it as a bedroom bench to placing it beside a window to create a cozy nook (a couple of pillows may be a good idea if you choose the latter). Even in a dining area this bench might come in handy. Of course, everything depends on your preferences.

But wherever you put it, you can be totally sure that FRIDA will serve you for decades. It simply can’t be otherwise. All items made in Bellavista– from tables, sofas and armchairs to boiserie and lighting fixtures – are extremely durable. The very fact that the item is designed and made in Bellavista Collection means that it is of top quality. Such pieces do last long, so in many years your FRIDA bench will be as elegant-looking and cozy as it was on the day you brought it home.