Kartell: A Short Guide to the Italian Brand and Its Best-Known Designs

Kartell is one of the Italian design names our customers ask about most. This short guide introduces the brand through the pieces we stock at Courthouse Interiors, explaining who designed them, what they're made from and where they work best at home.

Componibili: a 1967 storage icon, reimagined

If one Kartell design has earned a place in almost every kind of home, it's Componibili, Anna Castelli Ferrieri's storage icon from 1967. The Componibili Bio Cabinet 3 Tier reimagines it in a biopolymer made from renewable raw materials, derived from non-GMO agricultural waste not intended for the food chain. It is part of Kartell's "Kartell loves the planet" commitment and holds TÜV Austria certification.

A three-tier unit makes a handy bedside table with storage, a bathroom cabinet for spare toiletries or a tidy spot for chargers and remotes in a living room.

Philippe Starck and the Ghost chairs

Philippe Starck is the designer most closely linked with Kartell in our shop, and his clear chairs are the best place to start. The Louis Ghost is inspired by the Louis XV chair and is one of the boldest examples of polycarbonate injected into a single mould. Despite its airy, crystalline look, it is stable and strong, impact-resistant, able to withstand the weather and stacks up to six high.

Its quieter sibling, the Victoria Ghost, has a rounded back that recalls antique medallions and a linear, geometric seat. It is also made in a single injection mould. Both chairs suit a small dining area, where a clear chair keeps the room feeling open.

Starck has more to offer in our range. The Attila Side Table is one of his three gnome characters for Kartell, alongside Napoleon and Saint-Esprit. The hat is flat and round, so it works as an occasional table or stool in a living room, garden or terrace. It's a witty piece that always gets a smile.

Kartell today: the A.I. family and Smart Wood

Kartell continues to explore new ways of designing and making. The A.I. Chair by Philippe Starck was created using generative design powered by artificial intelligence and is made from recycled material, without compromising its aesthetics or structural strength. The wider A.I. family, described by Kartell as the first furniture conceived by artificial intelligence from Starck's brief and Kartell's know-how, also includes stools and a slim console made from used illy coffee capsules.

Wood features too. The Adam Wood Bookshelf is part of Kartell's Smart Wood collection. Starck designed it with wooden shelves moulded with gently curved edges, bent in three dimensions to highlight the beauty of the wood, and mounted on slim steel struts so you can set them at the height you need. At 215cm tall, it makes a proper feature in a living room or study.

For dining, the Albert Table by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba pairs a glossy porcelain stoneware top with a painted aluminium frame and is equally at home indoors or out. Sizes include a 150cm square.

Kartell lighting

Kartell's lighting deserves a closer look. The Aledin Tec Table Lamp by Alberto and Francesco Meda is an LED task lamp with two articulated polycarbonate arms, whose aluminium rods also carry the current. Its flat head casts a direct, focused beam, adjustable by moving the diffuser, which is ideal for a home office or study desk. The Aledin Dec version swaps the flat head for a faceted, cone-shaped shade that gives a wider, more atmospheric light.

Philippe Starck's Angelo Stone Table Lamp rethinks the classic bulb-and-shade layout: the LED sits on the stem and lights the underside of the cap, where high-tech lenses create a play of reflections. The 70cm table version suits a sideboard or console, and there's a 173cm floor version for a living room corner.