Riva1920 Solid Wood Italian Furniture, Sustainable Design & Exceptional Craftsmanship
Riva1920 is an Italian furniture company renowned for transforming solid wood into extraordinary contemporary furniture through generations of craftsmanship, innovative design, and a profound respect for nature. Founded in Cantù in the heart of Italy’s Brianza furniture district, Riva1920 creates dining tables, chairs, stools, benches, bookcases, sideboards, beds, desks, and sculptural furniture that celebrates the natural character and history of wood.
More than a century after its beginnings, wood remains at the center of the Riva1920 philosophy. Walnut, oak, cherry, cedar, ancient Kauri, reclaimed Venetian Briccole, and other remarkable timbers are shaped by skilled craftspeople using a combination of traditional woodworking knowledge and advanced technology. Knots, grain, fissures, variations, and evidence of time are not imperfections to be hidden—they are part of the material’s identity and what makes each Riva1920 piece unique.
More Than a Century of Italian Woodworking Has Made Riva1920 a Benchmark for Contemporary Solid Wood Furniture
The Riva1920 story began in 1920 in Cantù, Italy, when Nino Romano established a small family workshop specializing in solid wood furniture.
Mario Riva continued the business after the Second World War, preserving the woodworking traditions of Brianza. In the late 1970s, brothers Maurizio and Davide Riva joined the family workshop as carpenters, concentrating on custom-made furniture and developing the approach to natural wood that would ultimately define the company.
The first production facility opened in 1987, and in 1992 Riva1920 presented its furniture collection at the Salone del Mobile in Milan for the first time.
Today, the company remains family-run, with the fourth generation helping guide Riva1920 into the future.
What has remained constant is an extraordinary respect for wood: understanding its structure, preserving its natural qualities, and transforming it into furniture intended to last for generations.
Solid Wood Is Not Simply a Material at Riva1920 but the Beginning of Every Design Story
Riva1920 approaches wood differently from furniture companies that treat it primarily as a decorative surface.
The material itself frequently determines the character of the design.
A live edge may define the silhouette of a dining table. Natural grain can become the primary visual element of a cabinet. A massive cedar trunk can be carved into sculptural seating. An ancient Kauri slab may retain evidence of a history extending thousands of years beyond human civilization.
Riva1920 works with traditional woods including walnut, oak, and cherry alongside reclaimed and exceptional timbers chosen for their history, beauty, and environmental significance.
The company’s craftsmen seek to reveal rather than disguise the qualities of these materials. The resulting furniture retains an immediate connection to nature even when its form is highly contemporary.
Riva1920 Dining Tables Celebrate the Natural Beauty and Monumental Presence of Solid Wood
Dining tables occupy a particularly important place within the Riva1920 collection.
Large slabs of solid wood become architectural surfaces, while bases in wood, glass, iron, steel, and other materials introduce different expressions ranging from visually minimal to dramatically sculptural.
Collections such as Bedrock, Kauri, Piano Design, Clessidra, Pangea, Suar, Newton, and other Riva1920 tables demonstrate the remarkable variety possible within solid wood furniture.
Rectangular, round, square, oval, and irregular forms accommodate different interiors and ways of gathering. Some designs celebrate the uninterrupted surface of a monumental wood slab, while others use sophisticated joinery, sculptural bases, or unexpected combinations of materials.
What connects them is the presence of the wood itself.
Rather than making every table identical, Riva1920 allows grain, edge, scale, age, and natural variation to give each piece an individual character.
Ancient Kauri Wood Allows Riva1920 to Transform Thousands of Years of Natural History into Contemporary Furniture
Among Riva1920’s most extraordinary materials is ancient Kauri.
Recovered from peat bogs in New Zealand, massive Kauri logs have been naturally preserved underground for tens of thousands of years. The unusual conditions protected the timber, making it possible for Riva1920 to transform this ancient material into contemporary tables and furniture.
Every Kauri slab carries a natural record that cannot be reproduced through conventional manufacturing.
Differences in grain, dimensions, edges, coloration, and surface make each piece unique. Riva1920 preserves these characteristics rather than attempting to standardize them.
The resulting furniture creates an extraordinary connection between contemporary design and natural history. A Kauri dining table is not simply a surface supported by a base; it is a piece of material that existed long before modern civilization, preserved by nature and ultimately given a new purpose through Italian craftsmanship.
Reclaimed Venetian Briccole Give Riva1920 Furniture a Material History Shaped by Water, Time, and the Venice Lagoon
Riva1920’s use of Briccole provides another compelling example of how reclaimed wood can become contemporary design.
Briccole are the characteristic wooden posts used in the Venice Lagoon to mark navigational channels. After decades in the water, the oak develops a distinctive surface shaped by tides, weather, and marine organisms.
When these posts reach the end of their functional life in the lagoon, Riva1920 can give the material another purpose.
The marks and channels created over time remain visible within the finished furniture, becoming part of its aesthetic identity rather than defects to be removed.
International architects and designers have interpreted Briccola wood in different ways, transforming this material associated with Venice into tables, benches, stools, and sculptural objects.
Each finished piece therefore carries both a functional future and a visible past.
Sculptural Cedar Furniture Transforms Entire Sections of a Tree into Functional Works of Contemporary Design
Lebanese cedar gives Riva1920 another opportunity to explore furniture at the boundary between design and sculpture.
Large sections of cedar can be shaped from solid blocks rather than assembled from numerous components. The scale of the material allows designers to carve stools, benches, tables, and sculptural furniture directly from the wood.
The celebrated Molletta bench by Baldessari e Baldessari captures this approach particularly well. By enlarging the familiar form of a wooden clothespin to architectural scale, the design transforms a recognizable everyday object into a playful sculptural bench.
Other cedar designs emphasize the natural geometry of the log itself, using curves, cuts, voids, and carved surfaces to create furniture that feels almost elemental.
The characteristic aroma and tactile surface of cedar add another sensory dimension, reminding the user that the furniture began as a living material.
International Architects and Designers Bring New Perspectives to Riva1920’s Extraordinary Culture of Wood
Riva1920’s collaborations with architects, designers, and artists have expanded the possibilities of solid wood furniture.
Mario Botta, Renzo and Matteo Piano, Michele De Lucchi, Terry Dwan, Patricia Urquiola, Paola Navone, Claudio Bellini, Andrea Branzi, Alessandro Mendini, Matteo Thun, Karim Rashid, and many others have contributed ideas to the company’s evolving design culture.
Each designer brings a different relationship to form, construction, scale, and material.
Mario Botta’s Clessidra stool transforms solid cedar into an architectural hourglass-like volume. Renzo and Matteo Piano’s Piano Design explores structure and engineering through wood. Michele De Lucchi has created furniture that combines sculptural thinking with the inherent character of natural materials.
These collaborations demonstrate the unusual versatility of Riva1920’s woodworking expertise.
Rather than forcing designers into a predetermined visual language, the company gives them access to extraordinary materials and generations of knowledge about how wood can be shaped.
Riva1920 Chairs, Stools, and Benches Combine Traditional Woodworking Knowledge with Contemporary Design
Although monumental tables and sculptural cedar pieces often attract immediate attention, Riva1920’s expertise extends across an extensive seating collection.
Dining chairs, armchairs, stools, benches, and occasional seating explore different ways of shaping solid wood around the human body.
Some designs emphasize traditional joinery and familiar proportions. Others use CNC technology and sophisticated carving to create complex curves that would have been extraordinarily difficult to produce using traditional machinery alone.
Upholstery in leather or fabric introduces softness and comfort where appropriate, while metal and other materials can provide structural or visual contrast.
The result is seating that retains the tactile character of wood without sacrificing ergonomics or contemporary sophistication.
These pieces can accompany a Riva1920 table or introduce the company’s distinctive woodworking into an interior independently.
Bookcases, Sideboards, Cabinets, and Storage Furniture Extend Riva1920 Craftsmanship Throughout the Home
Riva1920’s collection extends far beyond tables and seating.
Bookcases, sideboards, cabinets, consoles, shelving, desks, and complementary furniture bring solid wood into living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and home offices.
These pieces demonstrate a more architectural expression of the company’s craftsmanship. Broad surfaces reveal continuous grain patterns, while doors, drawers, shelving, and structural elements require exceptional precision and careful material selection.
Wood may be combined with glass, metal, stone, leather, or other materials to create visual contrast and functional versatility.
For architects and interior designers, this broader collection makes it possible to use Riva1920 throughout an interior rather than treating a solid wood table as an isolated statement.
Different pieces can be connected through material and craftsmanship while maintaining individual identities.
Riva1920 Bedroom Furniture Brings the Warmth and Natural Character of Solid Wood into Restful Interiors
The bedroom provides an especially appropriate setting for the warmth of natural wood.
Riva1920 beds, nightstands, dressers, benches, wardrobes, and complementary pieces translate the company’s woodworking philosophy into furniture designed for more intimate spaces.
Solid wood headboards and bed frames can emphasize grain and natural variation, while upholstery introduces softness and contrast. Night furniture and storage provide opportunities for precisely crafted drawers, doors, handles, and surfaces.
The inherent warmth of walnut, oak, cedar, and other woods can help create bedrooms that feel calm and tactile rather than overly formal.
Used together or individually, these pieces introduce the presence of natural material into a room devoted to comfort and retreat.
Natural Oils, Waxes, and Thoughtful Material Choices Reflect Riva1920’s Longstanding Commitment to Sustainable Furniture
Environmental responsibility is deeply connected to Riva1920’s approach to wood.
The company uses wood from controlled and planned harvesting alongside reclaimed and recovered materials with extraordinary histories. Ancient Kauri, Venetian Briccole, cedar from authorized cutting or naturally fallen trees, and wood reclaimed from wine barrels demonstrate different ways of giving valuable natural material a new purpose.
Riva1920 also emphasizes natural oil- and wax-based finishes and formaldehyde-free vinyl adhesives.
This approach is important aesthetically as well as environmentally. Natural finishes allow the tactile character and grain of the wood to remain present rather than hiding the material beneath an artificial surface.
Longevity completes this philosophy.
Riva1920 furniture is intended to remain useful and beautiful for generations, allowing exceptional natural resources and skilled craftsmanship to retain their value over time.
The Riva1920 Wood Museum Celebrates the Tools, Knowledge, and Culture Behind Generations of Italian Furniture Making
Riva1920’s appreciation for wood extends beyond the furniture it produces.
At the Riva Center in Cantù, the company’s Wood Museum preserves an extensive collection connected to the history of woodworking and furniture making. The Riva Center itself was designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and brings together showroom, cultural, and exhibition spaces.
The museum reflects an important aspect of the Riva1920 philosophy: craftsmanship is not simply a manufacturing process but a culture worth preserving.
Traditional tools reveal how generations of craftspeople worked before contemporary machinery. Different species of timber demonstrate the remarkable diversity of wood as a natural material.
By preserving this knowledge while simultaneously investing in advanced production technology, Riva1920 creates a connection between the history of Italian furniture making and its future.
Riva1920 Creates Solid Wood Furniture for Residential, Hospitality, and Contract Interiors
The natural character of Riva1920 furniture allows it to work within remarkably different architectural environments.
A monumental Kauri or walnut table can become the center of a contemporary residence. Cedar benches and stools can introduce sculptural forms into a hotel, restaurant, or reception area. Bookcases, desks, sideboards, and dining furniture can bring warmth to offices and executive environments.
The company also offers tailored solutions for residential and contract projects, drawing on its manufacturing flexibility and woodworking expertise.
For architects and interior designers, this combination of material character and customization is especially valuable.
Rather than simply selecting furniture from a catalog, designers can explore dimensions, woods, finishes, edge treatments, bases, and complementary materials to create pieces appropriate to the scale and character of a particular project.
Discover Riva1920 Solid Wood Italian Furniture and Extraordinary Natural Materials at Scott + Cooner
Scott + Cooner offers Riva1920 as part of our curated collection of exceptional contemporary furniture and international design.
Since 1995, Scott + Cooner has worked with architects, interior designers, and design-conscious clients seeking extraordinary modern furniture, lighting, kitchens, closets, rugs, and accessories for residential and contract interiors. Our experienced team can help you explore Riva1920 dining tables, chairs, benches, stools, bookcases, sideboards, beds, desks, and sculptural furniture along with the company’s remarkable selection of woods and finishes.
For Riva1920 in particular, knowledgeable specification can make a significant difference. Natural wood varies from piece to piece, and the selection of species, dimensions, edges, finishes, and complementary materials contributes directly to the character of the finished furniture.
Whether you’re searching for a monumental solid wood dining table, ancient Kauri furniture, reclaimed Briccola wood, sculptural cedar furniture, or beautifully crafted contemporary Italian furniture, Scott + Cooner can help you discover the extraordinary culture of wood that has defined Riva1920 for more than a century.