40 transformable antique furniture pieces at Biblioteca del Daverio during Milan Design Week

During Milan's Salone del Mobile, the Biblioteca del Daverio in Piazza Bertarelli 4 presents 40 transformable furniture pieces from the mid-19th century to the 1930s. The exhibition, running from April 9 to 13, 2019, features rare antiques sourced by Reggio Emilia antiquarian Alessandro Stefanini and promoted with art critic Philippe Daverio. Highlights include a two-seat sofa that converts into a desk, an 1860 round up-and-down table that extends upward, a 1930s adaptable-sit sofa that becomes a desk, and an Edwardian armchair that doubles as a desk. Also on display are foldable game tables and multipurpose chairs: a chair with a backrest for ironing trousers (1930s), a chair for teaching children table manners, an 1880 smoking chair, and a chair used by guests at the 1901 coronation of Edward VII. The venue, a late-16th-century space linked to the nearby church of San Paolo Converso, was restored by Daverio in 2010 after years as a mason's warehouse. Daverio describes the show as "in ironic rapport with the Salone del Mobile," aiming to stimulate curiosity with unusual pieces.