La Dolce Estate
Bilotta is thrilled to announce the launch of a new collection, La Dolce Estate. Featuring Bilotta Collection cabinetry, the collection was designed by Sarah Witkin, founder of Bilotta Architecture, exclusively for Bilotta’s A&D Building showroom in New York City.
The Story Behind the Collection
–By Sarah Witkin, daughter of Regina Bilotta & Third Generation Bilotta
Returning time and time again at summer’s end to Southern Italy, country of my family’s origin, layers of centuries of architectural and artistic styles, set against the vivid colors of the Mediterranean; emerald-green seas and bright blue skies, contrasting the sunlit warmth of amber rolling hills spotted sage green with olive groves and vineyards, stir in me a sense of belonging, of home, and nostalgic inspiration.
This chaotic juxtaposition saturates the culture itself. Fish vendors yell across open air stalls distributing the glittering morning catch as businessmen in well-cut suits traverse hose-soaked cobblestones, the sounds, smells and colors clashing together in accidental harmony.
As the streets radiate the day’s heat into the night; a cacophony of people fills the weathering Baroque piazzas with sparkling energy to welcome the evening with deep orange cocktails and bowls of wet green olives. Sophistication comes with ease between the ageing grandeur of noble palazzos, this beaming culture keeping its birthplace alive through the generations.
Bringing this sensibility back to New York City, Bilotta’s “La Dolce Estate” line pays homage to these scenes of Italian Summer. The palette; warm natural oak, cool stainless steel, stunning green, works together through an insistent willing, an Italian trait perhaps? The line’s signature bullnose frame and flush inset door pull from Italian post-modernism, while its irreverent oak grain softens the crisp form. Patinaed steel echoes industrialist style kitchens of the 50’s, lined with rich oak reveals and interiors, here translates to a warm take on its cool minimalist precedent. The emerald-green Quartzite slabs display natural beauty at its fullest, formed into rectilinear volumes and cantilevers, a cartesian translation of a rocky cascade. Take your pick from these standalone elements or embrace the Italian way of having it all.
Accenting the display are handmade Sicilian ceramics. A space would not be complete without the life, and art, that fills it. The signature Sicilian “Teste di Moro” are seen throughout the island’s landscape, a powerful ancient icon, symbol of the clash of cultures, and tribute to passion, love, jealousy and tragic fate. Spotting the gardens of crumbling villas and white-washed modern interiors alike, these animated ceramics find home in every context. The Teste di Moro and pine-cone style bowls on display are just two of the vibrant creations designed and handmade in a small town on the north coast of Sicily by artist Antonio Fratantoni. Found in a small shop during my travels to Salina, one of the stunning the Aeolian islands, I purchased a few and then later scoped out their source; I am now thrilled to offer them through exclusive sale in the US.
Sources
Aside from the warm natural oak Bilotta cabinetry and cool stainless accents, the show stopper is the Emerald Green quartzite slabs by Artistic Tile, used not only for the countertops and backsplash, but also for the drawer-fronts on the sink wall.
Additional Sources Include:
Flooring: PID Floors – Woolsey, light character, plain saw, UV finish, 7”
Cooktop: Tulip Cooking – 48” Detroit Model
Plumbing: The Galley – 30” Ideal Washstation and Tap / Hydrostation
Hardware: Armac Martin – Latchford Knob / Longbridge Pull / Hooks, Polished Nickel
Bench Fabric: Romo – Talulah | Upholstery Fabrication: Prestige F&D
[To come – handmade glass light fixture from an Italian artist and island stools.]
For product inquiries and pricing please email sarah@bilottarch.com.
