Why living materials grow with you?

There are elements within a home that bear witness to our lives. The wooden chest of drawers crisscrossed with cracks, the linoleum countertop whose surface is riddled with tiny ripples, the terrace table that pales after successive summers of sun. Just seeing them is enough to fill us with a sense of recognition: we mentally greet them, we say, "So you're still there, huh?", we touch them and smile. They hold moments that we evoke when we run our hand over their surface and notice their imperfections. Their presence distances us from the tedious everyday and connects us with magical times, visions of childhood, memories of when exploring a house was fraught with revelations, secret drawers, hiding places, textures, shapes, and materials that would never leave us.

They are living furniture because they are made with organic materials, which mutate and evolve over time. Two of these are the CUBRO linoleum from the LINOLEUM range, with 95% natural elements, made from cork powder, linseed oil, and pine resin, with its characteristic feel and wonderful softness; or our birch plywood, the board we use as a base for the LAMINATE and LINOLEUM ranges. Although solid and durable, suitable for any kitchen, both materials are natural, which means they are not completely unalterable over time.

As with linoleum and birch plywood, their value lies in the nuances and scars they acquire, a quality that makes them unique. No two pieces of furniture will ever be the same. Like a living being, exposure to sunlight can color its surface. The changing seasons—humidity, heat, cold—will gradually, almost imperceptibly, affect its texture. Human passions will also leave their mark: a jump from a chair to score a goal, a child's dance on a table, the incision in the countertop when cooking the first recipe. This mutable nature of materials also requires care: for their survival and preservation, we will need to pamper them with small treatments and periodic cleaning. For the edges of the birch plywood board, for example, we apply natural oils that protect the wood. And linoleum must be washed with a special soap that won't damage its texture. Good maintenance will reward us: when we contemplate these pieces of furniture, we will remember our history and our experiences. We will see the past and future of a home.