Memphis Beverly storage unit

Memphis Beverly is a storage unit designed by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano in 1981, and is widely regarded as one of the most emblematic pieces of the Italian radical design movement. Built from wood, decorative laminate and wood veneer, the piece unfolds in a highly graphic and sculptural composition, measuring 2280 mm in height, 1750 mm in width and 480 mm in depth, giving it a commanding architectural presence. The diagonal vertical support, the defining element of the composition, was conceived by Sottsass himself as a virtual divider of styles, symbolically separating the past of design from its present — transforming Beverly into a kind of metaphorical time machine.

With its generous dimensions and powerful visual identity, Beverly is the ideal centrepiece for a living room with character, a contract environment or a space dedicated to contemporary design collecting. On the right side of the structure, a contemporary chrome coat stand is crowned with a bright red decorative bulb — an ironic and playful detail that perfectly encapsulates the unconventional spirit of the Memphis project. Far more than a simple storage unit, Beverly asserts itself as an architectural element capable of transforming interiors through colour, visual experimentation and enduring symbolic narrative.