Bettolle | Ageing Well

New seating from old barrels, an unique patio from reclaimed flags, even an entire contemporary Tuscan home from seasoned and salvaged materials: that’s what Sestini & Corti do, zealously. Established 40-odd years ago in the hills outside Siena to supply superior traditional building materials, locally crafted or reclaimed, the family firm evolved with an ever-keener eye for research and design. Today they work with master artisans to make unique furniture using mellowed wood, iron and stone, and collaborate with architects and creative clients on interior and exterior renovations featuring venerable materials others were fools enough to discard.

The showroom in the 18th-century farmhouse where Sestini & Corti originally set up shop is a trove of contemporary designs with the textures and character of antiques (tables, chairs and stools, mirrors and shelving, whatever the materials inspired) and of original antique and vintage furnishings and curios. There, too, they’ll show you just what they can do, architecturally speaking, with all those traditional Tuscan building materials improved by age: beautifully tempered beams and planks, terracotta bricks and flooring, roof tiles and stone.