brazilian furniture by moura starr

Moura Starr is a recent partnership between American distributor Shelley Badauy and Brazilian designers Graca Kazan and Luis Mario Moura. Previous to meeting Badauy, Moura and Kazan were only known within their home country (Brazil), making them somewhat of a hidden gem. Their upscale furnishings are now thankfully available in the US, with a focus on minimal grain patterns and utilization of native South American woods such as Acai and Cabrueva. They also proudly tout their efficient production practices–Moura Starr claims it is able to create 300 pieces of furniture from a single tree.

Above: the flagship Atmos cabinet (Moura Starr was originally known as Atmosphere) is a functionalist’s dream, with multiple drawers and shelves hidden behind a sleek folding door. Their Veg line of dressers and end tables share a similar blocky design, except with indented drawers that remind me of Heywood Wakefield furniture.

Moura Starr’s chairs are similarly restrained; overwhelmingly rectangular, they incorporate slight curves to deliver a sleek profile without being organic. Upholstery is essentially flush with the lines of the chair frame in the Greca dining chair (above), while the Malaca chair is slightly bolder with an arched back and arachnid arms that smoothly transition into legs.

Not all of Moura and Kazan’s designs are conventional – in particular, their accent tables are a welcome (but tasteful) exercise in experimentation. Carved, criss-crossing lines give the U coffee table an amazing texture, while the Vitoria console appears to float a slab of glass above its downward curving frame.

Their Olimpo and Plasma coffee tables are both centered around a circular design; the Olimpo has a dramatically slanted top while the Plasma adds visual interest by embedding a circle within a square outer frame.

Moura Starr’s dining and work tables stay within the confines of perpendicular lines–for the most part. The Tao table has an interesting zig-zag frame (I’m still not sure how that glass top manages to stay balanced), while the straightforward Ramses features a central slab of glass that is flanked by wood on either side.

My favorite is the Century desk, which is not only padded with stitched leather but keeps its fairly thin wooden frame aloft with a steel tube that runs the length of the table. Perhaps most representative of Moura Starr, the Century desk emphasizes functionality with style playing a secondary, but effective role.
mourastarr.com