If you’re looking for a resonant theme in your patio set this summer, look far but no further than Valencia’s Solisombra. This creative subset of a Spanish company within a company strives to create products that enhance the experience of nature. To that end, they don’t strictly or exclusively manufacture outdoor products, but rather “a concept of interiors and exteriors as one whole, without separations or discriminatory considerations.” The company’s product lines are thus divvied up by form rather than function, so the “Orbis” line of circularly-inclined shapes joined at circumference’s edge includes tables, benches, lattices, and ceiling panels.

Orbis table. Designed by Solisombra.

HDPE, Fiberglass, and Wood Makes Orbis Supple and Strong

Each of the Orbis items is suitable for indoor or outdoor use, but as we close in on June my mind tends toward the latter, and I can envision an idealized ensemble constituted of the private yet tantalizingly revealing Orbis lattice, the whimsical and highly functional Orbis table, and the showy Orbis bench. All three Orbis items are made from some combination of Solisombra’s HDPE (that’s “high density polyethylene”), Fiberglass, and Iroko Wood. The first is extraordinarily durable, easy to work with, and UV-resistant; the second is strong and stunning (note the solid transparent fiberglass base of the table); and the third is beautifully joined and beautifully finished, whether in bare wood or one of Solisombra’s lovely shades of white, green, black, or red.

Orbis bench. Designed by Solisombra.

Orbis lattice. Designed by Solisombra.

About the Manufacturer: Spain’s Solisombra extolls nature, but not of the “civilization is nowhere in sight” variety. Rather, the Valenica-based manufacturer of sunscreens, tables, benches, partitions, sunscreens, and planters believes in a synthesis between indoors and out, the objective being to “create unique environments in which the customer can forge his/her own space, enjoying it and experiencing all of the good things that open-air spaces can offer us… living with nature comfortably and erasing the fine line that separates indoors from outdoors.” To achieve this auspicious erasure between those fine lines, Solisombra employs materials across the spectrum—African Iroko wood for finely wrought tabletops, high-tech polyethylene for durable, weather-resistant lattices, and versatile fiberglass for transcendent and transparent table bases.