Weatherproof Outdoor Living
At JANUS et Cie, High Styles are Designed to be Weatherproof
What makes the JANUS et Cie space on Giralda Avenue so special, says showroom manager Jason Wood, is that it is split into two large areas, each 2,350 square feet. The one that faces Salzedo Street is for “contract hospitality with lower price points, which the hotels buy,” says Wood. The space that faces Giralda Avenue “is more geared toward the residential clients and the more contemporary designers with a higher price point.”
The two entrances, however, mirror each other. Both greet you with a massive bowl of plastic oranges, an arch of plastic, green topiary, and an overhead hanging golden plant-in-pot which is the signature image for JANUS et Cie – also made, appropriately, of plastic. Appropriate because all the outdoor fabric used by the 40-year-old firm, from the tightly woven surfaces covering the aluminum frames to the cushions that provide comfort, are made either from 100 percent “solution dyed” acrylic, or a polypropylene known as “Janus Fiber.” And that’s what guarantees a lifetime of weather resistance, whether in your backyard patio or onboard a yacht.
The fabrics, which are all made in the U.S., can feel deceivingly non-plastic, like their outdoor “velvet” pillows. And their stylings, from the popular Amari chairs to the Knot collection of chairs, couches, and tables, look as though they could rest comfortably in your living room. This is a high style for outdoor living.
JANUS et Cie is part of the Hayworth Lifestyle Design conglomerate, which also owns Luminaire, the Gables-based shrine to good design. Their regional showrooms, originally based in the Design District, relocated to the Gables in November. “It’s much better here,” says Wood. “The Design District has evolved to become so Instagram. Here we have real clients. Plus, you can park your car, and it’s a much more walkable area, with better restaurant choices.”
Wood said the Gables showrooms now service all of Florida, as well as clients from Mexico, Central, and South America. While open to the public, “nearly all of our end consumers, the final clients, use a designer, architectural firm, or design studio. We don’t have cash and carry here, where you can just take it home.”
If you were to buy direct, the prices for the chairs in their hospitality-marine showroom range from $350 to $1,200, with chaise lounges ranging from $950 to $3,000. On the residential side, Knot lounge chairs start at $1,500, with a three-piece couch retailing for $4,000. They also sell outdoor Eclipse rugs with different “color wave” patterns, displayed in shelves like the fabrics you would see in an upscale men’s wear store.
“The showroom is designed to be a resource for designers and their clients,” says Wood. “We like to have large workspaces so designers can bring in their floor plans, along with clients. We can provide fabric samples, or finished samples, and put together a look right here. “
JANUS et Cie
273 Giralda Ave.
305.438.0005
www.janusetcie.com