Portofino Small Footstool

Designed by Jamela Alawneh for Melaaura, the Portofino small footstool is a piece that reveals something important about the Portofino collection as a whole: that its design intelligence does not diminish with scale. Where a large piece can rely on presence and proportion to carry its weight, a small piece must earn its place entirely through the quality of its making, through the consistency of its materials, the precision of its finishing, and the clarity of its purpose. The Portofino small footstool does all three without concession.

At 44 cm square, it is compact enough to tuck beside the Portofino lounge chair or high back lounge chair without competing for visual territory, and resolved enough that when it does draw the eye, it rewards the attention fully. The hand-woven synthetic cord runs continuously across the top surface and all four sides over a powder-coated aluminium frame, in the same dense interlocking weave that defines every piece in the Portofino collection. This material continuity is the detail that matters most: the footstool does not feel like a reduced or simplified version of the larger pieces, it carries the full vocabulary of the collection in a smaller form, without diminishment or compromise. The surface shifts with outdoor light across the day in the same way as the sofa and the lounge chairs beside it, textured and warm in the morning, quieter and deeper in the shade of the afternoon.

The braided crown edge that frames the top surface introduces the same artisanal finishing detail found across the entire Portofino range — a moment of quiet precision that holds the form together and speaks to the care behind the making. Four compact feet elevate the frame just enough to protect both the footstool and the surface beneath it, keeping moisture and heat from pooling where they should not, a considered practical detail that sits entirely within the piece’s overall restraint.

The finish is the collection’s signature warm greige,matte in depth, sun-resistant in composition, and possessed of a natural richness that deepens rather than fades under sustained light exposure. Available in six weave colorways, Sage Green, Black, Natural Honey Teak, Ivory, Dark Brown, and Taupe, it coordinates seamlessly with every other piece in the Portofino collection, regardless of which configuration it accompanies.

Its versatility is genuine rather than assumed. Positioned as a dedicated footrest beside a lounge chair, used as a low surface for a drink or book, deployed in pairs to anchor a compact terrace corner, or integrated within the broader modular architecture of a full Portofino composition, it adapts to its role without ever losing its integrity as a considered object. It is not simply a small footstool. It is evidence that the Portofino collection has been thought through entirely, to its last, smallest, most carefully made detail.

At Niche Beverly, we carry the Portofino collection as part of our curated selection of the world’s finest luxury outdoor furniture. Visit our Los Angeles showroom or contact us to discuss colorways and lead times for your project.