FEDE: the details count

FEDE is a Barcelona firm specialising in high-end decorative switches with a commitment to handcrafted luxury. It designs and produces customised pieces, attending to every detail, so that architects and interior designers can resolve an element that is almost never chosen with the same care as taps or handles: the electrical fitting. With European production, it makes switches, lighting plates, knobs and bathroom accessories, and works its collections in aluminium, brass and other metals, with finishes such as satin gold, brushed copper, satin nickel, black, matt white and any shade on the RAL chart.

In this article we present Atelier Collection, the new collection with which FEDE brings together two of its minimalist collections, Round and Twenty. We look at where each one starts from, what changes in Atelier, how the three compare and what to resolve at design stage to specify them well.

FEDE, the switch tailor

FEDE was founded in Barcelona in 2008 and describes itself as ‘the tailor of Switch & Light’: it designs and makes switches, lighting and architectural details for demanding interiors, with a large share of its work in hotels. According to the brand itself, it produces in its workshops in Barcelona and Valencia and avoids plastic in its fittings: it works with brass, aluminium and zamak, metals which, according to FEDE, can be recycled without losing their properties.

Its catalogue ranges from classic, ornate lines to collections of pure forms. Among the latter, the brand groups Round, Studio, Twenty and Atelier, four modern, minimalist collections which, in FEDE's words, show that luxury design sometimes lies in simplicity and well-integrated details. Customisation is the constant: as a manufacturer, FEDE can adapt shapes, combinations and finishes to each project.

Atelier Collection: Round and Twenty combined

Atelier Collection is FEDE's latest new collection, a detail-driven range that stands out for its materiality and elegance, and the culmination of the work of the brand's team of craftspeople.

It is the minimalist evolution of two benchmark collections: Round, with a circular base, and Twenty, with a square base. Atelier brings the two switch models together in a single collection, with the aim of widening the range of combinations. To understand what it brings, it is worth starting with its two points of departure.

Round: the circular base

The Round collection stands out as a soft, delicate option, designed for restrained, elegant spaces. FEDE presented it in 2021 at Casa Decor Madrid, in the space designed by Somos 2 Studio in the Casa de Tomás Allende, and at the time described it as made of aluminium with matt finishes. It includes push-button, double push-button, toggle and rotary switches, which can be combined on multi-gang plates, and two reading-lamp models for installation above the headboard or on the wall.

Twenty: the square base

Twenty is distinguished by its square geometric base, the perfect frame for a toggle or rotary switch. FEDE turns thin metal sheets into matt frames that blend into the wall and let the toggle take centre stage. Its plates can have one, two or up to five modules. In 2021, the studio Cuarto Interior chose it for ‘Viajero comprometido’ (The committed traveller), the concept room it designed for Castilla Termal at the digital edition of Interihotel.

A completely flush surface

Atelier Collection offers a choice between the square base and the round base, and is designed to produce a switch with a completely flush surface. It does away with the central frame belonging to the mechanism itself —the disc that surrounds the toggle or knob in Round and Twenty— and so favours the uniformity of the plate: only the toggle remains visible.

In this collection the smallest detail counts, which is why each project is configured individually. Atelier gives up the modular nature of Round and Twenty, which allow elements to be combined freely within the same frame. In exchange, thanks to FEDE's craftsmanship, it offers a bespoke solution: the plate is configured according to the elements each point needs, whether toggle switches or panels combining toggles and a socket outlet.

Round, Twenty and Atelier compared

The table summarises the differences between the three collections as FEDE presented them in 2024:

Round and Twenty share a palette: matt black, matt white, matt satin gold, matt satin nickel and matt soft patina. FEDE also offers custom finishes for each project.

Key points for specifying

Choosing the fittings with the same intent as the rest of the materials means resolving a few points at design stage:

• Modular or bespoke: Round and Twenty allow each point to be composed by combining elements in a single frame; Atelier makes the plate according to the elements required, so the number and position of switches and sockets should be settled before ordering.
• Consistent finishes: switches are seen and touched every day. Coordinating their finish with handles, taps and light fittings strengthens the material reading of the space; FEDE can match tones outside its standard palette.
• Plate material: FEDE has presented these collections in aluminium and now describes Round and Twenty in brass. Confirm the material with the brand if it is a project requirement.
• Electrical standard: Round, Twenty and Atelier are part of FEDE's European-standard range, and the brand has separate collections for the British and Italian standards. On international projects, check this before specifying.
• Reading lights in hotels: Round and Twenty have matching reading lamps. The flexible Twenty is recessed into a standard box beside the headboard, measures 370 × 30 mm and takes a 2.6 W, 2700 K G9 LED lamp, according to FEDE.

The new Atelier Collection stands out for its attention to detail, craftsmanship and finishes, and takes FEDE's ability to customise its products to the limit. It is an option designed for projects in which the electrical fittings are part of the design. At Matter we help you choose the fittings together with the rest of the project's materials and finishes, so that everything fits together.