Most of the time it is the simplest ideas that are the best. None more so than Denis Guidone’s Legale clock for Nava (Italy). Available in black or white varnished wood this desk clock allows the user to change from summer time to winter time in one simple gesture…we love it!
One trend this year we couldn’t help notice (or was it just a trick of the light?) was the use of Tromp-l'Oeil. Nowhere more successfully than by the ubiquitous Front design team, this time for Moroso (Italy). Covering their designs with prints which mimicked draped silk, geometric cushions and wood grain their optical illusions were fun and inventive, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Timeless elegance, classic styling, honest, tactile furniture from sustainable materials are the buzzwords we should be using to describe Zeitraum. High-tech is ditched in favour of high-touch. Taking their cue from nature, where nothing is superfluous and everything makes sense, details have a specific meaning.
Nyord table references traditional kitchen or refectory tables, and invites friends to sit side by side. There is no head of the table. It’s all about socialising.
As in previous years environmental design took centre stage. However, this year brands talked less about ecology as a trend but rather as the norm for furniture design and production. Notable mentions include ‘Elephant Skin’ promoted on the Ingo Maurer stand under the slogan ‘If you believe recycling is the future, you are living in the past’. This new design initiative seeks to address all the used material that cannot be recycled because it is either too inconsistent or dirty - behold the Reincarnated Stool and Table, made from 100% baked used plastic.
Environmental design wasn’t limited to the northern European manufacturers either. Italian design house Danese Milano launched a series of recyclable products finished with environmentally friendly paint and colours by Ilva – continuing Danese’s legacy for iconic design, but now with responsible manufacturing.
Amongst the multi-coloured glass chandeliers which were everywhere at Euroluce, some of the more subtle stands still managed to shine (no pun intended!).
Pin is simplicity itself – a round opal glass piece, with IP44 rating, which means it can be used outdoors or in bathrooms. Pin would look equally as beautiful as a bed-side light or in a living area. Don’t forget to use the recommended energy saving lamp!
Northern European manufacturers held their own against the Italian Superbrands with their endless whites. Most notable was the new collection from Normann Copenhagen (Denmark), in particular designs by Ole Jensen - ‘Collect’ and ‘Memory’. Collect in its acid green against the stands black walls stood out this year as a fun but practical shelving unit made to house your mementos and trinkets. Designed to partner Memory, an oversized ‘warm and friendly’ caricature of an armchair which needs to be sat in to get the full effect. Made to ponder and reminisce, Memory is not a chair for you to read a book in or relax in front of the TV, but rather boldly is designed to make you do nothing but think! With upward angled arm rests and a straight back, sitting in it is akin to sitting in a lotus position, but much more comfortable. Great looking, fun but serious…I want this chair!
The trend to use furniture to slow down and insulate yourself against the speed of modern life continued on Bla Station (Sweden) with ‘Koja’ by Fredrik Mattson, a beautiful high backed chair (and sofa) mixing hand-crafted solid ash with soft fabrics and pillows. Koja continues a trend started by Bla Station with their earlier offering ‘Peekaboo’ which sought to block out the exterior bustle through shielding the sitter. Koja achieves the same effect by creating a soft, autonomous space separate from the outside noise…comfortable, stylish, clever!
While Gervasoni (Italy) decided to accent their whites with colour and headed the trend for white monotone combinations.
However top of our list has to be Porro (Italy) who showcased their ‘Black&White’ collection by Front - a stunning series of white cabinets designed with super skinny black line facades. And with a touch of perverse genius, they saw fit to cover their showroom windows with blue lighting gels and lit the interior with a cool blue glow – highlighting the true flexibility of this years colour of choice, as their whites absorbed and vibrated with differing tones and hues…brilliant!
We're packing our bags and heading to Milan for the annual design marathon that is the world's largest (and busiest) furniture fair.
