01 Aug Salone del Mobile day five
When you feel like you can’t absorb any more information and your brain isn’t able to grasp anything you see, and added to this is a numb pain in your limbs, you would rather not get out of the soft, fluffy bed of your hotel room. We started our last day with this burst of enthusiasm, where no fewer steps were planned than in our previous days.
We spent our closing day in the maze of pavilions, so we set off early in the morning to get to know as many products as possible until closing. During the exhibition, Euroluce, where visitors can become familiar with the novelties of lighting technology, alternates every two years with EuroCucina, where they can get to know the world of cuisine in more detail.
This year revolved around the realm of cuisine, so we also chose our favourites, whom we had already known, but who came up with fascinating novelties, or who we had not yet met, but who had stolen our hearts with their wonderful product range and detailed elaboration.
We look forward to working together on projects.
The Spanish brand J’DIAS was a real surprise for us; with its beautifully crafted fine details, unique and special solutions and curved designs, it can become a central element of every space.
The Outdoor Kitchen offers perfect solutions for outdoor kitchen variations, whether it’s a mini-kitchen installed on an apartment balcony or a full-featured, multi-functional design kitchen, which can be the continuation of the interior space for a pleasant dinner with friends in warm summer evenings.
Arrital’s drawer organisers are the perfect complement to functional kitchen storage, which is elaborated to the finest detail. In Cesar’s kitchens, special emphasis is placed on the fine mixing of various elegant materials.
After such a round, of course, we also got hungry, so we moved on after a quick breakfast, so that we could get to know the novelties of other areas, too. We have seen an incredible number of miracles throughout the day, and from this we are taking you on a short tour, highlighting the ones that are most important to us.
In the first round, we would like to give you a quick insight into the world of sanitary ware. A great novelty of Gessi was the Origini product line, where everything from wall mixer taps to shower sets can be found, thus keeping perfect harmony in our home. The product forms a perfect unit along the lines of rigidity and softness, lightness and strength, transforms colours into characters, and creates a harmonious whole by mixing materials and surfaces. In replaceable inserts, the graphics and the play of shiny and matte return, giving the user countless combinations to accompany their home with the same product line, but still in a slightly different way.
Antonio Lupi’s name has already been fused with the revolution of the bathroom environment, the combination of innovation and tradition, and the use of natural and modern materials.
Designed by Brian Sironi, the Rigo electric towel dryer line is a product of wonderfully thought-out linear elements, where it is worth paying attention to fine details such as the rounded ends that soften the linear design.
Another big favourite of ours is the Wave washbasin dreamed up by Fuksas Design Studio, with the special feature of being almost weightless as a result of its name, and its fluid lightness was realized from the most solid material, marble.
Leaving the sanitary ware and turning to the world of design coverings, you cannot neglect the Lithea brand. The Sicilian company combines its passion for various stone materials (lava stone, pumice stone, Porto marble and white Carrara marble) with ancient knowledge, resulting in these rare beauty textures thanks to sophisticated and innovative manufacturing processes.
With the three-dimensional character and variability of the Maioliche di pietra collection of modular volcanic stone tiles dreamed up by Martinelli Venezia, we can create a unique composition in every space.
In the field of furniture, alongside the many brands that had already been known to us and had been used for a long time, we were looking for novelties and really special solutions, and this is how we found the Imperfettolab brand, who design their objects and furniture inspired by the imperfections of the raw materials. Sketches made on paper are experimented with, designed and prepared in their own laboratory with the involvement of fine artists and then tested by the youngest members of the family business.😊With its strong, compact legs and clean geometry, the Arché chair can become a decoration of the room as a piece of complete artwork. The Bioma bench is reminiscent of bark, but following it in all its waves, it forms a solid yet lightweight unit, creating a balance between nature and craft.
Secolo is a great master at creating iconic pieces, where traditional taste goes hand in hand with contemporary turns, creating subtly playful pieces, like the Tateyama sofa. The soft curved and unusual shape of the sofa shows a friendly and comfortable image, and thanks to the metal belt supporting the backrest and the gap there, it perfectly communicates and opens up to the other directions of the room, thus ensuring a great social experience for the space.
For Nature Design, the 100% recovery of natural materials and the use of ancient architectural timber are the most important, preserving all their original properties and enhancing the charm of time. The company uses the beams of demolished buildings and gives them new life, sometimes in a rustic or elegant form. The Lymph table is a series of organic shaped surfaces, and thanks to its soft and fluid nature, a truly cheerful space element is created. The Il Murrano table is characterized by handicrafts, where secular timber is given new life, preserving the character of time and complementing it with Murano glass sheets.
The De Castelli brand faithfully restores the special role of metal in design, giving handicraft ideas and working to industrial processes. In infinite versions of iron, brass and copper, they come to the centre of homes with a completely renewed stage appearance, so that they can shine again in their own light there. The Ori is a true pearl in the world of pouffes, dreamed up as delicate jewellery, only amplified by the concave shape and softened by the delicacies of craftsmanship.
In addition to durable, hard raw materials, the appearance of fine, soft carpets in the homes is essential, which nowadays also stand their ground as stand-alone design products (as artistic carpets or hanging wall elements).
The unique collaboration of the Jov brand with Studiopepe has resulted in a truly unique collection. Landshapes is a dynamic world of forms, where organic textures meet the graphic approach, and unique combinations of colours and textures circulate freely.
The handmade carpets of the cc-tapis provide a real aesthetic experience with the participation of big contemporary design names such as Odd Matter, Edoardo Piermattei and Mae Engelgeer. Their collections include Architectural, which uses love and creative rigour for lines typical of architecture; Oldie, which has a slightly retro taste, paired with an ancient and past atmosphere; and the Signature collection, which offers indeterminate, irregularly contoured carpets with a dash of style.
Perfectly chosen unique accessories complete that special experience, where sculpture-like works of art, which are so close to our hearts, come to the fore, thus finding the Editions Milano and Bitossi brands.
The main aspect of both companies is to allow the materials to be revealed, to leave them in full purity, but in the meantime to turn them into everyday objects.
Each product tells a story, has a meaning and, like in the past, inheritance can once again be given an important role thanks to the durability of Florence porcelain, Lombardy mouth-blown lead glass and marbles from Ligurian caves.
Before our journey home, we planned to end our day by pleasantly cooling off, so we visited SaloneSatellite in Pavilion 1, the mission of which is to facilitate market access and recognition for those under 35 years of age. Designers may apply for the exhibition on condition that they apply with a product that has not yet been manufactured or placed on the market, that is, they present an unreleased prototype. And since the idea of our dear, former colleague, Tímea Nikházy, was also selected, there was no question of where to start.
Unfortunately, the exhibition was approaching the closing time, so we only had time for a few fresh designers, thus, after the Infinite Garden, we looked at the organic furniture of Beirut designer Fadi Yachoui and the lighting sculptures of Mirei made from sustainable material. After that, all we had to do was get our luggage and, waving goodbye with a sore heart, we set out to the airport.
See you next year, Milan! 😊
