Interesting and new from Maison et Objet 2012

The new collection from Ligne Roset at Maison et Objet shows a continuation of the felt trend:

With the launch of his new collection Eclectic Tom Dixon (above) affirms his love for copper (which is also one of my favorite materials).

I liked the elegance of Cheese platter (above) by Claudio Colucci at the 'Cheeeeese!' Exhibition and the coziness of Fernando and Humberto Campana's table lamp "Amanita" for Alessi (below):

4-in-1 furniture for children at IMM Cologne

 At first it is both a cradle for baby and a rocking-chair for parents, combined into one. As the child grows the cradle can be rotated 180° and turns  into a children's bed with a length of 140 cm.

Rocky is exactly the modern type of furnitute most parents will choose for their child - it adapts to the growth and needs of an active child and is made of high-quality & ecologically worthwhile materials. 

Producer - jäll & tofta

LivingInteriors

is the IMM Cologne’s new event for experiencing the world of interior design which puts the focus on bathrooms, floors,walls and lighting.

 "The new concept is a consistent further development in the imm cologne's evolution as an interior design fair. With LivingInteriors we will achieve a new dimension in the combination of business and event," says Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse. "Taking the products as the starting point, furniture, bathrooms, floors, walls and elements like lighting merge into a complete spatial experience and thus become part of the architecture...The event spaces will offer visitors a mix of relaxation, fascination, experience and inspiration. We will show how the interaction between individual products can result in entire room concepts"

Geberit bathroom

 

 

Another Glimpse at IMM Colone 2012

While waiting for the news from the opening tomorrow of one of the most important interior design fairs of the year - IMM Colone 2012 - we can have a preliminary glimpse at what's already known to be exhibited there:

brühl & sippold GmbH - Sofa: "Avec Plaisir" which wined Interior Innovation Award 2012:

 

Walter Knoll’s new swivel Bao armchair:

 

Leolux Meubelfabriek GmbH

Sofa: "Arabella" 

Great advertising photos

This is definitely a great advertising photo set! Konstantin Grcic is not only one of the most famous contemporary industrial designers (who visited Bulgaria this summer for Sofia Design Week and I was lucky to get an interview from him), but obviously he has also very good marketing talents, too. Design art news have published several very impressive photos of his new PRO chair for Flötotto, designed to support the user’s freedom of movement by allowing various sitting positions.

We should give Oliviero Toscani credits for these beautiful dinamic photos, too. But they say it all - the new chair is versatile, stable and comfortable not only in schools, but also in the office or at home. Its plastic shell is made of 100% polypropylene, available in 6 colours: snow white, graphite black, granite grey, aqua blue, coral red and kiwi green. Five different frame designs include C frame (for use in schools) made of tubular steel, four-legged frames in tubular steel or wood, sled base frame in tubular steel, height-adjustable 5-star swivel base frame (with castors).

The worldwide launch of PRO chair will take place at IMM Cologne, January 16 - 21, 2012.
There is a very interesting interview with K. Grcic in the last issue of Domus, where everyone who wants to know the story behind the design and production of the new chair can find detailed information.

IMM Cologne 2012 - Preview

There is a new format for depicting interior design trends at this year's IMM Cologne (January 16-22) - The premiere of  "Das Haus - Interiors on Stage" installation by Doshi Levien:

 "Koelnmesse sees the "Das Haus - Interiors on Stage" format launched for the imm cologne 2012 as part designer portrait, part living laboratory, where the current trends in interior design can be depicted in three dimensions and the guest designer can formulate a statement on his own very personal idea of a perfect home... "We're interested in interior design that's ahead of our time, but not so far ahead that nobody understands it. That's particularly important to us," says Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse, of her expectations of the project. 
Doshi Levien solved the challenge of creating a very personal living space scenography with visionary character in the midst of the trade fair by coming up with "a culmination of spaces from all over the world - some of them taken from memory, some of them from dreams". The prominent London duo's constructed dream is widely regarded as one of the highlights of the next international interior design fair that will be taking place in Cologne from 16th to 22nd January." via

Some of the products that we shall see there:

Müller Möbelfabrikation

Rukotvorine -

WAVE cabinet

WAVE table

Customized Living

Customization is one of the most popular trends in the last years - creating your own unique look for the things that surround you is a great possibility to express yourself and more and more companies offer customized and personalized products. As an interior designer I am very much pleased with the possibility to choose a rug  and customize it to literally any color combination, size and shape required - carpets are an important part of our interiors and this allows us to implement exactly the color scheme we want for a certain room. We can also use the rug as a way to unite all the colors in a room in the most suitable pattern and style.  

 I have many publications dedicated to this trend and the above abstract is from my post Customization trend: Create your Own Rug. Now I am very pleased to find that  “Customized Living” is a keynote theme at
DOMOTEX 2012. I am eager to see more photos from the event which takes place from 14 to 17 January 2012 and will showcase design trends in carpets, home textiles, resilient floor coverings, parquet and laminates. For those of you who are curious to learn what are the latest trends in carpet design, here below is an abstract from their preliminary publication:

The choice of floor covering is
often the inspiration behind the
interior designer’s whole concept.
A carpet is the unifying design
element which brings together
room decor and furniture
to create an individually styled
living space.

 This trend towards individual, unique style statements – customized living as it is often called – has a massive influence and opens up
new opportunities in personal interior design. Carpets allow almost unlimited possibilities due to the sheer diversity of materials, colours and shapes, not to mention custommade
products. Fashion trends areplaying an increasing role in carpetdesign. Consequently, in the 2012 season we will see lots of bold colour– pink, mustard yellow, cobalt blue, leaf green, turquoise, petroland rust – separately or as blockcolours, but also in funky, colourful combinations. In short, modern carpetsare an attractive and eyecatching design statement.

The  sustainability and “green living” trend applies to flooring, too. There are numerous  materials suited to this trend in flooring and home, such as undyed Himalayan (Tibetan) wool,
hemp, plant fibres and yarns from cacti as well as patterns based on natural forms and images which can
be used in carpets. Countless patterns, shapes and textures are inspired by nature. The natural theme is not simply expressed by the use of environment-friendly fibres and colours, but also by the use of natural images in carpets and rugs.

Interior Design Trends 2012

Happy New year 2012! Let it be better than 2011 and let there be more love and satisfaction - in everything we do!

Usually at this time of the year we are trying to fugure out what expects us, how would the new year look like and for us, designers and design-lovers, what design trends will be most influential?

For sure Green design is one of the most important trends - it’s not surprise, this trend is becoming more and more popular, especially with increasing availability of eco-friendly materials and products, because green interior design not only helps us to create  healthier homes, but also to contribute to a sustainable way of living as a whole. And now we have made the next step -  the rising trend for green roofs and kitchen gardens.. It is interesting that the trend for growing one's own food is expanding into the restaurant business and into the urban community where community gardens are becoming increasingly common.

It appears that tough economic times have taught us some necessary lessons - we are rearranging the list of our values and  improvements in interior design and architecture are taking place to enable even the smallest places to be used efficiently. Some less used spaces are disappearing thus giving more room for more functional spaces.  

An important manifestation of the green trend is the use of resource-efficient features like low-flow faucets, low-E windows, powerful insulation and natural choices and eco-consciousness for furnishing for our homes. A natural and rustic feel with a lot of wood, often unfinished, is becoming more and more popular.

From decoration point of view, it is a good choice that Pantone have made for a color of the year 2012 - Tangerine Tango. Hopefully,  it will successfully play the role of a visual anti-depressant offering some sunshine for a grim economy and help us overcome the gloomy moods, rejuvenate ourselves and our lives.

And, speaking about moods, there is another interesing trend - "A cultural, social and consumer rebooting of all things 90s", according to The Future Laboratory these are "Trends,...designed to reassure, reassess and remind us of things that settle the senses, lull the emotions and refresh the spirits."

Obviously, we need that and design is probably one of the best tools to make the change. With the help of vivid chues, huge patterns, coloured lights, sparkle and glitz luxury slowly returns in interior design, but this is a more resrained, conscious luxury without the exuberance and unnecessary abundance.

My personal hope and believe is that along with green design ingenious designs and new technologhies will help this change most.

Merry Christmas!

Clever design

 I am impressed with the ingenuity of this design! It is a modular object composed of two X shapes that works independently or arranged in a series. Designer Xiaoxi Shi  has created it by cutting three triangular areas from a single sheet of stainless steel, the sheet is bent into form and the two end points are welded together. And I totally agree with what Designose.com have published about it:

" A deserving winner of the 2011 red dot design concept award, the X Plus table was conceived as a functional sculpture for contemporary living spaces."