Salone del Mobile
16th June 2022
By Josh Bunter
Image credit: Andrea Mariani
Milan Design Week is a pinnacle event in the design industry, featuring the world's leading furniture, lighting, soft furnishings, and art brands showcasing their latest collections. The 60th edition of the Salone del Mobile was held this year at the massive Rho Fiera exhibition hall, after pandemic-related delays. The event is divided into two parts: the Milan International Furniture Fair and the Fuorisalone. The furniture fair spans 24 large halls and displays top design brands, while the Fuorisalone, hosts a calendar of events and exhibitions across the city's four design districts, showcasing decadent showrooms in Brera, Zona, Tortona and Isola. One exciting aspect of the show was the inclusion of kitchen displays, which is not typically featured annually and is personally my favourite part of the show.
Milan Design Week brings the city to life and it’s easy to see why it’s a leading hub for design. Sharing the calendar with Milan’s men’s fashion week, the Salone’s presence added an extra buzz around the city and it became immediately apparent to me that I had slightly underdressed for the occasion! The attention to detail showcased by each brand was impressive and I was constantly filled with inspiration, capturing plenty of photos to ensure that no ideas were forgotten.
Our team at Cullen Homes attended Milan Design Week for four days to see the latest design trends and gather inspiration for future projects. We had a jam-packed itinerary and a tight schedule to make the most of the vast show. Our trip started by exploring the city’s main design districts, visiting stores of high-end companies like Antoniolupi, Rimadesio, Arredo3, Freeform, Italgraniti and Siematic, where we finished our evening with an invite-only champagne event. Having used some of these brands across our developments, it was great to see their latest innovation and trends that we could incorporate into our upcoming projects.
The next few days were spent in the halls of the Milan International Furniture Fair and despite being warned about the show’s size, my expectations were well exceeded. The inspiration we took from the show was endless, allowing us to bring back new ideas to implement into our upcoming developments. The show is a crucial component in constantly improving aesthetics and design of our homes. I was particularly impressed with the wall finishes throughout the show, which included large format tiles, limewash paint, microcement and louvres, not leaving a single wall with standard paint. The use of lined features was also prominent throughout kitchens, vanity units, ironmongery and tiles leaving us with many ideas to bring to upcoming projects.
Overall, Milan Design Week is an incredible event that showcases creativity and innovation at its finest. It assists us as a team to continually challenge the status quo and deliver on our philosophy to design and craft beautiful spaces that inspire and enhance lifestyles. It’s an excellent place to find inspiration for future projects and I often find myself revisiting my photos from the show to draw on ideas. I look forward to visiting again in the future to see how design trends evolve.