Chair of the Day: Cielo Armchair

Arthur and I toured the Satellite pavilion this afternoon. It’s an area dedicated to young designers and students. The term Satellite comes from its former home, a round building, which looked a lot like Sputnik. Anyway, it was here that I found one of my most favorite chairs of the entire show.

The Cielo Armchair was designed by Mikiya Kobayashi, who graduated from Musashino Art University in 2005. It’s made of rattan and painted steel, and is wonderfully delicate and comfortable. It has a smaller scale, which I found to be lovely and absolutely refreshing. I loved the use of color, too.

Kobayashi is looking for a company to produce his design. I wish him the very best of luck. He’s a young designer to keep an eye on.

Greetings From The Fun House

The city of Milan moved the Salone to a vast, specially built facility two years ago. It’s enormous and a completely overwhelming. It’s become so huge that there is no possible way to see everything you’d like. You’re forced to edit carefully.

Then there is the massive sea of humanity. I love a crowd – especially one that’s in a festive mood. But I couldn’t believe the number of people who were at the fair today. Perhaps the fact that today is Friday was a factor. I don’t know. Truthfully, every day has been jam-packed. For example, the kitchen exhibition, comprised of 4 buildings, was so crowded I could barely squeeze through. The sensory overload, mixed with very long, jet-lagged days has left me a bit weary.

The good news is that I‚Äôm returning with so much news and information that I have enough to keep me busy writing all next week. I promise lots and lots of posts. We had some Internet access difficulties, which threw my usually carefully Read More…

Chair of the Day: Mobles 114′s Om Chair

I’ve seen so many chairs in the last couple of days my head is spinning. And my feet are a little sore. But, I’m ceaseless in my never-ending search for just the right Chair of the Day. Therefore, I’ve chosen The Om Chair, designed by Martin Azua for Mobles 114.

The soft wool-covered chair makes a nice side chair. But truthfully, it was really comfortable and I could have taken a nap in it. Chair design is a lot more complicated than some would think. This was proven time and again throughout my chair-sampling day. So for now I’m succumbing to my baser instincts – the need for real comfort after a long day on one’s feet.

Trends from Milan: Square Tables

I hadn’t expected to see this the first day here at Salone, but square tables were everywhere. Large, square dining tables. Or for meetings, some were placed side by side to form a large rectangle – more suitable for conferences. I love the trend. The materials varied widely – from wood, to marble, to laminate. I particularly liked one from Porro, which was white with a lovely base. Another from Porro was marble, but also comes with a wood top. Not my favorite. But the trend is definitely there. Here’s a look at what we saw.

Rimadesio‘s marble-topped table.

White Synopsis table with lovely criss-cross of legs from Porro.

Ferro-Lissoni from Porro

I loved everything from Heron Parigi - here a powder-coated steel table

Toea table, from Bellato, in wood and also laminate materials.

Another beauty from Rimadesio. Perfect in its simplicity.

It may create some problems in a traditional dining room. But it’s a break from the round dining tables. The crispness of the square is something new, and makes for an easier conversation at a dinner party. What do you think of this trend?

Zazzeri

Italian company, Zazzeri, manufactures impeccable kitchen and bathroom faucets. This photo was taken at their Salone booth three years ago. Orange was the color of the day and we were just beginning to see Carrera marble. Both are now quite the thing over here in the US. I’m so excited to see the new trends.

See you in Milan!