European Exhibitions
The big news at the European home furnishings shows this winter was color, translucent plastic, fruit-flavored color a la iMac.
It appears British designer Jonathan Ives’ vision for a "friendly" personal computer has transcended the office into all kinds of products for the home. From picture frames to occasional chairs, the look was fun, fresh and practically edible. Expect to see more orange, cherry, lime and blueberry Stateside in house-wares and more obvious applications like desks and desk chairs.
Incidentally, if Fruit-loops aren’t to your taste, we hope cobalt blue is. The mineral-like color was everywhere, particularly as an accent for high-tech, contemporary kitchen designs.
Along with color, iconic details lent a graphic quality to any number of products, including kitchen cabinets. The overarching trend is personalization and standing out from the mass. (We suspect a good many young designers were inspired by tattoo art and a body piercing or two).
Shape turned a corner too. Apparently, it’s hip to be square these days, or at the very least, rectangular. One trend that caught our eye was a cut-out effect, usually characterized by a small square drawer in the center of, say, a two-door cabinet. The look is definitely interesting and unexpected.
Given the emphasis on effective and ingenious use of space that Europe’s smaller houses and apartments demand, it’s not too surprising that functionality was top of mind in Cologne. Even so, we were wowed by a number of funked-up designs, including a lazy Susan for shoes (where has this been all our lives?) and a now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t tub and bathroom contained in wheeled trunks.
In terms of surface interest, the key words from Cologne to Paris where shimmer, luster and shine whether in textiles, glass or plastics. Texturally speaking, wovens continue to be important, particularly in leather.