The World's Best Furniture Brands at Salone Del Mobile 2016

The recently concluded world’s biggest event Milan Design Week was a grand success with over 372,151 total attendees.  The fair showcased new material, new designs and new trends. While you were able to catch a few latest updates, you would’ve missed some. Here’s what the world’s best European brands were really up to at the fair during the biggest week in design and interiors.

Herman Miller presented “The Double Dream of Spring,” an environmental installation by Michael Anastassiades during this year's Salone del Mobile. In the space, his elegant and spare Spot stools and Stasis tables for Herman Miller are shown in walnut and white oak paired with a carefully considered shade of brass lighting sculptures. These traditional works within a surrealist setting represent Anastassiades' distinct design aesthetic. 

Natuzzi made an indelible mark at the fair portraying themselves as the harmony-maker by bringing together objects and people in perfect harmony. Here are a few newbie on the pavilions at Milan:  The Herman sofa pays homage to Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick. The metal exterior support – resembling a fin through which it got its name is surrounded by both the backrest and the seat giving dynamism to the structure. This sofa combines harmony, design and craftsmanship playing cleverly with shape and size.  When it comes to dining, Leggero managed to catch attention of the viewers. It’s a collection by Victor Vasilev that focuses on formal lightness paying homage to the master of industrial design Giò Ponti. Beside, a special installation "Intro", signed by Natuzzi and Fabio Novembre within the exhibition "Rooms. Novel Living concepts" was a major attraction.  At their flagship store at Milan, Natuzzi presented ‘Soul Landscapes’, an exclusive event to celebrate the places that are home to the brand for 57 years and which inspire the creations. The picturesque setting of the Palazzo Caproni courtyard in Milan, home of the flagship store, was transformed for one evening into a hidden corner of Puglia, one of harmony and nature space in the heart of the city.

Tonin Casa chooses elegance as a key to dressing at the fair. The leather varieties which Tonin Casa chooses represent the concept of beauty, its strength and elasticity. The brand’s new collection included Rea coffee table, Spiga lights (with new finishes), dining tables, and bookshelves. 'Tweet' is a collection a shelves in different finishes - white and copper with wood, for books and little things that you don't want to allow to get away. Inspired by the design of a bird-cage, it's Tonin Casa's bold and fun way to enlivening up any room. The ceramic topped table is a design and production trend that's here to stay. Heat and scratch resistant, there are advancements in developing these; you’ll see a metallic sheen on this Tonin Casa dining table, with a bent wood base. Harmony and elegance of a venetian evoke the splendor of Venice through a Venetian designed bed Veneziano.

Alf Italia: Wrapped in Italian goodness, Alf came up with new designs, new tones, new colours and collection. It launched Cartalegno, the new collection of cabinets designed by the Milanese designer banner of versatility and colour. Three models in the catalog, declined in as many different formats starting from a horizontal dresser reaching the vertical cupboard, in a refined game of details and color combinations. All models can be made in white, yellow and gray. Also, who said designers must never cut corners? Alf cabinet has edges cut with new wood tones and colours that marry beautifully. The only brand with the beauty of Italian designs that bridge old and new.

Leolux: The brand attracted many passer-bys this year. The highlights from the pavilion include Guadalupe sofa, black-white fabric "Parables" designed by artist Coen Blankwaard for the art version of the Leolux' classic Parabolica and art and the Leolux world. The Parabolica was the most attractive designs from Leolux. It is a manifestation of the designer’s flashback on his own art-history. The designs on the upholstery tell parables of the artist in black and white. The chair has deep meaning - A man, his backbone and zipper, an open heart experiencing the world, the hole in his shoe. The leather outer of the sofa encompasses the canvas, the character. Moreover, the new Guadalupe received earlier this year, a red dot award. Other new collection include: Azzurro, Indra, bora balanza. German artist and illustrator Olaf Hajek has provided Leolux with expressive paintings for more than three years. He invokes nature to portray his personal vision of the world of Leolux. The customer as a bird that feathers its nest with the most beautiful little things referring to the freedom that Leolux offers for creating a space that is full of warmth, beauty and comfort.

Bonaldo had icing on the cake as it celebrated its 80^th anniversary at Milan. The brand presented an extensive range of new products including - Hulahoop, the new family of tables designed by Alessandro Busana; the young and modern "Piers" accessory designed by Roberto Paoli; Blazer Sofa that completes the furnishing offering of the Blazer family seating designed by Mauro Lipparini. When it comes to bedside lighting, there’s a new meaning to it with light beneath the darkness. Motifs are back in a big way, but as boxed combination or geometric patterns, as can be seen on the Bonaldo console. Alvar bed by designer Giuseppe Viganò for Bonaldo has many moods and is available in a range of premium leather and fabric colours. The Almond table by Gino Carollo with thick top contrasts thin diamond-shaped metal base. Bonaldo booth was selected as one of the most beautiful stand at the Salone del Mobile.

Fama caught the attention of the passer bys with Kangou fabric sofa, AdapTable Coffee table cum dining table with a button, and Arianne Love in a new burst of colours. Other pieces that sat in the pavilion include Pacific, Valentina, MyNest. Lot of pastel colours were seen in the booth remising the colour trends.

Calligaris had its flagship store at Milan. The historical Italian brand unveiled its new collection at the design week like every year. This year it amazed the audience with its strong contrasts - tables, chairs, carpets, cupboards and above all sofas. The contrast being, wood triumphs in darker shades, here and there punctuated by warm, saturated colors, with a touch in pastel shades. But there is even a light wood, with lines that refer to the Nordic style approached bold shades that characterize the colorful and contemporary design of the brand. One of the most attentions catching products was the round table with novel mechanism solving space and guest issues when the need arises. Calligaris proposed new high-impact models in which the bases become, each time in a different way, singular object of creativity. Like the fun Paper table, light and colorful, the two rectangular tables Ponente and Eclipse, the suspended table on glass base flight, imagined by Roberto Paoli, or the round extensible Tivoli, born from the creativity Calligaris team with Edi and Paolo Ciani. Annie, Igloo and Stockholm and the delicate family of Palm stools also were the works of Edi and Paolo Ciani. Dondoli and Pocci instead sign the varied collection of chairs and stools Bahia organic shape and exotic feel. The new furniture collection also includes magnificent cupboards, evolution of the old dispensation - Adam, Secret and opera - and practical coffee tables, characterized by young and informal spirit: Tweet, yarn and Upside.

NicolettiHome made a deep impression at Salone with its world of colours presenting a string of new colours and products. To name a few: Domus, Francy, and Allure. Domus Blue meaning -trust and security. Francy White meaning - purity, wholeness and completion. Allure Red meaning - energy, passion and action. Unlike the Serena sofa, Nicoletti this year has a single seater or chaise lounge Serena. Comfort in motion. Virgo sofa is another creation with primary shapes that combine comfort with lightness. This sofa balances between subtle design features and maximum essential appeal. Three new comfortable solutions and three new interpretations of living space: 

Zuma - The contemporary image of upholstered furniture in the utmost composition versatility. 

Celine - The sofa balances between subtle design features and maximum essential appeal. 

Puzzle - A solution that interprets free and informal lifestyles, expressed in a broad variety of layouts. 

Mover – A sofa with a technological innovation to support Italian style. It’s a unique combination of quality, technology and innovative design. Two tones, extraordinary comfort, impeccable proportions were the distinct features in the creations. 

Koinor: The fair was a stage for the world premiere of a unique sofa concept by Koinor. Free Motion is a family sofa that's for the individual. It allows you to not just recline at the touch of a button, but also move laterally, closer to (or further away from) the person next to you controlled by a remote. It offers complete newest dimension in seating, lounging and living. Other sofas include Lazzy in grey, Houston in blue wood, Evia, Francis and Swan recliner.

Mario Cioni: The brand showcased their latest collection inspired by ‘Neoclassic’ era of design. Its signature collection featuring handmade crystal accessories has been the centre of attraction for a long time. One of the exhibits was Harry’s glassware designed as a revisited classic, the thickness and the necessary weight, needed for the traditional whisky tumbler, is lightened with cuts and etchings that play with the colour of the drink, creating improbable iridescent ghosts. These have a unique shape in seven different designs to create your own personal collection. Another exhibit range was Luxe Bowl. Luxé bowl is the result of a modern reinterpretation of the fruit-stand which adorned the sumptuous Renaissance banquets of the Medici court. Tondo Doni the most innovative collection from Mario Cioni & Co. coined its name from the famous painting by Michelangelo – Tondo Doni that revolutionized the Renaissance painting art was also in the exhibit list. Apart from the signature collections, Mario Cioni also showcased its acclaimed creations like Persephone, a vase which, despite its impressive size, fascinates by the ethereal lightness of its forms, Katana, Brucomela and Lucescultura. Lucescultura exalts the symbiotic relationship between crystal and light. Each Mario Cioni & Co.’s pieces are born from the studying of the effect produced from the light exposition. With Lucescultura, the company looks forward, making from the source of light an absolute element of the creation.

Varier: The brand showcased its iconic products in Variable Balans and Gravity Balans in different colours. The Move chair with a rounded base tilts in smooth, gentle movements making it easy to balance as well as supporting an upright and dynamic posture.

These new designs, colours and materials could also make their home in your living space. Why don’t you start making a wish list. Visit: http://simplysofas.in/