The Salone del Mobile: For many insiders, the Milan design fair is THE trend barometer

From the 17th to the 22nd of April, it was time again: The Salone del Mobile opened its doors and hosts of international buyers, designers, architects, journalists, design fans and the stars of social media stormed the Milan Exhibition Center. The fashion metropolis of Milan has long since become a design mecca, and the Salone del Mobile is regarded by industry insiders as the most important design fair worldwide. Thus it’s no wonder that alliances are being forged between the furniture and fashion industry. An absolute eye-catcher is the now expanded cooperation between the fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana and the kitchen appliance manufacturer Smeg. The colorful world of the Italian design duo pours over the entire Smeg range and colorful and wildly patterned refrigerators, electric kettles, cooker hoods come out.

The colorful world of Italian design duo Dolce & Gabbana pours over the entire Smeg range

But not only the exhibition center Rho Fiera Milano attracts attention during the Salone del Mobile. The whole city wooed by the fad of this ‘design happening’, which even calls for industries that have only little to do with design. Including the car brand Audi with a grand entrance in the middle of Milan’s city center. Luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Hermès rent elegant palazzi where they present their home collections. Even classic furniture brands such as the Scandinavian label Gubi have long recognized that it enhances media attention when – instead of in one of the exhibition halls – you present your own collection in the dignified ambience of a palazzo. Bottega Veneta has been showing its home collection in the 18th-century Palazzo Gallarati Scotti on Via Borgospesso for three years now. I can only recommend a trip to this extravagant location to any Milan visitor.

Bottega Veneta has been showing its home collection in the 18th-century Palazzo Gallarati Scotti on Via Borgospesso for three years now

The special feature of these palazzi is not only the sumptuous furnishings: ceilings decorated with stucco, Baroque paintings, lavish décor, impressive Murano chandeliers are the witnesses of a bygone era, at the doors of which ordinary visitors usually knock in vain. These venues – some still privately owned or under the supervision of foundations – are often open to the public only during special events. State apartments, like the one shown here, always put me under a very special spell. With the result that they unfortunately distract one (me ;-)) from the essentials. Because something new, groundbreaking or even award worthy was not to be discovered at the exhibitors.

The Scandinavian label Gubi at the private Palazzo Serbelloni

Parallel to the Salone del Mobile, the parallel event Fuori Salone takes place in the area around Via Tortona, where international designers present their designs. Here former factory and warehouses, hidden backyards and lofts become temporary exhibition and party locations. The event has now cult status and resembles a promising contact exchange: Here, quite a few young talents have been hired by established designers right from the spot.

Appaloosa: The newest member of the luxury bed-collection by Hästens

Every two years – including 2018 – EuroCucina will be showing the latest kitchen trends. And the Salone del Bagno presented the novelties in the bathroom area. Both in the kitchen and in the bathroom – as in previous years – wood was clearly the trend material. So the solid wood kitchen is no exception. Very chic I find the relaxed look, in which wood is combined with marble or natural stone. Let’s start with EuroCucina: While German manufacturers such as Nolte and Leicht are following this trend rather hesitantly, there is no one among the predominantly Italian suppliers who work without wood. The fingerprint-absorbing glossy front does not even play a minor role. Wood is clearly the star, from which companies like Team7 or Riva1920, which have always bet on the natural material, profit. And gladly rough and haptic in the natural tone of the respective wood species. The classic marble colors black and white, but also green or brown conquer the kitchen world. And that looks mega (!!!) chic.

I found that to be an eye-catcher: Futuristic bookshelf – of course made of wood – on a rough concrete look (by Mogg)

Conclusion Salone del Mobile:

Although the 57th Salone del Mobile – with 1,841 exhibitors in 22 halls and 434,509 visitors – reported a plus of 17%, the innovative was lacking. Wood is an indispensable part of the bathroom and kitchen. Star designer Matteo Thun, who designed the ‘Icon’ table for Riva1920, told me: “Wood is the answer to the loveless minimalist design of the 90s.” I think he’s right.  BvH

At the Riva1920 stand there was a lot of traffic as in previous years. The table tops – giants from old wood roots, which are elaborately salvaged and processed – were a highlight

The new sofas

The manufacturers still rely on shades of green and velvet as material as to be seen at the both of Poliform

Curved velvet charme by Marelli

Flexform sofa design with colored piping

Italian sofa expert Baxter presented a collection of suede leather

Wrinkled designs from Laura Meroni

XXL sofa in shades of gray from Meridiani

Sofas in all shapes: Oval – here from Living Divani, curved, L-shaped or round

Classic sofa design – like this one from Gervasoni – was more the exception

Minotti showed on his 70th anniversary on large screens the diversity of its collection

In the meantime one needs a little break, out in the sun

Not much new in the Milanese design firmament

The industrial look for the kitchen…

…reinterpreted by Diesel Living

Even the modern kitchen look (by AR-TRE Cucine) does not stay without wood

Arrivederci hob: Here the hotplate is integrated directly into the marble worktop

Kitchens are gray now

The country kitchen (by Snaidero) celebrates a comeback…

…gladly in combination with natural stone such as marble (kitchen by Häcker)…

…and in shades of gray. Kitchen by Cucine Lube

Revival of the country style presented by Scavolini: I like it!

Practical: Extractors – as here from Siemens – are directly integrated in the ceramic hob

Beautiful, oval dining table with round marble base by Roche Bobois, Paris

The latest bathroom trends

The industrial look also conquers the bathroom as here from fashion designer Diesel for Scavolini

Bathroom impressions from Cielo…

…also with industrial chic

I like this oval mirrors very much…

Bathroom fittings now show their colors: Washbasins in blue-gray, pale pink, slate gray or chocolate brown (by Cielo)

I find the bidet and toilet very elegant in this stone gray

Many dream about it: The view from the bed to the bathtub

Integrated gym in the bathroom: “Gym Space” by Mattia Pareschi

Impressive exhibition stand with a green inner courtyard at Poliform

A view into the old palazzi

The Scandinavian label Gubi presented its collection in the dignified ambience of a palazzo:

The Palazzo Serbelloni…

…with a fairytale ambiance…

At the Palazzo Bovara, the Italian Elle Decor curated the exhibition “On Life – Millennials at Home” with more than 40 design partners and Google as main sponsor. The question was asked how the Generation Y of “digital natives” shapes its domestic life

In the courtyard of Palazzo Bovara, Elle Decor designed this magnificent, temporary garden

Louis Vuitton also presented the collection “Objets Nomades” in the dignified rooms of a Milanese palazzo …

…including these two seat models in wicker look

Hermès is now designing tiles and presenting a colorful range of tiles in a Moroccan look. The large tiled halls provided the background for selected pieces of the new home collection. Very cool!

Contact Salone del Mobile

salonemilano.it

More MyStylery design- and interior stories you can find here.

The post News from the Salone del Mobile appeared first on My Stylery.

The high-rise buildings at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin

The Berlin skyscrapers at Potsdamer Platz remind Karim El-Barbari of his former home in New York City and that motivated the designer to move to the heart of the German capital after a 20 year interval. New York, Milan, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, London and Hamburg – the man with the exotic name (father Egyptian, mother from Saarland) has hardly left out a metropolis. Six years ago, the apartment with a view of Berlin’s nascent skyline only served as a storage for his household effects. Since then, the designer transformed it into a colourful living space composed of objects that have been taken of many periods: 18th century, French 1930’s and 1940’s, Bauhaus and pieces of the 1970’s. There was no single inch omitted.

Baroque armchairs and acrylic tables by Kartell – get the mix

Interior Designer Karim El-Barbari

MyStylery: Quiz: What is the secret behind the numeric code 8022 and 6013?
Karim El-Barbari (laughs): Two of my favourite RAL colours: 8022-Black brown, which I use instead of a true black, just as the ceiling of the kitchen and 6013-light reed green as the walls in my living room. My motto: People if you dare – more audacity to colour!

Karim El-Barbari combined China Cabinets and European antiques

MS: For that the apartment only served as a storage space, the location is rather exclusive…
KEB: That’s true. When I moved here the entire building was empty and no one wanted to move to this at the time No-Man’s-Land. At the beginning I only used the kitchen and the bedroom when I was in Berlin, a city I only barely knew. Then, one morning, when coming back from a trip to the US, I was overcome by a desire and began to unpack all of the boxes. I hung up paintings and unrolled carpets. Many of these things belonged to my parents, such as the Venini and Lalique vases or the porcelain by Rosenthal and Meissen.

Never alone: Vases by Venini, Lalique, Alexander Lamont, Meissen, Rosenthal Studio Line (vintage). The art is by Max Mertz

El-Barbari bought the brown sideboard in the Paris Galerie Vallois. The black bronze vases are from Alexander Lamont

MS: Is this your tip, not just to place one vase but immediately a whole bunch?
KEB: It’s a trick I learned from a famous interior designer in New York. You should always choose an uneven number, just like the seven Sistrah lamps hanging over my dining table. Only three of them are connected, but I felt that seven of them would look much cooler.

Persian rugs, everywhere you look. They all come from El-Barbaris parents

The golden lampstand is by Maison Jansen, the legendary tastemaker of the 20th century, now a rare collector’s item

“Antlers with garden Goblin” by Patrick Kroner over the linoleic print “Growing Up” by Berlin artist Oliver Kroll

MS: You mix Louis XVI chairs with chairs from the Bauhaus. You even find a spot for the “antlers with garden goblin” by placing them above a modern painting.
KEB (laughs): Oh, the antlers… well… At first, I put the antlers up there to remind me that I should never buy art just because it would help an artist friend. But over time, I actually started to like them as they have a fun sense of humor. Basically I follow Pippi Longstocking’s mantra: I am making my world as I like it.

El-Barbari placed the China-table at which Jacky Kennedy once played in front of the sofa from the TV series “Sex and the City”

MS: Your apartment has many comfortable seating arrangements. Where is your favourite place to sit down?
KEB: I love chilling on the beige sofa, which I got a long time ago through a friend who worked on the stage design of the then unknown TV series “Sex and the City”. Before I have never heard from Carrie & Co and I initially thought it was a porn production. They had two of them and the other one ended up at the apartment of Miranda Hobbes.

Everyone has curtains anyways! Here screens darken the bedroom

MS: Did you always have a liking to apartments with opulent arrangements?
KEB: No. I once had an apartment in New York, which I only decorated with furniture by Mies van der Rohe, Mackintosh Chairs and other contemporary designers. At the time, I got inspired by the movie 9 ½ weeks starring Mickey Rouke and the apartment of his character. That was pure purism and it was so unbelievably uncomfortable. The apartment was very photogenic, but I constantly had to clean it up. Over the years, I became more of a collector, although I think that my next move will be into a more minimal-decorated space.

Also in the bedroom a bunch of Art: Works by Max Mertz and Andrulat Degenhardt in Petersburg hanging

MS: Did you always work in interior design?
KEB: I actually started out in the fashion industry. But when living in New York in the 1990’s, I had many friends who looked for certain pieces of furniture and others who wanted to sell things from their apartments. So I started to place and mix their collections into my apartment and sell them. This was a great experience and my first step towards a career in interior design. I still love doing it to this day.

So cool: the SMEG fridge in Brit-Chic

MS: Tell me a little bit about some of the things that you collected over the years.
KEB: For example the small chinese coffee table out of the 18th century once belonged to a New York friend of mine. As a kid she used to sit on it drawing and playing with her babysitter. And the Babysitter was Jacky Kennedy. My SMEG refrigerator in a brit-look also tells a story: When living in Milan, I passed it daily on my way to work, before I finally decided to buy it years later. I follow the principle, when I buy something then it’s for myself and not to impress others.  BvH

Contact Karim El-Barbari:

http://kelbarbari@icloud.com

The post At home with Designer Karim El-Barbari appeared first on My Stylery.