In the wake of the furniture exhibition Salone Internazionale del Mobile-2014. Part 2. Chair plus table

An interesting trend is observed in the politics of well-known furniture brands, which was clearly manifested at the Milan exhibition in 2014 – Danish companies order the development of furniture from Japanese design studios, Italian – from Dutch, French – from Italian. Thus, there is a lively exchange of traditional forms and techniques of fine art, which have been developed over the centuries by each nation. The output is an unexpected mix of styles, seasoned with a flight of fantasy and high technology. But even with all the variety of ideas and methods of their expression, designers of the 21st century do not hesitate to create so-called “replicas” – to recycle the finds of the 50s-70s, putting on a fashionable suit cut from modern materials..

Among the enthusiastic exclamations rejoicing at the result of design delights, there are dissonant chords of the underground, which is trying to draw public attention to the reverse side of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile-2014 medal – to the calculation of modern design for entertainment without focusing on the average consumer. We have already told you about the design trends of upholstered furniture presented at the Milan Salon 2014, now we invite you to evaluate tables and chairs, as well as some interior accessories that will soon appear on the shelves of domestic fashion salons.

Architect David Adjaye showcased his debut Washington furniture collection, designed for Knoll, in Milan. The seats of the chairs are made of injection-molded nylon and reinforced with glass, the legs are made of aluminum and are in two parts, bolted together. Despite the seeming instability and fragility, the design of the chair is carefully calibrated and can withstand a weight of up to 135 kg

Danish upholstery textile brand Kvadrat has recruited 22 young designers to advertise for the felt-like Divina fabric. Designer Peter Merygold has created a Jib chair that is completely wrapped in multi-colored Divina rags

Designer Werner Aisslinger tightened Nesting Hexagons of various sizes with Divina textiles from the Danish Kvadrat brand, which can be combined to create chairs, armchairs, sofas

The challenge set for the Danish design studio Menu when designing the furniture collection was as follows: to use as little material as possible while maintaining maximum aesthetics. This is how the Afteroom three-legged chair was born.

Fluffy Pad by ECAL / Dimitri Bahler, upholstered with felt, and bright striped Strap by Scholten&Baijings is a furniture showcased at the Milan exhibition 2014 by the French brand Mustache

British designer Faye Toogood brought the Assemblage collection of tables and chairs to Milan, which was made using a clay model, which was then used to create a fiberglass mold

Danish brand Gubi unveils Masculo chairs and TS tables in Milan by Copenhagen-based studio GamFratesi

Metal, plastic, marble – everything is organically mixed in the collection of furniture from Gubi from Denmark

The polycarbonate table, invented by Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka for the Italian brand Kartell, closely resembles a crystal piece. Injection molded plastic creates fine prismatic surfaces that refract light that would not be possible with glass

Milan-based designer Alberto Biagetti has created a furniture collection that reflects the history of his hometown. The multi-colored layers of material applied to the glass table are the result of recycling copper, brass, plastic and wood thrown into a landfill by the Milanese

The starting point from which the creation of glass furniture began was an antique tile with a patina, found by Alberto Biaghetti in one of the abandoned Milan palazzo and later served as a table top for a table

Spanish designer Jaime Hayon came up with the Analog table concept for the Danish furniture company Republic of Fritz Hansen. The chairs that accompany the table are an updated model of the Drop, created in 1958 by the modernist architect Arne Jacobsen

According to the designer, the table is the central object of the home or office, at which the day begins and ends. So that more people could sit at the Analog table, Jamie Hayon turned its legs diagonally

Dutch studio Scholten&Baijings unveiled a collection of marble tables in Milan, decorated with geometric engravings that contrast with the natural pattern of natural Carrara stone from Tuscany

An interesting detail of the Peg table design, which the Japanese studio Nendo created for the Italian brand Cappellini – the place where the legs are attached to the table top is a hole filled with glass

Designer Marjan van Aubel designed a table with a solar panel – accumulating the energy of daylight, the furniture is able to charge various gadgets via a USB connector

When designing its collection for Milan Furniture Salon 2014, the Japanese design studio YOY pursued the goal of evoking unusual emotions mixed with laughter in the audience, so with a slight movement of the hand, a black rug turns … a black rug transforms … into a chair

A 10mm aluminum plate housed inside a stretch polyester floor mat cover easily withstands even heavy weights

The designers of the YOY studio have built small drawers into the wall, and to make them seem deeper, they equipped their back wall with a mirror

Architect Zaha Hadid designed the Tela shelf system for the Italian brand CITCO. Despite the fact that the rack is made of a solid granite slab, the furniture does not look heavy thanks to the elongated consoles

The unusual marble room was designed by designer Max Lamb for London-based brand Dzek and created with the new Marmoreal material, which combines colored fragments of natural stone and polyester

British designer Samuel Wilkinson has specially designed the Grace ultralight chairs in aluminum for the 2014 Milan Furniture Show

Swedish Note Design Studio has created a series of oak armchairs for the Belgian furniture company Per / Use

Fascinated by a piece of fossilized plankton, British designer Ross Lovegrove designed the Diatom aluminum chair for Italian furniture manufacturer Moroso, using a prototype metal stamping technology used in the automotive industry.

The Japanese studio Nendo created a series of 6 wooden chairs, which the designers decided to diversify with prints imitating the texture of plywood, marble, wood, applied over the natural pattern of base wood

British designer Paul Smith donned chairs designed for Danish brand Carl Hansen&Son, covers featuring his signature stripe

The Shanty MDF writing desk, reminiscent of a patchwork quilt, is the result of a creative flight of the designer tandem Doshi Levien for the Spanish company BD Barcelona

The Italian brand B-LINE brought Park chairs and Crossed ottomans to the Milan Furniture Fair 2014, designed in the distant 60s by designer Joe Colombo and updated with technological textiles

Japanese architect Jo Nagasaka created a series of soft ottomans for the furniture company Ichiro Inc by tying strips of polystyrene foam with rope and then covering the structure with a layer of rubber

A not quite standard approach to woodworking was demonstrated by the Dutch designer Lex Pott, who designed the Diptych furniture line for the New Window brand.

For the production of furniture “Diptych” was used spruce, planted in 1960, the wood of which was subjected to sandblasting, followed by treatment with oil and wax

German designer Elisa Strozyk brought tables to Milan, the tabletops of which are made of ceramics covered with multi-colored glazes. By rotating the plane of the countertop and blowing the glaze layer with a directed air stream, the designer achieved an unusual painterly effect.

Inspired by the twigs and leaves of his own garden, Brooklyn-based designer Marc Thorpe created the Morning Glory collection for the Italian brand Moroso. The tables in cheerful colors are made of powder-painted steel, laser cut has been applied to form the leaf tabletops

Designer Konstantin Grcic has unveiled a new chair at the Milan exhibition that joins the ranks of his famous Pro chairs family, originally designed for educational institutions. The Pro series chairs are made of plastic by injection molding by the German furniture brand Flototto

Finnish factory Artek presented in Milan 2014 the Riva chair, designed by designer Konstantin Grcic, and made of a combination of solid birch with laminated plywood

Dutch avant-garde designer Maarten Baas organized a solo exhibition in an old garage in parallel with Salone Internazionale del Mobile-2014, describing it as his take on the Milan show, reminiscent of a circus

Baas’s surreal display was conceived as a caricature of the photogenic objects presented at the Milan Exhibition for promotional purposes, which are not finished goods for retail sale

The designer and his team spent three weeks in Milan, preparing all the exhibits for their shocking exhibition right here in an abandoned garage. All of the furniture was intentionally crude, but with such an aim to make it look attractive enough in the photo.

Maarten Baas believes that the Milan Furniture Exhibition is nothing more than a replication of pictures that people can exchange on Facebook, since most of the furniture presented will not go on sale or will be too inaccessible for the bulk of consumers.