In the wake of the furniture exhibition Salone Internazionale del Mobile-2014. Part 1. Sofa in the studio

For a whole week – from 8th to 13th April in Milan there was a meeting of designers and furniture manufacturers from all over the world. What can you say about Salone Internazionale del Mobile-2014 in general? Furniture companies and designers who develop concepts for them have split into two camps – some are calling consumers to futuristic distances, experimenting with form and material, others are looking back and bringing furniture of the 50s and 60s back to life, wrapping it in high-tech textiles. In almost every design work, there is an ecological panic that has seized European countries – all furniture should be made purely from natural materials, which can later be recycled.

It is clear that none of our fellow citizens will put in their home a marble chair made of a solid block of Carrara marble and, even more so, a piece of volcanic rock with a screwed-on carbon seat, but it’s always interesting to see what’s new in the world of design. The nostalgic note that filled the eyes of the viewers of the Milan Salon 2014 with a stingy tear in memory of the good times of the hippies and the Beatles, reached our open spaces. Welcome to the art gallery, where you can contemplate the novelties of upholstered furniture presented by eminent brands in the capital of fashion – Milan at the annual furniture exhibition Salone Internazionale del Mobile.

The Gemini armchair, designed by the Dutch architecture firm UNStudio for the Artifort brand, is an elaborate ergonomic design suitable for both work and leisure.

A piece of volcanic rock and carbon have come together through the efforts of Peugeot Design Lab, turning into a 3-meter Onyx sofa

The Onyx sofa is a mix of old and new, symbolized by a polished carbon alloy and 11,000-year-old rough volcanic rock found in the Auvergne region of France

For the Milan exhibition Cloud, designer Richard Hutten from the Netherlands created a cloud chair that he built from 840 m2 of furniture textiles from Kvadrat, folded in 545 layers. All layers for the chair were cut on a programmable machine and then assembled by hand

The inspiration for the designer was the layered rocks of the desert regions of Arizona, USA (Painted Desert, Arizona)

An almost 39 tonne block of marble was needed by the Italian company Robot City to create a new version of the Proust chair in the neo-Baroque style, which was designed in 1978 by Alessandro Mendini.

This is how the Proust chair, designed by Alessandro Mandini for Cappellini, was presented to the public at the Venice Biennale in 1980. Inspired by the work of Marcel Proust and painted in the manner of the pointillist Paul Signac, the Proust armchair became a style icon of the 80s

Dutch designer Martin Rigters created this extravagant sofa from polystyrene foam, which he passed through a slot formed from red-hot metal rods.

The finishing touch to the creation of furniture made of synthetic foam is a layer of polyurea, which allows the sofa to be used in the most unfavorable conditions

Designed by Mollo for the British furniture company Established&Sons Canadian Philippe Malouin. The armchair does not have a rigid frame and is made of molded polystyrene foam covered with velor

Inspired by modernism and  sporting motives of ancient Greece, designer from Slovenia Nika Zupanc (Nica Zupanc) has created a collection of furniture and  accessories ordered by the English brand Se

The design of the Se collection reveals the simplicity and elegance of modernist furniture from the 50s, mixed with a certain unreality.

Danish furniture company Carl Hansen&Son teamed up with Briton Paul Smith to release a limited edition furniture collection celebrating the 100th birthday of designer Hans J. Wegner

Long a fashion icon, Paul Smith’s legendary stripe has graced the upholstery of chairs and armchairs designed by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen&Son in the 50s

“Little Red Riding Hood” – this is the name under which a young German designer Hanna E. Ernsting presented a chair combined with a soft blanket at the 2014 Milan exhibition

The contrasting combination of gray and red wool for the upholstery of the chair was not chosen by chance – the mouse color symbolizes everyday work, and the crimson color is the time of evening relaxation, filled with dreams and dreams.

Swedish design studio Claesson Koivisto Rune has brought to Milan a series of radar-shaped armchairs that create a private environment between interlocutors, the so-called “room in a room.” Furniture was designed by order of the Italian company Casamania

Designed by Philippe Starck for a new player in the furniture business – TOG from Brazil. The Light Rock armchair is one of the “low cost” models with a variety of finishes – an example of the “free” design concept developed by the renowned designer

Anglo-Indian design duo Doshi Levien created Almora lounge chair for Italian company B&B Italia, based on his travel experiences in the Himalayas. The fur headrest of the chair is associated with a snow cap that covers the peaks of the mountains, and the dark seat is associated with rock.

Italian furniture brand Moroso has presented modular upholstered furniture in Milan, designed by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola. Cylindrical wooden legs and jersey upholstery echoes furniture trends from the 60s

Art director of Dutch brand Moooi – Marcel Wanders designed separate virtual spaces that simulate living rooms for the company’s showroom at the 2014 Milan furniture exhibition

Two lounge chairs from the Nut – Oil and Zio collection by Moooi are a slightly naive handkerchief pattern set on a wooden frame. The Cocktail armchair with black and white print immerses us in the traditional filigree graphics of the Netherlands, which began with engravings by Albrecht Durer

The Nest collection features a crisp metal structure and a fluffy seat integrated with the backrest. Two sofas designed by Marcel Wonders for this collection – “Old Blue” with watercolor blue stains on a white background and floral “Flower bits”

Achromatic Canvas sofa and Taffeta armchair with traditional Indonesian textile patterns are the continuation of Moooi’s unusual furniture collection in Milan

The Japanese design studio Nendo presented at the exhibition a series of upholstered and cabinet furniture, which is a continuation of the concept of the Peg chair, developed last year for the Cappellini company.

Cappellini Peg furniture is made of natural wenge wood, ebony, oak and bleached walnut, upholstered in leather or velvety textiles

For the presentation of the British members clubs furniture company from England, designer Tom Dixon designed the Beat collection. Includes velor black furniture and polished brass fixtures

Three variants of swivel chairs created by Tom Dixon as part of the Pivot series for the British brand British members clubs

For Danish brand Hay, London-based design studio Doshi Levien has created the Uchiwa armchairs that resemble a traditional Japanese fan. The seat of the armchairs is made of molded polyurethane or molded foam, wrapped in quilted fleece covers and mounted on an oak frame

B-LINE brought to the exhibition lacquered Gemma chairs, leather Woopy and wooden Ninna chairs with leather belts from designer Carlo Contin

Japanese studio h220430 presented a floating aluminum sofa and “sweet” styrofoam poufs in Milan

After reviewing all the novelties that world-famous designers presented as new trends in 2014, you and I may well explore our summer cottages and find a couple of sofas and armchairs from Soviet times – this will be “it”. You will only have to revive the finds a little – to update the paintwork and drag it with actual textiles in stripes or flowers.