Carpets are cool, teapots are coming to life and it’s always the past that inspires new designs: Here are our Living & Design trends of the month.
Exhibition
Theory of Evolution
The word revolution contains the word evolution for a reason. However, the revolution at Formica did not happen with protests and megaphones, but by the company popularizing high-pressure laminate. This in turn led to colorful design innovations, as it was suddenly possible to experiment with more colors and patterns. The “Formica (R)evolution” exhibition, which pays a visit to the past, opened at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Iconic design pieces from the decades between 1930 and 1980 show how Formica not only changed the design world, but also revolutionized it to a certain extent.
We Love
Rich color
Fantastic design triggers questions. How do you get a checkerboard pattern on a drinking glass, for example? Firstly, by being a talented glassmaker. Then you need precision and multi-layered glass, so-called flashed glass, where the top layer is colored. The glass is cold-cut – layers are selectively ground away until the desired pattern is created.
Darling
Past meets future
One look at the KD28 lamp from Kartell and you wonder what the point of inventing anything new is. In 1967, Joe Colombo had already achieved perfection with this luminous piece. Although – a little upgrading and re-imagining is always possible. Recycled materials and a newly interpreted, satin lampshade bring the KD28 into the year 2025. For those of us who are particularly nostalgic, the “Memories of the Future” exhibition at the Kartell Museum in Milan is well worth a visit. It takes us through the past chapters of lamp design.
New Collection
Tea O’Clock
If an object had to do nothing more than fulfill its function, the world would be a bleak place. Then we would be sitting there with our boring teapots, joylessly sipping our herbal water. Well, one of the secrets of outstanding design is often to put form before function. 25 artists were given the opportunity to design teapots & co. for Loewe at the Milan Furniture Fair. The result was sculptural shapes and cute faces that transform the seemingly trivial everyday object into a small work of art with a wink.
Limited Edition
Retrofuturism
In 1970, a record player came onto the market – and from then on nestled itself as the favorite piece in the living rooms of all music nerds. There’s not much left to change, is there? So instead of reinventing the wheel, or the turntable, Bang & Olufsen keeps returning to the “Beogram 4000” series. For the current collaboration with Saint Laurent Rive Droit, exactly ten original turntables from the “Beogram 4000” series have been restored and transformed into a new “Beogram 4000c” edition modernized for contemporary use. Each piece is housed in a case made of solid Ziricote wood and individually numbered. For collectors, there is now only one question left: invest in the rare Pink Floyd record that is being auctioned online for a forbidden sum, or invest in the collector’s item that will show off your record collection?
Bang & Olufsen x Saint Laurent Rive Droit, “Beogram 4000c Edition by Anthony Vaccarello”, record player, approx. 29’990.-, bang-olufsen.com, ysl.com
Collaboration
Soft landing
Floor time is what the internet calls it when you simply seek horizontal contact with the floor to achieve a state of relaxation. A fluffy rug makes the whole thing a little more pleasant. The best place to grab one is Radici. Designer and art director Serena Confalonieri has created the special “Chroma” collection for the Italian company. Whatever Confalonieri touches becomes colorful: eight designs full of psychedelic patterns put all other living room furniture in the shade.
radicicarpet.it, serenaconfalonieri.com
We show you more beautiful things for your own four walls here.
