Milan- I Saloni 2013

I know it's been a long time since my last post but I swear I have a good excuse and the pictures to prove it. I went on a work trip to Milan, Italy and was lucky enough to attend I Saloni 2013. I was also lucky enough to sit beside someone who was sick on the flight home and got to share in their cold/flu/plague. I'm finally feeling better and can show you some pictures of Milan and the international furniture fair that make me wish I was back there already.

I ate a lot of gelato

and had a lot of cappuccinos

I was also creepy and took pictures of stylish Italian women 

It was rainy and overcast for the majority of my time there but it was still beautiful to walk around and admire the architecture, the food and the style of the Italians. I didn't have much time for shopping but I did manage to see a few gorgeous and expensive stores. Italian women have impecable taste in shoes and bags (the men too really). While Milan may not be as pretty as Florence, Rome or Venice it still has plenty of charm and more importantly plenty of gelato, cappuccino, pasta and pizza.

Enough about my eating and stalking and onto I Saloni 2013. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this trade show/furniture fair extravaganza. While I heard mixed reviews from Saloni veterans (and the Industrial Designers I was with) bemoaning the lack of anything new and exciting at this years show, just seeing the sheer amount of furniture on display was impressive to me. The fair grounds must take up 10 football fields worth of space-plus it's three levels on top of that. It was like a high end Ikea showroom for miles to this hick! It was also cool to see many European companies and pieces in person that I had only really seen in International decor magazines.

The first section I visited was the 'Italian' section and while I thought some of the Murano glass was interesting it quickly veered into a bit too ornate for me.

Good

Good

Good

Hmmmm........

In the Modern and Contemporary Sections I noticed a lot of natural elements- wood (both rustic and more refined wood like teak) and plants. In terms of colours: pastels were popular as well as lots of  grey, turquoise, forest green and yellow. Furniture was clean lined, mid-century modern inspired. 

One of my favourite displays was from the lighting company FLOS. Their lighting featured exposed cords as an integral part of the overall design- making them simultaneously sleek and industrial.