When DFS asked us if we wanted to go to Milan with them, to head to something called ‘Salone Del Mobile’, we jumped at the opportunity! To those of you who don’t know, Salone Del Mobile is the largest furniture trade show in the world, with a whopping 400,000+ attendees visiting each year. Situated in the Italian city, the event hosts over 200 different exhibiting interior related companies from brands like Natuzzi & Bo Concept to Arket, Mater, Flos etc. But why did we go with DFS and what’s the point of it?
Well each year, people from across the globe visit Salone to not only shop the products they see (although you’ve got to have some serious cash) but to also trend predict and take inspiration from the amazing designs. It’s these incredibly unique and contemporary furniture designs that influence the furniture we buy today on the high street. Take our Athina’s DFS Hoxton sofa as an example! It’s sofas like this that are influenced from previous visits to Salone Del Mobile by the DFS design & buying team. Whatever trends, colours or shapes they see crop up, are transferred to an affordable and mass marketable design that we find in the shops around a year later. Amazing right!?
We hope you agree that it’s inspiring to know that a household name brand like DFS take their team (and people like us!) each year to Milan purely to get inspiration. And what’s even cooler is that they use the experience to create cutting edge designs for future customers. So if you’re curious to know what trends we and the DFS team found popping up this year, scroll on down to see our expert analysis of the event…
Trend 1: Soft, Warm, Muted Colour Palette
Think beige, cream, ochre, burnt orange and browns. These were the tones constantly cropping up no matter which stand you looked at. From velvets to linens, to woods – whatever the material these soft tones were apparent this year and something we can really see transferring down in the near future.
Trend 2: Highbacked Sofas
We’re not entirely sure that we can see this one working its way down into residential homes! However there was a notable amount of high backed sofas on display at Salone Del Mobile this year. When you sit in one, they create a sense of safety and make you feel sheltered or cocooned. Perhaps is a reflection of our current uncertain climate of current affairs?
Trend 3: Bouclé
Bouclé, bouclé & more bouclé! This type of fabric was everywhere in Milan. By definition this fabric is typically yarn with a looped or curled ply which creates an uneven texture that looks great on anything from sofas to sweaters! We’ve actually seen this crop up elsewhere outside of Milan in recent times, so we think this is gonna be a big one! the DFS Zinc sofa actually now comes in a stylish boucle – see here. We can’t wait to see how bouclé is further transferred to high-street designs. We’re counting on you DFS to make this one mainstream!
Trend 4: Black Accents
Everywhere we looked this year we stumbled across black accents. Be they handles, sofa legs, armrests, support structures, black accents etc. They were a plenty this year! Again, we think this is going to be a big one that can be transferred to our highstreet designs as it’s simple, effective and ultra modern in appearance.
Trend 5: Textured Materials
We think Salone Del Mobile this year was all about texture. Mixing sharp with soft, smooth with rough etc. A big texture in particular we saw was Ribbed Glass. This type of glass looks amazing as door panels (like crittal glass panes but ribbed in appearance). We hope to see this used widely across tables, doors, vases etc – you heard it here first!
Trend 6: Adaptable Chairs & Sofas
When it came to seating this year, it was all about adaptable chairs & sofas. By this we mean moveable, changeable and functional designs. One design we loved was a chair that could be wide armchair at one moment, but then with one swift movement that swirled it around, it became a reclining chair as well. There was also strong ratchet back sofa game! For those who don’t know they’re the ones that allow you to lift up the headrest for optimum comfort. A DFS classic! Salone though took ratchet backs to the next level as some sofa backs & headrests were completely removable and adjustable.
So there you have it. Our key trends which we spotted this year consisting also of the one’s we’d love to see make their way into our own homes. Can DFS make this possible? We certainly hope so!
For full disclosure, this post was not sponsored but the lovely DFS team did fly us to Milan on an expenses paid trip.
