The 49th edition of the “International Furniture Exhibition of Milan” was held on last 13th to the 19th of April of 2010, along with the parallel events “Eurocucina” [Euro kitchen](a biannual event for kitchen furniture); “Bath International” (the 3rd edition of bathroom furniture and accessories), and “Salone Satellite” (a space for young designers).

30 different countries and more than 2,000 exhibitors (74 were Spanish) participated in this event which is considered a world reference in the habitat sector. While still waiting for the last official update as far as numbers of visitors, we may say that it largely overcame the 300,000 visitors of last year.

See also EuroCucina report

MAIN TRENDS AT THE INTERNATIONAL FURNITURE EXHIBITION

TONES

The stake for this year, as far as colours are concerned, both in terms of number of colours as well as in terms of variety of tones, was quite significantly reduced compared to former editions.

In order to create elegant and luminous environments, white was used in most of the proposals presented for the home sector. As for lacquered, mostly white with matte finishing was presented. High gloss textures, more present in former years, had very little presence this time.

The tone denominated “tortora” stood out. It could be defined as a greyish cream, similar to our reference Gris Gondomar.

Within furniture compositions, white would be present usually by itself and at times, combined with a pallet of colours inspired by nature: sand and earth tones in line with our designs Sahara, Beige, Cappuccino, Arena or Camel.

To a lesser extent, khaki and tangerine tones could also be seen, as well as the range of purples and violets.

In juvenile furniture we highlight the presence of more lively tones and less pastel than in former editions, with no special outstanding colours.

WOODS
Ash tree and light woods:
Splint ash in light tones or whitish, which last year only appeared rather timidly, consolidated this year as one of the most outstanding new trends.
Lacquered ashes in matte white with transversal “legno” pore or open pore were also prominent. This trend would also be transferred over to the melamine designs, with matte and deep textures.
To a lesser extend chestnut and elms were also present in very natural and soft tones..

Oaks
In many manufacturers we saw the use of an oak called in the Italian market the “affumicato” (smoked), in a mix of brown and grey tones..
Another variety in this same type of wood was the striped oak in very natural tones with finishing in poro arenado or deep pores. .
Pines and larches with 3D effects
Striped pines and larches with wavy textures like Poro Arenado were a general stake. Both in terms of wood grain as well as in tone they coincided with the new Pine collections available in the Duo Range: Cervino Pine, in whitish tone; Zermatt Pine, ideal to be combined with stone or sand tones; Ginebra Pine, in soft chocolate tone; Chamonix Pine, in smoked grey colour, and the Saboya Pine, in very dark brown, almost black.
Walnut and chocolate tones
The traditional wengue tone evolved towards a chocolate colour with warm nuances in grey and bluish tones.
Walnut wood was not much seen, clearly losing the momentum it had in the past edition.

FANTASIES
In spite of the scarce variety of proposals in terms of fantasies, comparing with former years, the use of textile designs was clearly consolidated as a trend, being used not just inside wardrobes and drawers, but taking a step forward into furniture fronts and with tremendous success in all sectors: home, juvenile, bathroom or kitchen.
Linen as fabrics and neutral tones with greys and creams were the most used. The texture of fabrics, such as our Textile finishing, is the type of finishing chosen for enhancing their realism.

Stone, as a decorative material, took a leap forward from the horizontal planes of table tops, small tables and worktops in order to also take over vertical planes commonly just reserved for wood, such as furniture fronts. Flower fantasies and golden and silver tones were left for more classical pieces of furniture.

FINISHING
At this exhibition finishing had more relevance than ever before, clearly marking the most remarkable news of this edition.
As basic ideas we could comment the following:

“spazzolato” Oak	“termizzato” Process	Poro Arenado

STYLES AND MATERIALS
Nature is used as a source of inspiration in a double way: in the pallet of colours, by replicating the tones of nature, such as sands, earth, khaki, tobacco,… and in manufacturing the pieces of furniture: concepts of eco-sustainability and respect for the environment in product configuration.
Environments go back to nature, leaving aside the Baroque and overcharged stridencies of former years.

	Edges and corners become curbed, and thicknesses decrease to 10 and 12mm.
Elegance becomes centred on the simplicity of games of forms, compositions and volumes.		Different materials conquer greater positions in furniture, such as stone, fabrics, leather and above all, glass.

A selection of designs that sum up the main trends seen in furniture

White SR209	Fresno Tundra	Eolo	Blanco Fagor	Sahara	Beige	Capuchino
Arena	Camel	Gris Gondomar	Caqui	Mandarina	Lirio	Morado
Arandano	Fresno Juno	Roble Hera	Cerezo Hanami	Delicate Birch	Pino Cervino	Pino Zermatt
Pino Ginebra	Pino Chamonix	Pino Saboya	Nogal Grove	Nogal Baco	Fresno Tea	Acacia Choco
Lino Habana	Lino Cancun	Tessuto	Lino Albir	Lino Esteiro	Pizarra	Cemento
Piedra Cantería	Marmol	Poro Arenado	Poro Textil

Se also EuroCucina Report