Milan Design Week 2026
Each year, part of our team makes the journey to Milan Design Week, to take in Salone del Mobile, and this year was no exception. Six days were spent immersed in the very best of European furniture, lighting and interior design, taking in showrooms across the city and also the Rho Fiera Milano trade grounds.
The team hit the ground running, starting the week visiting installations by Cassina, Flexform and Bocci. Followed by a full day at the Salone del Mobile design fair, where more than 100 brands were on show, among them Minotti, Talenti, Riva 1920, Kartell, Nanimarquina and Antonio Lupi. The team split up within the fair in hopes of visiting as many brands as possible and ended their day with the Poliform launch night.
Midweek brought a shift to showroom hopping across the city, with stops at Molteni & C, CEA, Poltrona Frau and Moroso, followed by a beautiful evening at Baxter’s villa on Lake Como, hosted by SPACE furniture, a highlight of the trip.
The final days were spent exploring Gessi, Agape, Time & Style, Boffi, Viabazzuno and the Artemest Apartment. Closing out the trip with a lovely dinner hosted by Blum, before wrapping up Milan Design Week 2026 at Frigerio, Dior and Restoration Hardware.
A few clear directions emerged across the week. In furniture, glossy lacquers, leather detailing and richly textured fabrics were everywhere, alongside feature piping and chromatic finishes. Silhouettes are becoming more geometric and angular, solid and sculptural, with a return to curves.
In the kitchen, multitasking tapware and adjustable, rotating sections of kitchen islands stood out, alongside routed grooves and tactile finishes across benchtops, chunky raw-edged stone benchtops and interesting shelving designs. Technology continues to disappear seamlessly into the joinery, with AI-assisted appliances and LED detailing appearing throughout.
Bathrooms embraced colour in every form, ceramics, glass, even sanitaryware, alongside pedestal sinks, rope detailing on tapware and materials used in unexpected ways, all with a growing focus on wellness.
Wardrobes took a similar turn toward glossy lacquer and leather detailing, with a real sense of movement: watch winders, hat stands and rotating shelving turning the robe into a feature of the home rather than a purely functional space.
And in lighting, discreet joinery integration sat alongside oversized decorative fittings, suspended chain systems and an “old world” fluted-glass aesthetic, along with growing smart-home integration.
It is always a privilege to see the world’s best makers and designers up close, and to bring that inspiration home to our own work. We can’t wait to see how these ideas filter through our projects in the year ahead.
