Recycled coffee grounds? Creations at Milan Design Week

The Milan Design Week – the Salone del Mobile fair, plus curated events across the city – grows by the year, both in numbers and in vision. Once essentially a trade event, it has now been upgraded to a blend of interior products and artistic expression plus plenty of fanfare. Here is our selection of the latest products and designers to look out for.

DECORATIVE OBJECTS Furniture may be something that we only tend to change every few years. But while super-luxe may be one trend in a booming market, there are also other, more accessible, ones.

Conversely, there is room for a welcome, Memphis-style playfulness and humour. Andrey Budko’s Hear My Roo oar trophy carpet has plenty: it is a nod to a leopard skin rug, of course, but comes in digitally embroidered wool felt; or there is Hanna Anonen’s uplifting and unique collection of colourful wooden Plizé and Beebee boxes; or Alberto Casati’s vase, based on a bust of Queen Elizabeth.

Lastly, experimentation with materials is also well to the fore, using both new and old production techniques. Designer Keren Wang, for example, uses spray glazing and plaster moulds to give her ceramics varied colours and textures, while Zhekai Zhang recycles coffee grounds as pigment in ancient pit firing for his work.

Haminishi Design uses high-intensity bursts of flame to pattern its Graffito metal vases, and Carina Wagenaar reimagines the delicacy of porcelain as a stunning wall-hung medallion.

FINE FURNITURE