2019 Best Design. ‘Please be Seated’ by Paul Cocksedge – Photo by Mark Cocksedge.
2019 Best Design – We have rounded up 16 brilliant furniture designs which have debuted this year at IMM Cologne, Milan Design Week, London Design Festival and more leading design destinations across the globe. Our BestOf includes Rowan & Erwan Bouroullec’s Cotone sofa for Cassina, Jorge Penades’ upcicled vessels for BD Barcelona Design and 2LG rainbow-flagged chair for Ercol.
Bauhaus, reloaded! … In Cologne
Photo by Thonet.
At IMM Cologne, German furniture company Thonet celebrated BauHaus 100th anniversary and its 200th birthday with a limited edition of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s cantilevered S 533 F chair. The Hamburg-based design duo Studio Besau Marguerre developed two new versions of the iconic tubular steel seat with new colours and materials. Read more…
Design Crafts from Paris
Courtesy of Atelier François Pouenat.
Curved aluminum, brushed brass pipes and geometrical forms. Studio POOL harnessed the rare know-how and expertise in metal-working of Atelier François Pouenat to create Series 01, a sculptural furniture collection of tables, vases and seats. The collection debuted at Gallery JOYCE during Maison & Objet Paris. Read more…
Arctic upcycling
Photo: ©Bjørnar Øvrebø, courtesy of Snøhetta.
Snøhetta and Nordic Comfort Products teamed up to develop S-1500, a chair with a body made from 100 % recycled plastic from the local fish farming industry in the North of Norway, and a subframe made from recycled steel. The furniture debuted at Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair. Read more…
A blanket for a one way journey
Courtesy of YOOX.
American artist Rob Pruitt reflected on the complexity of migration with a collection of ‘moving blankets’, intended to be wrapped around furniture to protect it during a move or when travelling. The series comprises 40 different quilted blankets, each one featuring a repeated pattern of pixelated birds in flight. Curated by Beatrice Trussardi, the project commissioned by online retailer Yoox debuted at Nomad St. Moritz. Read more…
Working with bits and chisels to then char
Courtesy of Collect.
Who said that craft is exclusively about traditional techniques? British designer Gareth Neal developed his green-oak carved Hack Chair II using a 6 axis computer numerical control robotic arm, and then finished it by hand, and scorched it according to Japanese techniques. The design was presented by Sarah Myerscough Gallery at the Collect International Fair for Art, Design and Contemporary Craft. Read more…
Violently psychedelic benches
Photo by Buzao.
Stability vs irrationality and changing colors are at the base of the new iridescent furniture collections of tables, stools and benches by Chinese design studio Buzao. Inspired by construction-site elements, the Hot series is made from stainless steel which was electroplated in order to create “violently psychedelic” contrasting hues. The collection debuted at DesignShanghai. Read more…
Pulling the floor-to-ceiling belt to switch on or dim the light
Courtesy of Martinelli Luce.
At Euroluce lighting design show at Salone del Mobile.Milano the main trend was ‘stretchy and flexible’: innovative solutions snaked on walls like electronic circuits, arched over furniture and more. Martinelli Luce has presented design Habit(s)’ ELASTICA, a floor-to-ceiling luminous belt. A flexible LED circuit contained in the strip can be pulled up or down to dim the light. Switch it on and off by simply pulling it. Read more…
Upcyled vessels from Spain
Photo by Gera Mena.
BD Barcelona Design is a pioneer company in using extruded aluminium technology and inevitably producing leftovers along the design process. From here, the company supplied Malaga-based designer Jorge Penadés aluminium spare-parts from previous collections to create PISCIS, a new series od vases giving value to what already exists – infusing new life. Read more…
The grand sofa parade!
Photo by De Pasquale+Maffini.
We have rounded up some of the sofas on show at Milan Design Week. Check the Cotone sofa by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Cassina: a distinctive frame in extruded aluminium wraps and contrasts the soft padding of its cushions to create a welcoming nest in an open invitation to relax. Read more…
Upcycling NYC doomed architectures into chandeliers
Photo by Stickbulb.
At ICFF New York, Stickbulb launched Chime, a 10-foot-tall cascading lighting design made out of reclaimed redwood from the recently demolished water landmark tower atop Brooklyn’s first skyscraper at 32 Court Street. The awarded lighting design brand is known for upcycling wood from doomed architectures. Read more…
Sinking Venetian furniture
Acqua Alta series by Virgil Abloh.
During Venice Art Week, Carpenter Workshop Gallery has brought to the Italian city bespoke ‘dysfunctional’ furniture blurring the lines between art, crafts and design. Here, Virgil Abloh has created a series of chairs and benches with a doorstop under a leg and a floorlamp, all casted in solid bronze and with topsy-turvy angles as if they have been submerged by a rising flood at any moment. Named Acqua Alta, the furniture collection resembles a sinking installation which invites to think about rising sea levels which are threatening Venice as never before. Read more…
One rainbow chair to champion love and freedom
Courtesy of L2G Studio.
For London Pride British furniture brand ercol teamed up with interior designers Russell Whitehead and Jordan Cluroe of 2LG Studio to celebrate diversity with four limited-edition Originals LOVE Seats. Each piece features a unique configuration of the 6 vibrant shades of the iconic LGBT+ rainbow flag “to champion love, freedom, joy and ultimately, the belief that everyone has a right to be themselves.” Read more…
London rippling bench
Courtesy of Broadgate.
For London Design Festival, Paul Cocksedge has created Please Be Seated, an undulating communal bench in Finsbury Avenue Square in the heart of Broadgate, London. Commissioned by British Land, the instalation echoes the rhythm of the thriving neighbourhood. Read more…
The pleated paper-like ceramic washbasin
Photo by Antonio Lupi.
Elegant patterns of pleated fabrics inspired Italian designer Paolo Ulian to create the PLISSE’ free standing sink for bathroom design brand Antonio Lupi which debuted at Cersaie fair in Bologna. The volume proposes fabrics’ aesthetics with a vertical pattern, a surface that seems to move lightly thanks to the variation of light and the play of shadows determined by the effect in relief. Read more…
Blowing plastic like glass
Photo by Ronald Smits, courtesy of Design Academy Eindhoven.
At Dutch Design Week, Design Academy Eindhoven student Dorian Renard has blown and melted plastic as if it were glass for you to see plastic as you see glass. The Beauty of Distortion series is a study on how our prejudices about materials can be altered through subversive use of crafting techniques, resulting in a series of elegant plastic objects. Read more…
Upcycling discarded fashion to comfortably sit with style
Photo by James Harris.
At DesignMiami/’s Curio platform, Balenciaga and Crosby Studios teamed up to spread the message of sustainability through collectible furniture made from unused and damaged Balenciaga clothing. The surface of the Balenciaga Sofa – inspired by an overstuffed recliner – is made from unsellable clothing and off-cuts from the Balenciaga warehouse. Read more…
