In the weeks before Milan Design Week 2024 and its major event – Salone del Mobile – manufacturers are beginning to show their cards. Their latest collections are hinting at a quiet luxury trend (although what is minimal modernism if not quiet luxury?). This April, furnishings in muted browns, beiges and greens promise to deliver coziness and warmth. Natural materials like leather and travertine are given new energy and subtle forms are coming out strong against more expressive fare.
Here are some previews from top brands showing quiet-luxury neutrals as part of their palettes at Salone del Mobile during Milan Design Week 2024:
Inspired by the laidback attitude of the ’70s, Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez’s sofa for Désirée (an Italian manufacturer under the Gruppo Euromobil label that will be on view at Salone del Mobile) is soft and adaptable – it can be assembled in linear, corner or island compositions. Its solid internal structure, built of modular metal tubing, is completed with polyurethane padding and upholstery in fabric or leather. Each material can be separated to be recycled at the end of the sofa’s life. Showing at Salone.
With curved, voluminous lines crafted from walnut or ash, Bloom boasts the elegance of a tulip. The steel-framed bar cabinet forms part of a collection by designers Maša Vukmanović, Jelena Lukač Kirš and Jakov Šrajer for Croatian brand Milla & Milli that will be shown at Salone.
Designed by Matteo Zorzenoni for De Castelli, Flocks captures the swooping patterns of birds in flight “in the autumn sky.” On display at Salone del Mobile, the side tables are made of sheets of brass or copper that are cut in simple circles or intersecting circular shapes. The tops rest on one or two cylinders of different diameters.
The allure of the ’70s continues. Recalling both the avocado tones and the exaggerated proportions of that decade, Gianfranco Ferré Home‘s new “armchair” supersizes its main visual inspiration: the form of bent fingers. Its internal structure is comprised of iron rods, over which high-density expansive polyurethane foam is generously applied. The upholstery is velvet.
Matteo Nunziati’s Atelier collection for Turri celebrates Italian leather craftsmanship. Exuding the elan of luxury luggage pieces, the coffee tables are wrapped in golden brown upholstery and feature a bevelled walnut wood top.
Embracing the boho-chic effect of layered rugs, but with a more sophisticated flair, the Gem series by Alain Gilles collages two contrasting elements – a rounded carpet and a shard-like smaller panel that appears to rest on top of it. The result: a “unique design language” made more textural by two different yarns (wool and silk) and pile heights. The entire collection is hand-knotted in Nepal, and comes in three palettes, including Gem D (shown), with its neutral tones.
Building on the indoor collection introduced last year – and based on a design by Mario Bellini and Piero Ambrogio Busnelli dating back to 1981 – this stunning outdoor collection by Neutra is both monumental and multi-textured. Its sculptural silver travertine base dials up the drama while its water-repellent polypropylene upholstery comes in warm tones that strike a cozy balance. The brand states that its natural stone is cut to the counter to enhance its unique veining and treated with an open-pore brushed finish, both measures that make each piece unique.
Newly updated, Cartesio is a modular system of vertical and horizontal elements that can be combined in various positions and sizes; they come in numerous types of marble, including Rosso Levanto and White Carrara, and stones such as Pietra Luna and Stone Grey. It is shown here with the Breeze countertop sink, which is crafted from Cristalmood and features integrated lighting at its base.
It doesn’t get more archetypical than this. StorageMilano crafted this bold table for the eclectic Italian brand Fratelli Boffi with inlaid oak root. The top is embellished with a hammered inlay; the base is made of six legs that compose an arcade — “a microarchitecture” in itself. Set to debut at Salone del Mobile during Milan Design Week 2024, it blends artisanal craft with iconic forms.
This April, Milan’s Salone del Mobile will debut thousands of new furnishings, lighting and objects. Here’s a preview of the palette we’re already seeing hints of.