Friday, February 13, 2015

IMM Furniture Fair & Living Kitchen Cologne 2015 - Thru the eye of a designer

There will be a lot of reviews of this the first furniture fair of the year, i would like to bring you a different review; looking at these events thru my eyes and my lens. 


10929001_906513772694862_3933299717310485007_n
Poliform Varenna, Always leading the industry 


Fortunately for me this was a free trip as part of the KBDi (Kitchen & Bathroom Design Institute) awards program, that's right! for winning the 2014 Australian Bathroom Designer of the Year this was a gift! 

This was my first trip to this event and i must say i really enjoyed the furniture side of this event, a few halls of emerging designers which did blow my mind...got lost for hours! 

Living Kitchen is a bi Annual event that alternates with Milan, it is in only it's second year and i have no doubt in years to come this will be a very big event. A little small with ONLY 212 exhibitors (still massive in Australia eyes) mainly focussing on appliances but there was some really cool things. 

It is always good to see trend directions, materials and applications at these events. There was a real clear direction this year; Wood, Marble, Metal's, and muted colour. The feeling was natural and the push was hand made, knowing the origin and history of the product. 

The element i love the most about these events are the design weeks attached to them, people throwing open their doors, creating design installations and hosting great parties. Cologne Design week was no different. We had some great times, meeting some great people. 

I hope you enjoy my images, there are few that are not my shots and they will be tagged. 

Cheers

Darren Genner


10922708_905438892802350_1804630622375910333_n


540401_905689129443993_3036081239972094623_n
Barazza new cooktop - Refined ellegance

1601515_905834819429424_5453525343865715335_n
Poloshed Copper as a accent was massive, love the depth these polished pendant offer. 

10408975_905836029429303_3652948642304734282_n
TEXTURE! Dekton's new sheet material 

10413337_905837639429142_891707569470524001_n
The push for hand made and made with love
10922720_905482552797984_6130761206677631434_n
Incredible Copper tapware
10931355_905836686095904_5159752009792978407_n
Benchtop are getting thinner and stronger, materials allowing the direct connection of burners "HOT"
10940990_905835999429306_7212304472808017820_n
TEXTURE!!! 
10945025_905835036096069_4989584312618411152_n
Herb gardens & greenery in the kitchen

IMG_0016

IMG_0120
Solid Surface fronts - in this case Corian

IMG_9613

IMG_9624

IMG_9644

IMG_9659
Neolith Panels applied vertically, can be used as benchtops or cladding 
IMG_9664

IMG_9717
Dekton panels - LARGE
IMG_9797

IMG_9881

IMG_9892

IMG_9915

IMG_9925

IMG_9935

10426322_906719059341000_7546906098052969831_n

10917901_906514822694757_6056969591514659832_n

10923316_906515209361385_8882744708483204077_n

10929167_906514396028133_6848983437079705449_n

10930853_906720149340891_4624550784782849875_n

10930900_907570845922488_6633179059967046340_n

10931023_906512842694955_4320624341188884078_n

10940506_906515622694677_2837048229882859580_n

IMG_0004

IMG_0020

IMG_0033

IMG_0045

IMG_0074

IMG_0147

IMG_0151

IMG_0180

IMG_0181

IMG_0183


885542_875708085785954_8349660265629562297_o

1460988_906518379361068_3983154545999282109_n

10430901_906501589362747_6300766214536716484_n

10923238_906512612694978_4787483921074151734_n

boffi-minosa-cologne-design-week-1

boffi-minosa-cologne-design-week-2

boffi-minosa-cologne-design-week-3

boffi-minosa-cologne-design-week-4

boffi-minosa-cologne-design-week-5

boffi-minosa-cologne-design-week-6

IMG_0212

IMG_0242



IMG_0302

IMG_0307

IMG_0323


IMG_0336

IMG_0339

IMG_0341

IMG_0360

IMG_0368

nuuun-cologen-design-week-minosa-kbdi-1

nuuun-cologen-design-week-minosa-kbdi-4


10923476_10153510942367892_6431300476349025963_n
The nights out with new friends and great design are as inspiring as the events themselves 

10931554_905865349426371_2186466480211405551_n
Cologne Design week, great times with great people. Darren & Elissa from Darren James Interiors & Belinda from Staron Asutralia 

10941007_10153510942547892_1035076277766389314_n
Our chef for the night - yes the one with a Knife! 

IMM Furniture Fair & Living Kitchen 2015 – Design Trends 

Darren Genner of Minosa & Darren James from Darren James Interiors -  Trends - KBDI design tour 2015

This years show in Cologne brought us back to nature and origin, the need to be connected to natural elements and finishes was very refreshing as was the push for bespoke pieces and hand made qualities. 

Trends
Main materials in use - Timber, Blonde Oak and Walnuts mixing with marble (Carreras & Calcutta) accented with Metallics. Copper & Steel was very strong. 

All materials where showcased in their most natural form, raw in some cases adding real depth and character

This natural theme even expressed with a lot of greenery, herb gardens built in to kitchens or green walls. 

There was a real push for real timber not veneer, construction methods are tweaking and we are seeing real wood make a strong reappearance on the market place which offers a lot of warmth and texture that veneer can not offer. 

Colours are muted and soft, very neutral tones. White is still strong and very popular. 

Benchtops are getting thinner; more refined which we love. 12mm & 6mm, Advancements in materials are making a lot of things possible, we have even see these thin materials applied vertically, which was also a nice touch. 

Most glass surfaces where dark, moody. Tinted mirror was strong

Stone surfaces are more natural in there finish, not a lot of polished on display. Mainly flamed or honed. 

Timbers are oiled or waxed again no high gloss


Related Posts

0 comments: