Milan 2011: Live from Euroluce

Quasar at Euroluce 2011, Milan

WGSN-homebuildlife highlights the emerging trends seen at Euroluce, the biennial lighting fair held alongside the Salone del Mobile during Milan:

Designing the shadow: Detailed patterns cut into the shades create a beautiful effect - the focus is the shadow instead of the lamp itself

Luxurious: Golden finishes appear in different kinds of materials - pieces are almost sculptural

Playful: Everyday objects or even pieces from childhood memories are transformed into functional lighting pieces

Subscribers can read our full live report from Euroluce here.

Milan 2011: Fuorisalone trends

designlabel Vij5 at Venture Lambrate, Milan 2011

WGSN-homebuildlife highlights the emerging trends seen at the off-fair districts of Milan Design Week (Fuorisalone) including Zona Tortona, Venture Lambrate and Brera.

Stone: Stoneware is the material of the moment. Smooth, sculptural marble furniture and tableware was seen at +Stone and Marsotto, while mineral composites were seen at Cappelini. In contrast, rough, elemental forms were offered at Studio Toogood and Nilufar. After the recent trend for raw, unfinished clay and wooden products, the strong presence of stone shows a development in the trend for reconnecting with nature through the earth and the elements

Under wraps: Highlighted as an emerging trend by WGSN last month, furniture and accessories that have been bound with lengths of thread or rope are a prominent trend at both Zona Tortona and Brera. Combining functionality with decoration and upcycling with craft, designers exhibiting at Boffi in Brera chose to wrap parcel tape around a tubular steel chair frame to provide a innovative and upcycled seating solution

Super simple: One of the prevailing trends at both Zona Tortona and Ventura Lambrate is for unadorned, simple furniture with a homemade twist. Seats, tables, lighting and decorative accessories are minimal in both form and construction; materials used are sturdy and durable. The overall impression is of furniture that will last, and that can be repaired easily – tying into both the current resurgence of craft, and the increasing desire for authenticity amongst consumers

WGSN-homebuildlife subscribers can read our full live report from Fuorisalone here.

Milan 2011: Live from Salone Satellite

gt_2P at Salone Satellite, Milan 2011

WGSN-homebuildlife reports live from Salone Satellite, the area of the fair for emerging talent, highlighting three of the trends from the event:

Patchwork wood: Wood and wood veneers are used as patchwork pieces highlighting the differences in grain shade and direction

Alice in Wonderland: Multicoloured upholstery and finishes in dusty, pastel hues create a world where fantasy rules

Flat pack honeycomb: Designers explore the flat pack craze with honeycomb geometries

WGSN-homebuildlife subscribers can view our full live report from the Satellite here.

Milan 2011: Live from Salone del Mobile

Arco at Salone del Mobile 2011

WGSN-homebuildlife reports live from the Salone del Mobile in Milan, highlighting the emerging trends seen so far:

Sleek and slim: minimalist tables and shelves with elegant design and impeccable finishing

Innovative upholstery: fabrics become a highlight and get a fashion treatment with drapes, exaggerated seams or unusual details

Stained wood: solid wood or natural wood veneers are painted in bright colours, but the wood grains still appear underneath

WGSN-homebuildlife subscribers can read the full live report, including our top three brands, here.

Milan 2011: Established and Sons 7

Quilt, The Thing by Erwan & Ronan Bouroullec

This year British furniture brand Established and Sons abandoned their 10,000 square foot space at Bera's La Pelota in favour of an exhibition space further South at the Versace Teatro in Piazza Vetra. At 1200 square feet the new venue is significantly smaller and the exhibition design is somewhat simple in comparison to the extravagance of previous years, however this year the products take centre stage. Their seventh collection includes new designs by  Sylvain Willenz, Erwan & Ronan Bouroullec, Richard Woods, Sebastian Wrong, Committee and Barber Osgerby to name a few.

Milan 2011: VicoloPagliaCorta

Tucked away in a courtyard in one of the main off-fair districts, Zona Tortona, is a small designmart made up of designer-makers selling direct to the public. Of the various brands on show, WGSN-homebuildlife's favourite was Vicolo Paglia Corta, a Bologna-based design duo formed in 2008 whose colourful and customizable Mattoncino tables caught our eye.

Milan 2011: Natura Morta by Studio Toogood and Arabeschi di Latte

On Monday night WGSN-homebuildlife attended a midnight dinner called Underkitchen by Arabeschi di Latte at Studio Toogood' s exhibition Natura Morta, which is showing this week during the Salone del Mobile. Natura Morta is the Italian term for "still life" but literally translates as "dead nature". The exhibition aims to examine the darker side of the natural world.

HBL Retail: Oldesign at Micasa

Oldesign for Micasa

Popular Sao Paolo design shop Micasa has begun stocking Oldesign, a collection of individually-sourced vintage products for the home. Here, HBL highlights some of its favourite pieces from the new shipment.

HBL Book of the Week: Information is Beautiful

The 'In' Colours, from Information is Beautiful by David McCandless

Information is Beautiful is a compilation of prolific infographic designer David McCandless's creations to date. In the world of infographics (beautiful visualizations of sets of data), McCandless is one of the pioneers and his subject matter varies from tracking the escalating price of cocaine from harvest to market, to the crossing paths of time travellers in film and television, via a comparitive study of the real health benefits of 'superfoods' and a consensus cloud of the top 100 books that everyone should read. The varied subject matter is matched by his aesthetic creativity - and information really is easier to take in when McCandless has interpreted it.

HBL loves: everything about this book. It's an impressive coffee table read, beautifully laid out and well-made, and fascinating to either dip into or read all the way through. Highly recommended - especially as the field of infographics looks set to grow and grow.

Milan 2011: Fabrica and Secondome at Salone Satellite

Designed by Piero Lissoni, Here and (T)here is a limited and numbered production of objects designed by Fabrica for Secondome. An exploration of blown glass and oak, these pieces are hybrid, bold structures focusing on form rather than function. Seen at Salone Satellite at Stand C 41 as well as the new Benetton showroom at Corso di Porta Vittoria 16, Here and (T)here is a fine balance of fragility and solidity.

HBL Blog of the Week: Pippa Jameson Interiors

Pippa Jameson Interiors

This week's choice has a distinctly British feel to it. Edited by Pippa Jameson, an experienced interior stylist and former Deputy Interiors Editor of BBC Good Homes, Pippa Jameson Interiors offers everything from decorating ideas and advice to events coverage and DIY craft projects.

HBL loves: its practical approach to interiors. While it's interesting to read hotel reviews and see the new collections from famous brands, it's also useful for readers who want to find out how to make a lampshade or read a beginner's guide to painting furniture.

What else is there? Milan preview

In our last preview before our live coverage from Milan kicks off tomorrow, we're intrigued by the unusual curatorial approach of What else is there? Hosted by Kaleidoscope, curators LHCK have asked four designers to choose music videos that give us a look at their "visual and cultural DNA", with their latest pieces for Italian furniture brand Mattiazzi also on display.

Konstantin Grcic, Sam Hecht, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec and Nitzan Cohen have all made their selections, and also answer six questions about their choices. Download the exhibition brochure here to read more - or visit the gallery at Via Masera, 20124 Milano, from tomorrow until 16th April 2011.