Interior Design News: IMM Cologne With Blogst

In my last blog post I've rounded-up a good deal of my design discoveries at this year's imm Cologne furniture show. However, that was not it - I have also spent one day touring the imm Cologne 2015 with my German friends and fellow bloggers from Blogst. The organized tour encompassed four very interesting fair booths: together we visited the Swedish design brand String, the German furniture manufacturer Kettnaker, the design brand Thonet and the German Association of the Wallpaper Industry. Here we rock!

String - because we all need the Swedish classic in our home
String is one of my all-time favorite shelving systems. Timeless, beautiful, unpretentious and super stylish - no wonder I was absolutely fascinated to see the full range of shelving systems, two new colours for the String Pocket shelves and the (home) office furniture by String. I need not mention that I was also very tempted to steal a few props from the fantastic styling done by the one and only Lotta Agaton (ok, ok, I did not steal anything but I brought some great news for YOU - stay tuned).

Kettnaker - furniture made by hand
Even though the German furniture manufacturer Kettnaker is based in southern Germany, it was a new discovery for me at the fair. When I entered their huge stand I noticed the huge photographies showing hands and wondered what it's all about. The secret was revealed by the owner of Kettnaker: all furniture pieces are handmade and this devotion to manufacture is showcased with supersized hand photographies. I particularly liked their sideboards with magnetic fronts (see the red and black drawer below, those front were simply attached magnetically to the drawer). These allow you to change the entire look and feel of the furniture without buying a new piece. Smart!

Thonet - for the design savvy dweller
Thonet is a famous German design brand best known for its refined selection of design chairs. Think of the bentwood classic No. 209 or the new and super comfy lounge chair 808 by Formstelle. I couldn't help but take a little break into the great lounge chair - after all design fairs are pretty exhausting. Moreover, their entire booth was lit up with the new pendants that will enter their range soon.

German Association of the Wallpaper Industry - where wallpaper has a sound
Last but not least we visited the funky stand of the German Association of the Wallpaper Industry (Deutsches Tapeteninstitut). This year their concept was to combine the visual impact of wallpaper with the audible dimension of our perceptive system. The idea is that you see a design and it evokes a certain sound in your head. They transported this idea by installing huge sound barrels that were covered in new wallpaper designs and featured various sounds. A very fun experience indeed!

 

Which of these four would be your favorite?

Photography by Igor Josifovic

This blog post has been brought to you through Blogst and in collaboration with the mentioned brands

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Stockholm Furniture Fair: The Best Stands

Hello back, my friends! After four days of design fun at the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair with my blogger friends, I am back with a first round-up of three outstanding fair booths at one of the world's leading design fairs. We were asked to select three favorite stands with an exceptional design for the fair's blog and I thought I'll share our favorites with you too in today's post. Here we go:

Menu: The Danish design brand Menu not only captivates the visitor’s eye with their excellent product range but managed to catch our attention from an overall perspective as an exhibitor stand. The refined, minimalistic Scandinavian approach is softened by the use of very pale, soft colour shades of green and nude to take off the edge and a multitude of textures like wood, marble, copper, ceramics and concrete visually stimulate the visitor’s attention. Additionally, Menu has managed to preserve their traditions while they’ve managed to renew themselves simultaneously. The stand is a good example of this and shows that Menu manages to show both well-known products and their new design objects. 

String: Swedish iconic furniture brand String opted for a monochromatic full-impact performance at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair. The non-colour scheme was mirrored not only in its shelving systems but also in the entire booth styling by famous local stylist Lotta Agaton. Moreover, String managed to portray the various facets of the String system usage on its stand – for big apartments, small apartments and now for the office, too.

By Lassen: Danish design brand By Lassen convinced us with a smart interpretation of their iconic designs for their own fair booth. The typical, cubic design of their benchmark product, the ‘Kubus’ candleholder, has sort of set the tone for a cubic design approach of their entire stand highlighting the wide range of products and offering the best visual frame for their new range of reversible coffee tables. Also, the colour palette was very balanced and well composed for design-savvy eyes. 

It comes as no wonder that we've picked three pretty iconic Scandinavian brands as the Stockholm Design Week is a true source of fabulous Scandinavian design. However, I have way more to share with you including some excellent examples of young design talents. All this I will share with you over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

For now off we go to hit this Monday and a new week! Bon courage!

Photography by Riikka Kantinkoski

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Why This Room Caught My Eye

I've been traveling to Scandinavia so often recently that I feel like I've caught that Scandinavian interior design virus. You know, that rather black and white styling attitude, the use of graphic patterns, wood and leather elements, the inclusion of home plants - well, no wonder today's eye-catching room is a detail shot of Lotta Agaton's Stockholm home. The renown stylist is a sort of Scandinavian styling icon and her home is probably her best business card. Even this little corner has so much to tell:

• Black & White Styling: The balanced use of black and white elements in this interior set the perfect visual framing for any further styling.
• Indoor Plants: The generous use of indoor plants revives the interior - it freshens up the monochrome setting and brings the nature into the home.
• Natural Light: Scandinavian homes seem to be blessed with an abundance of natural light - high and numerous windows let in the maximum of natural light in a part of the world where light can get scarce during wintertime. 

How do you like this little corner? You can see more of Lotta Agatons's home on Emmas Designblogg.

Photography by Pia Ulin, Styling by Lotta Agaton

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