Now we’ve said goodbye to April, it’s time to reflect on what we’ve seen.

The busiest in the design industry’s calendar, the month most notably brings with it the Salone del Mobile fair, and the wider Milan Design Week.

This year’s programming was dominated by cross-pollination and discipline blending and it seems that now more than ever, brands across a wide spectrum are wisening up to the fact that the design sector offers a chance for them to showcase a different side to their output. This often manifests in projects and installations that go deeper on the company’s process and concept – and we saw from a multitude of tech, car and fashion brands during our time in Italy.

But as-per usual, furniture is what we go for, and as expected, most of April’s picks come from our at Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week (where there was so much to see that launches will probably spill out into next month’s edit too…)

Read on for our best picks from the month of April:

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Big Red table and bench set
Uma Objects & Holloway Li

As per usual, Alcova was the must-visit destination of this year’s Milan Design Week. Returning to the show was Holloway Li and Uma Objects, whose first collabortive piece, the “T4” chair, caught the eyes of many. Now, they follow up with the “Big Red” table and bench set, which is crafted from a foam core and infusion-moulded fibreglass finished in a high-gloss red.

Additional System sofa
Joe Colombo & Tacchini

Many of Colombo’s archival works have design enthusiasts in a firm chokehold. Tapping into his resurgence of popularity, Tacchni are bringing back a model created in 1967, titled “Additional System”. Modular by design, the piece is made up of cushions in six different sizes, which can be placed in any number of positions to suit the space or user. Visually, it creates an undulating landscape across the floor, making for a striking place to rest your head.

Accelsa lamp
Angelo Mangiarotti & Karakter

Another reissue, the Accelsa lamp was created in 1985 by Italian architect and sculptor Angelo Mangiarotti. The simple piece is crafted from hand-made Venetian frosted white glass, which softens the glow from the bulb to create a more ambient light.

Lokum table
Sabine Marcelis & Acerbis

Both Marcelis and Acerbis seemed to be popping up all over the shop during this year’s Milan Design Week. The brand and designer also worked together on a new collection of “gummy drop”-looking glass tables named “Lokum”. The pieces are typical of Marcelis’ aesthetic – simple, and rooted in materiality. But the real cherry on the cake is the fact that the entire piece is blown in one piece.

Pillo sofa
Willo Perron & Knoll

Knoll and Willo Perron came together to create a sofa that looks l ike a stack of overszied pillows. “Designed to be sat in, not on,” is the way the brand describes the piece, adding that pillows are plush and deep, and that the sofa serves as a “refuge” of sorts. Modular, the elements can be combined dependent on size and shape of space, with textiles and leathers available for upholstery.

Thick cabinet
Mark Grattan & Unno Gallery

This cabinet was actually first designed by Mark Grattan for his own apartment in New York City. Together with UNNO gallery, it branched out into a fully fledged collection, which featured curved edges and stretching forms all finished in a high-gloss lacquer. “This collection is not just about design; it’s a story about the simple ritual of putting things away after use, the habitual practice and skillset of organization and how it promotes mental clarity,” Grattan said.

Rowdy rugs
Okej Studio

The new Rowdy rugs from Okej Studio are designed to bring a “free-spirited energy” to your living space. ⁠”We envisioned a striking contrast between the wild, organic textures found in nature and the rigid, straight lines of man-made objects,” said the Swedish-American brand, which made its name from the viral Squiggle rugs.⁠ The Rowdy range comes in four variations: Map, Light Wood, Dark Wood, and Oil. Each is available in custom-size orders to suit any shape of living space. ⁠

Rocky bench
Patricia Urquiola x Technogym

Patricia Urquiola was one of 40 designers to reimagine Technogym’s Bench this year, in celebration of the brand’s 40th anniversary. Named Rocky, the designer gave her bench a textural spin – making it look less like a gym item and more like something you’d find in the Flinstones home (which we deem a positive). To create the surface texture, the Rocky Bench was sprayed with Cimento, which comprises 90% mineral aggregates mixed with a cement binder. ⁠

Orbe sink
Trone

It’s not often you consider how dull and lifeless sinks can be. But then you come across something like the Orbe basin by Trone, and you can’t possibly imagine your bathroom with anything else. Featuring a curved silhouette and bold color options, the sanitary solution looks like it’s been plucked straight from a 70s sci-fi movie, and is completed with a spherical pop-up ceramic plug.

Printed Nature chair
Harry Thaler

Also at Alcova was Harry Thaler, who has developed a material technique that sees industrial wood scraps combined with 3D printing technologies to create furniture. Named EconitWood, the material was transformed into a range of pieces inside the Italian villa, but our favourite was this bulbous arm chair, which featured a tubular backrest and chubby seat.

Purple Nebula
Objects of Common Interest

Objects of Common Interest looked beyond our own planet for the Purple Nebula collection, noting that the hue isn’t often found in natural landscapes on earth. In particular, they looked at X-ray images from NASA, and translated them into a “monochromatic sanctuary”. Across the collection, materials in different levels of transparency were used, in order to create a varied table scape inside the Nilufar Gallery.

Haus Dari modular sofa
Hall Haus

At Design Space AlUla, Paris-based studio Hall Haus presented a 16-module sofa designed for both indoor and outdoor use. For the designers, it was the outdoor use specifically that the inspiration was born from. “The outdoor use of majlis has been the inspiration for Haus Dari for us,” they said. “It was born from a back-and-forth between these traditional majlis, the Sadaris found in North African countries, and modern Western sofas.” To render it suitable for any outdoor climate, the whole piece can be upholstered in outdoor fabric, with inner foam elements having been waterproof-coated.

Superwire Lamp
Formafantasma & Flos

Unveiled at the Palazzo Visconti in Milan, the modular SuperWire lamp is a result of a long collaboration between Formafantasma and the brand’s research and development team.⁠ Its simple design, which recalls the work of glass masters of the last century, conceals a complicated process – which has seen the designers develop an entirely new source, which is thin, flat, and flexible, and omits a soft glow from the so-called “straws” running through the lamp. ⁠⁠

Toru kettle
Nendo & Alessi

The PlayLab Inc-designed installation for Alessi brought a hatching dinosaur egg to the courtyard of a Milanese palazzo. On show around the space were new products – our favourite being the Toru electric kettle by Oki Sato’s studio, Nendo. According to the brand, this is just the first in a collection of stainless-steel appliances designed by the Japanese studio for Alessi.

DS-888 Collina sofa
de Sede and Atelier Oï

Kinetic furniture is having a real moment, and de Sede has arguably always been at the forefront, with its snaking DS-100 model taking over interior Instagram. Now, the brand releases a collaboration with Atelier Oï that features a dynamic backrests, which can be moved in all directions – horizontally and vertically – thanks to a newly developed, patented function.

Squash armchair
Faye Toogood & Poltrona Frau

A trip to the Poltrona Frau archives inspired Toogood’s Squash chair. Here, she grew fond of the 1970s-era furniture designed by the Italian label, but also, a specific lipstick red-colored piece from the 1930s. Straight away I knew I wanted to honour these archive colours and respond with a contemporary shape that met their boldness. It feels very refreshing to make a chair in such a strong, saturated shade,” she said. Form-wise, Toogood wanted to create a sense of the sitter being enveloped. Plush cushions and curves are intended to celebrate femininity. “The pieces embrace you. There’s nothing rigid about them.”

Enzo reception table
Nuova Group

Nuova Group might’ve designed this piece in Venice Beach, but it felt entirely at home in the Via Stampa restaurant in Milan. Crafted from solid marble alongside Marsotto cradtrlow table seems to float in zero gravity. Deep contours highlight the texture of the light beige stone, manufactured with the same material that Romeo and Juliet laid foot in the historic city of Verona.

Bed
Rooms Studio

This bed was one of six on show in an exhibition of works by Georgian designers Rooms Studio. Simply titled “Bedroom” the show transformed the humble home staple into a thing of beauty, creating futuristic yet nostalgic looking furniture in varying forms and silver tones.

Brännboll inflatable chair
IKEA

This doughnut chair builds on a rather turbulent legacy between IKEA and inflatable furniture. Forming part of the wider Brännboll range, the ergonomic seat was created with gaming in mind, but also offers a chance for the Swedish furniture giant to reinflate its reputation when it comes to blow-up homewares. “With Brännboll, we are embracing the idea that gaming is for everyone and belongs everywhere in the home. It’s about making it simple for people to create spaces that adapt to gaming, living, and everything in between,” says Philip Dilé, Product Design Developer at IKEA of Sweden.

AA67 Speakers
Alaska Alaska

The K67 fibreglass kiosks by Slovenian architect Saša J. Mächtig informed this collection from Alaska Alaska. Debuted at the Capsule Plaza show, the ice-blue range included sofas, armchairs and tables – but our favourite piece was the shelving unit/speaker hybrid, which was crafted in collaboration with OJAS. ““The K67 is an icon we have constantly referenced at the studio,” said Tawanda Chiweshe, Creative Director at Alaska Alaska. “Its language is distinct, and the resolve of its entire system has always been inspiring to the studio. When looking to find a point of entry into a dialogue with such an iconic work, a furniture series in tribute was our way of acknowledging the influence Saša’s work has had on the studio.” – Tawanda, Creative Director