Top Interzum Trends: Natural Wood, Gloss Goes Matte, Authenticity
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What trends do interzum 2015 exhibitors see? 1) Naturalness, coupled with real woods or a solid-wood finish; 2) personality and authenticity, including textures; and a move from high-gloss to matte. The wood materials and hardware show runs May 5-9 in Cologne, Germany. Here's a preview from Koelnmesses, which operates the show.

A leading international trade fair like interzum presents visitors with the newest trends in the furniture industry and interior design. While preparing for their fair appearance, exhibitors therefore put serious consideration into questions like: What trends do they see for the future? Which products will deliver on those trends? And which new products and services will they actually present at the fair? To gauge initial opinion, Koelnmesse asked the interzum exhibitors some questions in advance of the fair.

The following three main trends emerged from the survey of exhibitors in the "Materials & Nature" segment: naturalness, coupled with real woods or a solid-wood look, personality and authenticity as well as the trend towards an extremely high-gloss finish or an ultra-matt look. Future-focused factors like sustainability, plain colours and earthy tones were also mentioned.

These trends will also have an impact on the "Materials & Nature" event area in Hall 6 because of the three central ideas behind the Piazza's slogan, "Passion on Demand": the increasing demand for sustainable products in furniture design and interior construction, features which convey emotion and, not least, the trend towards the more individual as a powerful driver for the development of new products and concepts which cater to the respective customer and design requirements.

A closer look at the 3 top trends:

Interzum 2015Trend 1: Naturalness, coupled with real woods or a solid-wood finish

Working exclusively with solid wood, Franz Kolar GmbH predicts that this material will continue to set trends in furniture design. Marketing Director Dagmar Poindl says that wood, as a raw material, is being used more and more today. Mehling & Wiesmann similarly place great emphasis on real wood. Companies like Imawell and Egger are also subscribers to the persuasive power of the natural. Łukasz Mrozik, Sales and Marketing Manager at Bracia in Poland, says: "This trend has been around for quite some time now and it continues to endure. Some of our clients are now choosing our natural products rather than foil." Rustic-style surfaces as well as fine-wood veneers with a solid-wood appearance set the tone at Europlac. Imawell, Impress, Schattdecor and Decolan all combine appearance and haptics in the decor area, a trend which is addressed by the showcasing of new surface texture collections at interzum.

Interum 2015 texturesTrend 2: Personality and Authenticity

The topic of authenticity above all else leads the 2015/16 trends at Schattdecor: "These days, consumers no longer define themselves by the 'traditional' characteristics like age, gender, background or income but rather by mutual interests, ideologies and experiences had. And as part of that redefinition, a real desire for genuine, haptic experiences, non-material values and self-realisation is of central importance for today's consumers. Their consumer patterns reflect the increasing urge for "genuineness" and self-expression and that has a significant impact - on us as individuals above all", reads an extract from the company's interzum statement. Personality and authenticity are also important values for Impress and Imawell. Imawell, for example, promote personal expression with a variety of material and colour combinations as well as with bold touches of colour. Italian textile printer producer Reggiani Macchine views digital printing technology as an important solution to flexibly and most effectively meeting individual client requirements.

Trend 3: From high-gloss to matt

The trend in surfaces in living and interior fittings is veering toward high-gloss, according to Senosan, among others. Acta Mobilier from France specialises in all manner of fronts as well as their finishes, and is making the case for the other extreme too - namely ultra-matt fronts. However, as the Koelnmesse exhibitors survey reveals, matt surfaces don't just play a role in the "Materials & Nature" segment: several exhibitors from the "Function & Components" segment are also placing an emphasis on matt.

New products and concepts from exhibitors in the "Materials & Nature" segment

When asked about their new products and concepts, understandably not all exhibitors wanted to provide a "Sneak Preview". Others would only reveal one of their many premiering products. However, here we can introduce some of the exciting products which will be assembled at the "Materials & Nature" segments.

Family-run sawmill and veneer producer Mehling & Wiesmann specialise in finishes for indigenous types of wood. They will present two premieres at interzum: the "Silver edition", in response to the growing demand for sun-scorched, silver-grey, weathered wood, and the new brand TrüffelBUCHE - a truffle-treated beech wood which the wonders of nature have gifted with its own very unique veneer.

A range of new products from Europlac, based on historic old woods, will represent the trend for rustic-style naturalness. In addition, the premiering of "Wood Couture" - fashion from rustic-style wood - will certainly be a highlight.

Staying with woods, Franz Kolar will also introduce something new: solid wood furniture supply parts, as wood is increasingly on trend for highlighting accents. In addition, two acoustic products, the Dukta-Akustik-Holzplatte (wooden dukta acoustic panel) and the Stepwood-Akustik-3D-Platte (Stepwood 3D acoustic panel) will be introduced, combining nature, design and function.

Impress will introduce unique surface finish foils with the haptic feel of innovative lacquered surfaces. Schattdecor presents the innovative surface collection Smartfoil Evo, and Egger presents yet more premieres in the area of surfaces, including the newly developed Halifax Eiche tabak with its synchronous pore finish in an oak look. Wood-based materials manufacturer Pfleiderer will present new structures and decor elements.

Kurt Lautenschlager promises a premiere for the European market with his collection of Meganite surfaces. The solid surface material Meganite is already very popular in the USA and has now been launched in Europe. Senosan will present a range of new lacquered acrylic laminates in high-gloss and super matt as well as in a durable, abrasion-resistant glass version. Cantisa presents their new concept of a solid melamine board.

Koelnmesse - No.1 in Furniture: Koelnmesse is the world's top trade fair organiser for the areas of furnishing, living and lifestyle. At the trade fair hub of Cologne, leading international fair imm cologne as well as the trade fair formats of LivingKitchen, ORGATEC, spoga+gafa, interzum and Kind + Jugend rank among the internationally renowned and established industry meeting places. These fairs comprehensively represent the upholstered and case furniture segment, the kitchen industry, the office furniture sector and outdoor living as well as the innovations of the furniture supply industry. Over the last few years, Koelnmesse has specifically added international fairs in the most important fast-expanding markets to its portfolio. These include Rooms Moscow/Moscow International Furniture Show, the China International Kitchen and Bathroom Expo (CIKB) in Shanghai and furniPRO Asia in Singapore.

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