Furniture Surfaces Shine at IMM Cologne
Click on the image to open
The “Sitoncloud” table by Chinese designer Hou Liang, made of glass and lacquered MDF.

Photo By Kenn Busch

Click on the image to open
A bold plank character in office furniture, with realistic woodgrain texture even on the edges, in TFM. From Jahnke GmbH & Co.KG, Germany.

Photo By Kenn Busch

Click on the image to open
Maja-Werke’s distressed painted and cross-cut oak, both in TFM.

Photo By Kenn Busch

Click on the image to open
Blending work and home environments: gloss surfaces on lightweight thick panels, high-contrast horizontal woodgrains (very prominent at the fair last year), playful animal prints and vibrant colors on fabric bins, and high-contrast edges, from Phoenix Group AG.

Photo By Kenn Busch

Click on the image to open
Lacquered MDF in vibrant colors, in decidedly retro forms, from Tenzo AB, Sweden.

Photo By Kenn Busch

Click on the image to open
Low-tech convertible furniture – several exhibitors had shelves and tables that reconfigured or expanded by simply sliding pieces in or out. Shelf from Tvilum ApS, Denmark; Sculpture Jeux table from EPPIS Srl, Italy.

Photo By Kenn Busch

Click on the image to open
Muted warm earth tones in frosted back-painted glass surfaces push-to-open casework, from Tvilum ApS, Denmark.

Photo By Kenn Busch

Click on the image to open
Dusky grey-brown woodgrains were in many stands at IMM. Here, from Tvilum ApS, Denmark, in a printed furniture foil.

Photo By Kenn Busch

Click on the image to open
Strong heart-wood grain structures in TFM mix with strong linear textures in 3-D laminates in this display from Germania – Werk Krome GmbH & Co. KG.

Photo By Kenn Busch

Click on the image to open
An emerging surface design this year – oak with cross-cut saw blade marks, complete with rustic texture, shown here in TFM from Tvilum ApS, Denmark.

Photo By Kenn Busch

As consumers continue to rethink the meaning of “value,” good design and good quality are increasingly a given for all new furniture. People look at both the appearance and the materials of a piece of furniture. Neither is paramount — it’s the combination of the two that has to be just right, in every price range, reflecting a new generation’s questioning of our decades-old “throwaway society” lifestyle.

One unavoidable megatrend in the furnishings sector is the emphasis on materials that look and feel natural. Untreated wood, furniture made of used wood such as old ship planks, felt-covered seating, genuine moss for wall decorations, cork flooring, wooden bathtubs, pressed grasses in the glass walls of shower stalls, the increased use of leather as a furniture covering, animal skins, wooden floors — whatever it is, customers want the feel of natural, genuine and authentic materials.

Laminate and TFM producers have stepped up with new designs and textures, some of which have such a realistic unfinished wood texture that you feel compelled to wipe the sawdust off of your fingertips after touching it. Oak is still everywhere, with new cross-cut laminate designs and textures are emerging, and walnut retains its popularity because it looks expensive and elegant. At the lighter end of the color scale the European markets are still rife with beech, maple, ash, alder and birch.

The ultramodern look is advanced by deceptively thick panels made of lightweight honeycomb panels, some with integrated LED lighting and speaker systems, and by bold, saturated colors offset with natural and even rustic woods and stones.

View the slideshow for a photo essay of notable trends seen at the show.

Kenn Busch also publishes the web site, Materialintelligence.com, a resource for architects and interior designers.

For a list of overlay suppliers, visit RedBookOnline.com

Click here for a complete view of the comprehensive RedBookOnline.com

Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.