Not only Flooring: Parquets as furnishings at the 2019 "Salone del Mobile" Furniture Fair

Current trends, news and successes at the recent "Salone del Mobile" Furniture Fair in Milan

20.04.2019

The Parkemo ‘world of wood’ recently made an important appearance in Milan, a high-profile European city and financial centre of Italy: a flagship for all things “Made in Italy”.

Parkemo visited the Salone del Mobile, an international trade fair not only for industry professionals, but one also attracting almost 400 thousand visitors from 181 countries. Also part of the fair, the “Fuori Salone” events section brought cutting-edge concepts in contemporary design onto the streets of Milan.

Though we’re naturally biased, we have to admit that this year we’ve seen a lot of really nice wood flooring ideas, and that’s not all.

Trends in parquets, colours and furnishings

There’s been a gradual trend towards industrial design and refurbishing, rediscovering classic aesthetics, minimalism and retro styling. In all of this, wood has retained its focus, attracting common consensus.

The trend in colours seems to be towards petrol-greens, reds, lemon-yellows and pinks. And when it comes to wood, natural finishes dominate the field.

Natural wood furnishings including wallpaper, were treated with respect and well represented throughout the event, while parquet flooring has become a type of furnishing in its own right.

The parquets samples on show ranged from warm, neutral and homogeneous, to aged, marked, cracked and wrinkled.

The latest trend is towards "well-dressed" floorings: lots of colours and strategically-placed carpets, without completely covering the floors; with the quality of the materials and ecological treatments as key features.

And while the focus solidly remains on quality materials, sustainable sourcing and workmanship, attention is also paid to the art of installation and laying, magically transforming an environment – quite literally.

Elegant, oiled and silken, the light woods dressing the floors in these sophisticated environments are set to follow us on to the next decade.

Trendy parquet essences that go well with home furnishings

Queen of parquets? Oak, more than any other wood, is truly timeless.

Formats and sizes? Smaller formats have been revisited, harking back to the past with a touch of vintage (and why not?); a more judicious use of materials – with less wastage and increased sustainability all round.

Textures were another highlight at the Salone del Mobile, where wooden floors are not just to be looked at, but also to be "felt" while walking barefoot.

Long, dark running boards, almost like the deck of a pirate galley, gnarled by time, the sun and the sea, vainly flaunting deep scratches, in which legends and old yarns are engraved. As furnishings in themselves, these dark floors cannot be covered and need to be offset with skins and leather, gold, bronze, as furniture inlays or affixed to opulent furnishings (such as lamps).

The Salone del Mobile has been really inspiring, even exuding optimism. As the years go by, fashions come and go but we, at Parkemo, can testify that our valued wooden parquet flooring remains unrivalled, as the protagonist (or at least, co-protagonist) in furnishing rooms and ambiences of yesteryear, the present, going into the future.

We can forgo a piece of furniture, a lamp, a carpet, a TV, maybe even the entire house or office... but we’ll never give up the satisfaction of furnishing our rooms with our parquets, day after day.

Always feeling at home, wherever we happen to be around the world …

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