Of all the fairs I went to in winter 2023 – Homi – was the one that suprised me the most. Here is the story on Milan fair on interior design.
Everyone knows about the large furniture and design fair Salone del Mobile, but not everyone knows it has a fair sibling with focus on interior design. Kind of the same content as Formex, Formland and even Maison&Objet. Homi has about 400 exhibitors and plenty of visitors. And I was super impressed. Really.
I have been to Homi before and it used to be a tired fair just after the large ones like Maison&Objet. But Homi 2023 was not tired at all. I can’t stop thinking about the amount of money they must have poured into this project. The two major halls looked good, with nice stands and three installations with different themes. And last time I went, it wasn’t this nice.
It was a fair with selfesteem and confidence. Of course I saw some brands that were exhibitors at for instance Maison&Objet, but there were still new ones to discover. And new trends or finds.
Out of all the fairs I went to now in winter 2023 (Formex, Formland, M&O, Ambiente, Stockholm Furn Fair, Heimtextil, Domotex) this is the one to watch out for. Will it be the next new thing? It is still very early. I think there were only a few Scandinavians, but huge potential for Scandinavians.
As with the overall trend about fairs getting smaller, so is this. I think it is official that this fair will only happen once per year. And I think that is smart.
Well done Homi. You get high scores. 8 out of 10. And a huge potential to be bigger.
At one of the installations. Made with recycled fabrics. Do you see the outline of the dome Duomo?
Second installation, also with recycled fabrics.
Trend 1 – folklore
A clear theme at most fairs, is that we see more usage of colours. More and more. No exact colour hue. Just more. This way of just adding gets a bit to look like folkart. Like these wonderful ceramics by MV% Ceramics Design.
Bellini Design
Que Rico
Colours on colours. Note that the base is a different from the bowl. From Baci.
Rose & Tulipani Milano
Po de Barro. And I am seeing all these flowers on plates and glasses too.
Livellara
It is all very 80s in a sense. From Vde Tivoli 1996.
Taitu
And red is dominant here too. From Vesta.
Evviva
Trend 2 – blue or teal
Blue, teal, mint or even “smurf”. It looks like a lot of brands are experimenting to get the right kind of light green blue hue.
I loved the cabinets at Ro-Metrico. You can make your own pattern and your own colours.
Blim Plus
Tray or plate at Novita Home.
Trend 3 – moorish heads
And since we are in Italy, we see a lot of Moorish heads. Of course.
Not really a Moorish head, but still cute.
Trend 4 – glass
And since we are in Italy, yes, we see a lot of nice glass.
From Blueside Design
I like this glass bottle and think it fits my folkart theme…
The rest
A fair like Homi is not only about finding the “correct” things, but also to be a bit surprised. Cute cards.
Or candy that increases concentration…
And of course some interesting sustainability projects. Here 3D printed lamps made of recycled plastics from Dygo Design.
Or my favourite. Krill Design made products of fruit peel. Orange, lemon and lime. Interesting and beautiful.
But there is also Milan…
Going to Homi is not ALL about going to a fair. It is always a good opportunity to look at what is happning in this lively Italian city. For instance I saw newly opened museum Fondazione Luigi Rovati. Super experimental architecture.
And a mandatory stop at Dimore Studio. Notice how the also work with this light, minty blue or green.
I am still in love with their golden doorways. And notice how low the painting is hanging on the wall. Is that the next thing? Paintings almost by the floor?