Milan-Utrecht - The trip back

So, when we flew into Milan, only a few hours later that whole Eyjafjallajokull Icelandic volcano eruption thing happened, and flights were grounded. I wouldn't have minded being stranded in Milan a few extra days myself as there's so much to see and do, but my colleagues couldn't. Thus we drove our rental Fiat Panda all the way back from Milan (roughly 1000km) on a saturday morning.

-the Italian alps from the backseat

-more scenic Italy/Switzerland from the car

The highlight of the drive for me was when we stopped at a rest/service station, and I found a pail of Nutella (it must have been at least 2 kg, if it wasn't 4 - boss snapped a shot of it on his phone, but I never saw the pic myself :( )

Zona Tortona Pt 2 - after the battery died (a combination of cell phone pics, and using my colleagues camera)

The last of my Milan photo's (there were really a lot to sort through - like more then 550)

-some cool lighting - I think this stand was for Portuguese designers

-same components but in a pendant fixture - reminds me of birds for some reason

-SLS lamp - the possibilities of rapid prototyping

-modular-ish couch - you can flip the components around to what you feel like, so more upright, normal style, or a more loungy style, I like this concept

-Abici + Pantone = smart - Abici had a noticeable presence at Design week, smart on their part, but also likely due to the uprising of bicycles, bicycle design, bicycles + fashion within the last 3-4 years or so

-Wallpiercing - from the FLOS Soft Architecture stand/expo

-KAP profile - the fixtures kinda grow outta the ceiling, real nice and smooth

-stained glass light fixture? - cool, fancy, wouldn't want it

-some nice up-lighting - I like

-cool hanging fixture - again, more soft shapes/forms with matte white (kinda saw that as a theme almost everywhere this year)

-table light - I think I read the other day that this was actually made from concrete and wood

-cool mantel clocks

-Sublima - nice fixie seen on the streets of Milan

-urban grocery getter - an interesting take on a cargo bike, I think it was a work in progress

Zona Tortona Pt 1 - Before the battery died

-Map courtesy of Core77 explaining the lay of the city in reference to what was going on for the whole Salone/Design week in Milan

-that's parallel parking - our Panda, behind another one, amidst the huge pile of cars around the very congested city

-matching bathtubs - because everyone has the luxury to do that, but they are nice tubs

-all matte white shower - note, 'normal' drains don't exist in designer fixtures as drains nicely designed and are no longer an eyesore (I like how the arm that supports the glass wall is also the plumbing fixture for the overhead shower)

-matte white kitchen sink - with ridiculously sharp corners (not that practical for cleaning is what I first thought)

-Carbon-fiber surfboard - wow!

-cappellini and Walt Disney signiture - somre pretty cool prints

-detail of the Disney print - yeah, I didn't see the Mickey Mouse right away either

Salone Internazionale del Mobile Pt 4 - Eurocucina - FTK (Halls 13 & 15 + FTK)

(Kitchens and kitchen appliances)

I ventured off to this hall on my own nearing the end of the day, when we had a little over an hour left, as I felt, given that one of our clients is a Dutch company doing kitchen appliances, it could prove useful - but that meant that I ended up missing out on some of the sweetest stands, such as Vitra - sigh.

-range hood + light + music speakers all in one space age package - by Elica

-modern art kinda range hood by Elica

-Electrolux hob (that's cooktop for the non UK anglophones - this I learned from doing translations for our website) - the silver oldschool LCD screen look sure is interesting

-Miele extremely minimalist hob and range hood - I saw the online video of the range hood, it pops out, hinging from the bottom, while in use

-almost indiscernible to see that it's a cook-top by Electrolux

-matching range hood by Electrolux

-the cook-top and range hood combo by Electrolux - viewed together, it does look pretty cool

-especially not straight on, you get more of the effect

-cook-top by Siemens - the knobs are removable, which I think is supposed to be a safety feature or something (but I could see as annoying if someone decided to go and hide them on you)

-Hoover doing gas cook-tops/hobs - I like the glowing dials

-that's one pretty cool cast iron hob - nice form integration going on here, and in the video, they showed some sort of fan/turbine technology going on underneath that little grate by the burner

-KitchenAid gas cook-top/hob - I liked this design the most I think

-the pan rests float above the stainless steel base nicely, and I like how the buttons/dials are shaped

-Futuristic all in one "eco" kitchen island concept - I think this was by whirlpool

-this would be the sink

-and this is a rice cooker?/veggie steamer?

-induction cook-top/hob

-really cool gas hobs/cook-tops by Whirlpool

-detail of Whirlpool gas hob - nice and subtle forms, along with notice taken to function (cleaning the work surface)

-very very sweet

-and also in colours

-really cool

-dark mirror finish fridge front - oh the fingerprints/smears

-Whirlpool built in gas hob - built in is really nice/sweet

-wider view of the built in Whirlpool hob

-pretty cool kitchen island - complete with shelf equipped with grow lights for your kitchen 'herbs'

-I like the built in, all in one stainless steel counter units - must be expensive to have your hob and sink built into the same bit of counter

-minimalism in the kitchen - that's a pretty dramatic range hood

-nice and minimalistic kitchen

-minimalist faucet detail - I like how simple it is, with the on off simply being the knurled surface, although I'm not sure if temperature is an option, or maybe the end is on/off, and the part near the base is the temp?

-integrated kitchen components - some cool ideas going on here

-the dish drying rack, feeds into the shallow kitchen sink

-super sharp/hard edged 'designer' kitchen - I think it was under the name of Armani or something like that, as a collaborative deal with some kitchen company

-super hard edged pan supports on this hob - doesn't look very kid/family friendly, suppose that's the price to pay for high design?

-how useful are sinks with corners like that?

-detail of Bosch kitchen mixer - very industrial styled

-Bosch kitchen mixer