Earlier this year architect and designer Maddalena Vienna visited the Salone del Mobile in Milano, along with thousands of others from the design industry, to see what trends we can expect on the horizon. The exhibition showcases excellence, quality and innovation.

In particular, Maddalena’s focus was on EuroCucina where kitchen design and trends were on display and the Salone del Bagno for bathroom design. She says there were definitely new directions but one obvious one was the celebration of the return of organic materials to create beautiful and timeless designs.

Another stand out was the inclusion of fireplaces in the bathroom to create a warm and inviting personal sanctuary with a focus on wellness and relaxation.

Bathroom trends:

• Timber flooring and tops, stone mosaic walls and basins for bathrooms
• Mirrors form part of the cabinetry with illumination set behind
• Cabinetry is set within the wall turning storage in a beautiful feature
• Cabinetry detail and the luxury is not only shown on the outside but also inside the joinery such as using leather lining for shelving.

Kitchen trends:
• Appliances hide behind beautiful bi-fold doors
• Face of the drawers on island benches are all made of stone
• Rangehoods and stoves are hidden not visible
• Simple sophistication and high tech merging together in smart tops for benches
• Greys still feature but other colours include organic tones of greens and purples and sharper colours such as orange and white.