Since 1961, Milan has played host to Salone del Mobile, the world’s largest furniture fair and an essential event on the calendars of architects, designers, and design aficionados everywhere. This year’s edition ran from April 21 to 26 and welcomed 316,000 visitors to the extravagant booths of more than 1,900 exhibitors, including for new exhibitions Salone Raritas, dedicated to collectible design; hospitality concept Aurea, an Architectural Fiction; and Abito, exploring the ties between design and fashion. Not only did these presentations explore what’s new, but they also revealed what’s to come. After weaving through all the massive pavilions at the Rho fairgrounds—a near-heroic task—Surface spotted the below design trends sure to soon dominate interiors.
Five Design Trends at Salone del Mobile 2026
From the signature color at every booth to the throwback era informing contemporary furniture forms, the annual furniture fair in Milan reveals what’s next for the design industry
By Elizabeth Fazzare April 27, 2026
1970s Inspiration Remains But the 1990s are Catching Up
A half century since the era of bell bottoms and free love, many contemporary designers have turned to the maximalism, saturated color palettes, and low-slung furnishings of the 1970s for interiors inspiration in this decade. At Salone, Knoll revived its 1973 Morrison Hannah Chair for chic offices in Europe for the first time while Minotti placed shag fur carpets underfoot in the ’70s half of its booth before transitioning visitors to the future—its 1990s-inspired wares, including new oversized modular seating by GamFratesi, Hannes Peer, and Giampiero Tagliaferri.
Build Your Own Conversation Pit
Sofa cushions throughout the fair were thoroughly stuffed and puffed, while their insular arrangements referenced another midcentury relic—the conversation pit. Large, curved sectionals dominated the booths of furniture brands like Dedon, Minotti, Nii, and Tacchini. Norm Architects created an elongated version of the trend for Audo Copenhagen while Acerbis went literal, beckoning a rest on its booth’s communal lounge platform. Originally designed by Claudio Salocchi, two new corner elements add configuration possibilities to this so-called Free System.
Cabinetry Gets Puzzling
In stark contrast to the simple Shaker-style cabinetry that is dominating current interior designs, Salone exhibitors embraced the complex. Fairgoers gathered in awe at Xavier Lust’s Salone Raritas booth as the mechanics of an intricate gold satin-lacquered bar cabinet was demonstrated. Nearby, a large casework piece by Ilmari Tapiovaara displayed by La Permanente Mobil Cantù hid storage behind handsome bookshelf panels. At the charming booth of Bosnian design brand Zanat, a chest of drawers by Michele De Lucchi was carved to appear interlocking.
We All Just Want to Be Held—By Seating
B&B Italia marked its return to Salone del Mobile after a 25-year hiatus with a Formafantasma-designed booth whose coffered ceiling evoked a chic midcentury office while marble partitions offered references to a Miesian pavilion. But the true highlight was a Vincent Van Duysen-designed outdoor chair, part of a new modular seating system, whose overstuffed cushions within a simple wood frame created an enveloping effect that called several booth-goers for a sit test. A new series of Minotti dining and lounge chairs had a curved upholstered backrest for a similar feeling with a less dramatic design. At Kartell, the Super Tubby sofa by Ludovica Serafini and Roberto Palomba featured an angled section to hug the sitter while cierre1972 presented a pillows-on-frame model for total comfort.
The Color of the Fair? Orange
While neutral palettes were still plentiful, many more brands embraced color—and the signature shade was orange. Though some shades skewed electric, like the playful laboratory-themed Sancal booth with a chain-linked communal seat in a vibrant hue that promised “an antidote to cultural flattening,” most tended a more muted tangerine. At Knoll, Johnston Marklee’s new Biboni lounge chair and ottoman stacked tiered curves in the color. Karl Andersson & Söner presented a zigzag sofa in the hue. Campeggi’s new Quilt Pipe sofa by Giulio Manzoni took a dustier approach. The color gained popularity with the collectible and emerging crew, too. Milan-based gallery Nilufar presented a pair of otherworldly orange sconces at Salone Raritas while Korean designer Su Yang Choi’s seaweed-based lighting and Norwegian designer Midtun’s cathedral glass-paneled table both embraced shades at SaloneSatellite.
