MOOOI allows home dècor to cater to your every whim with its Naked Sofa, which, as its moniker suggests, comes without coverings. Consumers can choose from 16 different covers and four sets of legs to change as they please.
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Design Show Trends: AH&L editors and local creatives scour New York's International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Milan's Salone Internazionale del Mobile and Chicago's Coverings in search of the next big things.

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MOOOI allows home dècor to cater to your every whim with its Naked Sofa, which, as its moniker suggests, comes without coverings. Consumers can choose from 16 different covers and four sets of legs to change as they please.
In April, Tim Hobby of Space attended Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. The show, arguably one of the most influential furniture exhibitions in the world, carries the highest cachet in the design world, drawing a global audience of hip designers, architects and tastemakers ready to test-drive new products and prototypes and cut deals with international distributors. Top manufacturers put a hold on introducing lines until Milan; designers introduce only their freshest, most inventive designs. Below, Hobby expounds.

THE TRENDS: 'There was a distinctive color theme apparent in the majority of the showrooms, specifically the pairing of black and white,' says Hobby. 'Lacquers, upholstery, leathers, light fixtures. That was such a prominent color combination in the major stands.'

The influence of fashion. 'So many of the products had detailed embellishments, from decorative elements on zippers, leather hooks, braided rope hanging from the corner of a chaise pockets where you can store things like the remote control. One piece from Minoti had five pockets; another had ruching on it and looked like a beautiful blouse.'

WHAT STOOD OUT: 'The Prive X line by Philippe Starck for Cassina. The collection has an influence of Mies van der Rohe; a modern classic but with a certain twist that brings it up to date. The pieces like daybeds and sofas are designed to be romantic on, so the arms have adjustability and height and movement.'

DESIGN EVOLUTION: 'As technology has evolved, so has its equipment in terms of storage, so instead of really bulky, massive systems, you're seeing more hidden wall-mounted systems. Acerbis designed a glass-panel system that mounts on the wall and has storage for CDs, DVDs, speakers and things, and when you mount the TV behind the glass panel, its profile disappears, so the only thing that is visible is the screen itself. So when you're looking at the wall, all you see is a sheet of milk white or black glass. Probably one of the coolest wall systems I've seen.'

What's coming in-store: 'Space will be the second in the nation to get the Naked Sofa by MOOOI, which means beautiful in Dutch. It comes with 16 different covering options and four leg options, all located within the showroom, to demonstrate to clients how to transform their own pieces. It's definitely instant gratification.'

Space, (404) 228-4600; spacemodern.com. -ER