Top Design

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

Stonepeak Ceramic's Gray Wool

Kale's RepTile

Coverings

If it's tile or stone you're looking for, Coverings is the place to be. Heather J. Paper reports.

This trade show is international to the nth degree, readily apparent as you follow your nose from the North American pavilion toward the aroma of cappuccino brewing in the Italian pavilion to the appetizing smell of tapas in the Spanish pavilion - well, you get the picture. Held this year in Chicago (due to its sheer size, only five U.S. cities are capable of hosting the show, of which Atlanta is one), Coverings featured 1,200 exhibitors from more than 65 countries, attracting nearly 37,000 designers, architects, builders, remodelers, retailers and distributors and, of course, journalists like myself trying to track down the latest trends. Making my way through the vast convention center, here's what I found:

HEAVY METAL: The shine of gold, silver and platinum was almost blinding - and definitely breathtaking. Artistic Tile introduced La Leaf, a collection of gold, silver and copper-leaf tile, while Seneca showed up with sterling and gold in their Adriatic Collection, consisting of handmade Venetian glass mosaics crafted in the ancient Murano tradition.

THE HABERDASHERY COMES HOME: What's not to love about a well-tailored suit? Now you can bring that menswear look home with tile decked out in everything from linen looks to smart pinstripes. Stone-peak Ceramics introduced a handsome Gray Wool, with a mod metallic finish, while Trikeenan brought out tile with a classic herringbone pattern.

A FEMININE TOUCH: Proving that even tile and stone can have a soft side, Ceramiche Astor introduced the Klis Collection, tiles with the texture of raw silk befitting runway fashions, some embellished with metallic floral motifs. And taking the fashion statement to the finest detail, Ceramiche Caesar came out with zipper-like interlocking tiles.

FAKING IT: At every turn, there was something that wasn't what it appeared to be. Lamosa's Woodriver tiles replicated river stones bordered by wood while faux skins showed up in everything from croc to alligator to snake, exemplified in the Kale Group's RepTile Collection. And Marazzi's Cimmaron tile was a dead ringer for honed slate.

Maya Romanoff's Bedazzled

International Contemporary Furniture Fair

This May's International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York did not disappoint the design enthusiast, says design diva Marcia Sherrill. And what's more, it certainly pleased many an Atlantan that our own Georgia Tech was one of the schools honored for innovations in design and technology.

The ICFF, like everyone else, is getting in on the ecological trend. Harvard-trained landscape architect-turned furniture designer Laurence Mackler goes beyond green with furniture that takes scraps and transforms them Rapunzel-like into modern masterpieces. This clever young talent works from large pieces of sustainable woods such as maple and cherry. After a chair is sculpted, the remains are reworked in a Rubik's Cube style into cubist cabinets worthy of any mid-century master.

Billed as 'Eco-friendly Modern Design,' Iannone Design uses woods certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, bamboo and a material made of reclaimed agricultural fiber to create artful furniture pieces with cutout laminates that create floral and pastoral patterns and scenes.

Natural materials abound at Maya Romanoff, an award-winning designer since 1969 whose unusual and exotic surface materials are made from mother-of-pearl, copper and glass beads for walls, counters and even draperies.

Paco Capdell's Hit Chair

There was an unusual return to wood in all of its natural, sculptural warmth in a sea of Lucite, plastic and Corian. Woodworkers like Palo Samko from Brooklyn are creating elegant furniture that owes less to Mission or Bauhaus than to earlier periods like Art Nouveau.

Renovation, Latin for rebirth, came out with a new collection that pays homage to Hollywoodís bygone glamour with improbably elegant round beds (yes, round) and sinuous settees all upholstered in white leather.

Function meets fashion at Missoni, where the firmís prints are now appearing on outdoor furniture, umbrellas, beach towels and beanbag-ish chairs for a groovy backyard.

The trend towards outdoor living is everywhere, from unbelievably comfy plastic chairs with Deco styling at Spain's Paco Capdell to fashionista Meg Cohen's (available at Kolo Collection) bentwood picnic trays and side tables.

At Studio JSPR, the Plastic Fantastic collection of 'Realskin' rubber-coated wood furniture is a homage to the French kings, including a chartreuse Louis XIV side chair and a lime green Louis XVI bérgére.