MAGAZINE
Salone del Mobile Milano 2026: A Space That Changes the Way We Feel
Recently, Milan hosted the annual Salone del Mobile — one of the key events in the world of design, which traditionally sets the direction for the industry for the year ahead. As always, the scale of the exhibition is truly overwhelming: dozens of pavilions, hundreds of brands, thousands of exhibits, and an endless variety of interpretations of what contemporary interiors can be.
In this article, we take a closer look at selected pavilions and projects presented by leading international brands. Architect and interior designer Alexandra Loginova attended the exhibition and shared her observations, impressions, and professional perspective on the key trends, innovations, and directions that are shaping the language of contemporary design today.
Every year before traveling to Milan, I find myself thinking that it will be nearly impossible to surprise me again. I already have a sense of what I’m about to see: impeccable stands, perfectly calibrated lighting, luxurious materials, flawless styling. But Salone del Mobile 2026 turned out to be about something entirely different.
At a certain point, I caught myself almost stopping taking photographs of individual objects. What became far more important was the overall feeling of the space: the light, the scale, the sound, the textures, the architecture, the way an interior begins to influence your emotional state. And perhaps that became the main impression of this year’s exhibition.
Milan has finally stopped being merely a venue for Salone. The city itself has become part of the exhibition. Baxter, Poliform, Flexform, Poltrona Frau, Minotti, Cassina, Molteni&C, and many other brands quite literally stepped beyond the pavilions this year, taking over historic palazzi across the city.
And it completely changes the perception of design. You are no longer simply looking at furniture. You enter an old Milanese palazzo, walk up a marble staircase, pass through an inner courtyard with peeling plaster and suddenly find yourself inside a perfectly composed contemporary interior. It is precisely this contrast between old Milan and contemporary design that creates the strongest impression today.
One of the most memorable presentations was Louis Vuitton’s exhibition — a continuation of the Objets Nomades collection, created in collaboration with international designers including India Mahdavi, Patricia Urquiola, Estúdio Campana, and Atelier Biagetti. The story of this collection began back in 2012 as a reinterpretation of the art of travel — one of the central themes of the House of Louis Vuitton.
This year, the space felt especially refined: ornamental screens, armchairs upholstered in rich fabrics, and a sophisticated interplay of color and texture. It was one of those rare moments when luxury no longer appears overtly expensive, but genuinely beautiful without trying to impress at any cost.
More broadly, Milan 2026 revealed a very clear return to decoration, though not the heavy, overly ornamental approach we saw a few years ago. This time, it feels far more intelligent, restrained, and refined.
For me, Minotti expressed this shift best. The brand’s new collection became a beautiful dialogue between eras, where the freedom of the 1960s meets the sophisticated chic of the 1990s. Signature low silhouettes, deep volumes, and nuanced tones of stone, graphite, earth, and metal were paired with lacquered exotic wood veneers, polished steel, smoked glass, and richly textured surfaces.
Everything feels effortlessly relaxed, yet incredibly precise at the same time. And at a certain point, you realize: this is exactly what true luxury feels like today: calm, confident, and completely free from any need for display.
One of the most atmospheric spaces was the collaboration between Kelly Wearstler and H&M Home.
Kelly Wearstler has an almost cinematic ability to work with the emotional dimension of space. Sculptural vases, objects with totemic forms, layered sand and chalk tones, soft lighting, and delicate scenography created an interior that didn’t make you want to photograph it but simply to stay inside it.
What stood out especially was a clothing rack with softly curved lines set against ornamental wallpaper — almost an homage to European modernism of the 1970s. And the lighting design was executed with such precision that the lamps themselves seemed to shape the space through a subtle play of shadows and half-tones
Poliform also left a powerful impression with its installation at Palazzo Clerici. For the presentation of its new outdoor collection, the brand collaborated with studioutte to transform the historic palazzo into an almost surreal garden. The experience unfolded through layers of haze, diffused lantern light, and the abstraction of an urban forest.
Against the dark surfaces, the white pieces by Jean-Marie Massaud and Emmanuel Gallina appeared almost ghostlike. The entire space felt deeply cinematic — as if you were simultaneously both the viewer and part of the scene itself.
Baxter, by contrast, once again leaned into drama. Dark tones, rich leather, and layered lighting created the feeling of stepping inside a frame from an Italian film. Baxter still has an unmatched ability to create atmosphere better than almost anyone else.
Cassina, as always, works brilliantly with color. This year, Patricia Urquiola’s influence is especially evident: complex tones, soft forms, and an interior that feels very alive and human. And this is a rare quality of the brand: even the most contemporary spaces by Cassina never feel cold.
Of particular note is CEA Design, which presented its collections in one of Milan’s palazzi. The brand continues to work with steel in a virtuoso way: shower systems integrated into the wall, minimalist mixers, and an almost architectural approach to water design. A similar direction was presented by Axor : the idea of integrating sanitary fittings into the architecture of space is becoming one of the key trends in bathroom design, although some of the solutions still feel more conceptual than fully refined.
And, of course, it is impossible not to mention RH. Six floors of absolute American scale. This is no longer just a showroom, but a fully developed lifestyle universe, where interiors, textiles, lighting, restaurants, and architecture are woven into a single narrative of elevated living
If we speak about trends, the key impression of this year is that interiors have become sensorial again. Spaces feel softer, warmer, more tactile.
Kitchens are finally dissolving into the living space. There are more and more concealed storage systems, hidden kitchens, pull-out countertops, and islands that extend into dining tables. The kitchen no longer reads as a technical zone — it becomes part of the home’s architecture.
A very strong direction is set by Modulnova, Boffi, and Visionnaire: perfect-quality steel surfaces, highly considered ergonomics, and a very calm understanding of luxury.
In almost every space, the main protagonist becomes deeply brushed stone in complex tonalities. It feels as if the industry has discovered entirely new marble quarries. This is especially evident in Antolini: deep browns, grey-greens, smoky blues, and tobacco shades are now moving far beyond decorative panels and becoming an integral part of kitchens, countertops, and furniture.
At the same time, ceramics today have come so close to natural stone that, in some cases, the materials can only be distinguished by touch. This was particularly well demonstrated by Atlas Concorde, Tubądzin, Florim, and Laminam: patterns have become deeper, textures more complex, and surfaces significantly more tactile. Notably, even Devon&Devon presented this year furniture made entirely of porcelain stoneware.
Bathroom design is also undergoing a very interesting transformation. At Agape, the new pieces created in collaboration with David Lopez Quincoces are particularly striking: plywood, cast glass, concrete bases. Sanitary ware increasingly resembles interior sculpture.
Antonio Lupi continues to explore the possibilities of Cristalmood and Flumood – contemporary composite materials with a beautiful depth of color and an almost luminous translucency. What is especially interesting is how the brand is working today with the architectural integration of objects. Wall-mounted mixers quite literally disappear into shadow gaps, turning into an extremely minimal functional detail. Mirrored cabinets are recessed flush into the wall and are perceived no longer as separate objects but as part of the architecture itself. Even toilets receive soft integrated lighting, creating an almost hotel-like sense of a private wellness space. Bathroom design is becoming increasingly clean, concealed, and emotionally calibrated.
Gessi is effectively turning mixers into multifunctional interior objects. Today, it is no longer just a source of water: the systems integrate filtration, sparkling water dispensing, and some concepts work almost like a coffee station: simply load a capsule, and the kitchen transforms into a full hospitality space.
Cielo presented bathrooms as complete interior scenes in a very elegant way. Colored basins, soft pastel tones, and complex combinations of textures and light created the feeling not of a utilitarian room, but of a continuation of the living space. The bathroom is finally ceasing to exist as a separate zone — it becomes part of the overall aesthetic of the home.
And this is perhaps another key takeaway from Salone del Mobile 2026: the boundaries between living rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and hospitality spaces are gradually disappearing. Wallpaper in showers, decorative lighting, soft textiles, art objects – interiors are becoming emotional and cohesive, forming a single continuous experience rather than a set of separated functions.
If we try to distill the main impression of Salone del Mobile 2026 into a few words, it is that interiors are once again learning how to evoke emotion.
Not to impress with technology, although today’s technologies are indeed remarkable, but to create an atmosphere in which you genuinely want to live.
Alexandra Loginova, interior designer and architect
