Flowers have been a great source of inspiration for numerous years. At the design fair in Milan, I was amazed to see 5 small cars ( Fiat 500) covered with beautiful flowers.

The flower council of Holland invited five influential designers such as Karim Rashid and Studio Job to decorate those cars with flowers.

I am not sure that chairs covered with flowers would be very comfortable to sit on, but at least they are beautiful to look at.

The Campana brothers designed a chair for Edra based on water lilies and the famous Japanese designer Yoshioka Tokujin designed these beautiful chairs made out of Fabrics for Moroso.

Takashi Sato is a young Japanese designer who made quite an impression when he exhibited in the Salon Satellite in Milan last April. For his coat hanger he was nominated by Design Report Award 2008.

Sato was born in Japan in 1976 and worked as an engineer till 2007, when he decided to be a designer.

Just look what he did ever since:

This hanger defies the shape of domestic hangers while fulfilling their ultimate use.

The folding stool enables you to transform from three-dimensions to two-dimensional shape. So you can stack them in the corner of the room when they are not needed.

The vase can be opened in the center so you can change the water without rearranging the flower set.

I know many people who love clocks so much, they cannot stop collecting them. When you enter their houses it seems like the whole place is ticking.
Look at these clocks of Progetti, isn't it the most amazing collection you have ever seen?

 One chair that received a lot of attention in Milan was the "ghost chair" by studio "Drift".

Using the latest production techniques, the chair is very dramatic, almost unbelievable but very beautiful. The Flexi glass chairs have ghost-like forms inside them created with laser technology.

 This is what Ralph Nauta and Lonneke Gordijn say about their work:

"Nowadays anything is possible with 3D computer programs -you can even draw the impossible - so why fall back on the awkward design language of your grandma’s furniture? With the Ghost Chair we want to make clear that it is time to free ourselves of old styles and trends and to start designing our own future."

Trash Luxe is a trend in which designers take generic materials to make exquisite objects. 

British Designer, Stuart Haygarth showed his Tide Chandelier two years ago at the designesblock. The chandelier, made of hundreds of plastic items found on the beach, was at the time really quite surprising.

Since that time, I've seen more and more designers create luxury objects out of garbage.

One of the prettiest objects in this trend was presented this year in Milan. It was created by fashion stylist Winnie Lui. Inspired by her surroundings, obsessed with both new and vintage toys, she is attracted to small details that many overlook and think unimportant. By the way, the chandelier "White" (which she designed for Innermost) is a blown-up version of her chunky necklaces and brooches.

I can’t label it a trend but I think every once in a while we deserve a break, a refuge, some may call it comic relief. 

Spanish designer Nacho Carbonell exhibited his evolution chairs in Milan. The project explores themes of public and private behavior. Carbonell wanted to create a refuge from everyday life, a place in which we can hide and digest what we see.

The collection includes three seats made from recycled paper. My favorite is the love seat – a great combination of public and private behavior.

At Salon Satellite, two young Japanese designers presented unique and playful tableware that made me wish they’d invite me to their house for dinner.

"Masaru Castle" is a collection of Quick Bite whites inspired by the concept of a Castle as a "symbol of hopes and dreams”.

It gives you the opportunity to use your own creativity to prepare a variety of dishes – and of course share by inviting friends over for a meal full of fun.
As of late, designers are increasingly turning to food as a material (a new trend that I will write to you about very soon). This tableware is just the first peek of what’s to come.

One of my favorite places at the design fair in Milan is the Salon Satellite. At the Salon, young designers, students and recent graduates from all over the world present their work, hoping that the right people in the industry will notice them. It is there that I see the most refreshing and inspiring work.

Last year at the Salon, I met two young designers, Mario Minale and Kuniko Madea, who presented "Survival Furniture". They covered furniture made out of simple wood with silk that looked like exotic protected wood. What a great ecological statement!

This year, Mario and Kuniko were part of the famous Droog design team. At Salon Satellite, they presented a new series of furniture that reflects the survival spirit I wrote about few days ago - dual functions to every object.

There were 348,000 visitors this year at Milan's Fiera, 28% more than last year. If there were any talks about recession and the real-estate slump, I have to admit that I didn't hear any. There was so much to see, especially at the satellite shows around town, and the weather was so great in the first couple of days, that everyone was in high spirits.

"Eco design" was a major theme at the fair this year. Some said that design came all of a sudden to its senses, integrating old values in a new quality. Others said that many of the object presented in Milan were tentative, due to the confusion in the furniture industry and the demand for sustainable products.

Words like “survival spirit”, “serene lifestyle” and “perfect sustainability” are trying to define a new trend we saw in Milan this year. This trend is trying to help us navigate in a world with endless possibilities on one hand and environmental crisis on the other.
So what are the characteristics of this new trend? Think ordinary materials, neutral colors, raw, angular aesthetic and dual functions to every object (improvisational approach).
 

Philippe Malouin, a graduate from Eindhoven Design Academy, presented the Grace table – a table that can become an inflatable rescue platform when one is needed and can be decreases to a size of a handbag when not needed.

The hanger chair is a hybrid object: a folding chair and clothes hanger. It can be stored in a wardrobe or on the wall.

 But not everything was so serious, look at the little figurines Jaime Hayon showed in the Lladro booth.
His name is "the lover" and he is wearing shoes that Hayon designed for Camper. Isn't it cute?

And this chair was shown in Moooi's stand – mother and child. They really do resemble each other, don’t they?