Southern Sweden’s biggest fair for interior design for public environments
Southern Sweden’s biggest furniture and interior design fair for public environments is being held for the 18th successive year in Malmö. Around 750 architects and buyers from private and public enterprises come together to gain inspiration from the latest innovations and trends from over 65 exhibitors. One of the key trends this year is re-use and sustainability.
The trend factor is high when southern Sweden’s biggest fair for design and interiors opens in Malmö. This year’s innovations from both Nordic and international brands will be unveiled on Thursday, alongside a selection of the best pieces from Stockholm Furniture Fair.
This year we will see how the enormous popularity of marble fares against competition from granite in a variety of shades. This stone has a dense structure that makes it hard and durable. Velvet features in both furniture and cushions and is regarded by many experts as this year’s big material trend. Cork, with striking patterns and sound-absorbing properties, is once again hot news. In terms of colours, we favour terracotta, dusky pink shades and warm, rich hues. Dark green tones and a beige palette are also prominent.
Re-use and sustainable renewal
However, according to Mille Milehem, COO at Input interior, which arranges Vårmässan, the biggest trend is not about colours or materials, but increased interest in re-use and sustainable renewal. A field he believes holds great potential.
“In a changing labour market, companies’ interior needs often shift long before the furniture deteriorates in quality. This represents huge waste, scrapping furniture as soon as needs change. Both private companies and public enterprises have begun to take action, and recycling requirements have become increasingly common in public procurement processes in the last few years. In Region Skåne we promote re-use and provide services involving refurbishment and reupholstery. And I am certain these endeavours will continue to expand.”
The increased demand for reused furniture reflects a new mindset among companies and their staff, as price is no longer the foremost reason for re-use. Instead it is the company’s, the employees’ and the wider world’s attitude to, and responsibility for, the environment and sustainability that is the governing factor.
Focus on sustainability among suppliers
Many of this year’s exhibitors at Vårmässan focus on re-use and sustainability:
Stolab presents award-winning new product Lilla Snåland. A stool made from offcuts from the manufacture of seats for the Lilla Åland spindle-backed chair. The stool was named interior accessory of the year at ELLE Decoration’s Swedish Design Awards 2017, and the number produced depends entirely on how many Lilla Åland chairs are manufactured. Each seat provides two offcuts and 14 of these are required for each stool.
Lammhults’ new wooden chair, Penne, focuses on sustainability twice over. The legs of the chair are made from moulded wooden tubes. These hollow legs, reminiscent of the pasta tubes after which the chair is named, make it lighter in weight although it is still just as strong and durable as an ordinary wooden chair. As Penne is assembled using screws rather than glue, it is easy to repair if any component becomes damaged, which makes for a longer life cycle. In addition, the chair can be easily disassembled into its smallest component parts, facilitating the recycling process when it is no longer needed.
The Phoenix chair from Offecct has been carefully conceived from the ground up, with every detail designed and produced with the aim of a long, sustainable and flexible life cycle. The frame is made from recycled aluminium and the upholstered parts can be easily removed and replaced. If the user wants a new colour or a different material to suit new functions, all parts can be swapped out and replaced with new ones. The result is a brand new chair, while the old parts are reused elsewhere.
Vårmässan is an industry fair arranged annually by Input interior, which has supplied interior furnishings for Malmö University, Malmö Arena Hotel, NCC in Malmö and Länsförsäkringar in Kristianstad, among others.
