ISLAND LIFE
So while 2015 opens with a mega-trend based on the idea of Sharing, this will morph into Make later in the year, according to Maison&Objet’s Autumn/ Winter 2014/15 predictions. “New uses and values are reconfiguring ways of living together, exchanging information, goods, services and experiences,” state the authors — Vincent Grégoire for NellyRodi, Elizabeth Leriche and François Bernard (Croisements) — of their soon-to-be released findings.
Many top designers have been reassessing the sitting room’s top player, the sofa, offering up new typologies to re-invent the living area. In 2013, many of Europe’s furniture ateliers began releasing seating collections that opened up the possibilities available to users.
Family members might all be in the living room together, but are often doing their own thing; or perhaps the home office now is located on the sofa. The resulting shifts of activities prompted some furniture designers to address the phenomena, creating new configurations and typographies for modern living.
For example, Philippe Starck’s generous MyWorld lounge collection for Italian brand Cassina, was designed for multiple uses, as a work space and relaxation nexus. Starck has always maintained that the social value of a piece of furniture is fundamental, and the MyWorld range further develops that concept by allowing the user total freedom for social, intimate and work-at-home scenarios. He views the flexible series as “an island of energy and activity.”