Interiors - the new culture of living*

From collectible design to intelligent ecosystems: Milan Design Week 2026 outlines trends for the next decadeCattelan Italia - photo Temenouzhka Zaharieva

Milan Design Week is the most important moment of the year for the world of design – it is here that professionals and enthusiasts gather not only to discover new products, but also to exchange knowledge, to be informed and, ultimately, to do business. It turns every corner of the city into a stage for bold ideas, surprising installations and projects that shape the direction of interior design for the coming months.

The event is so vast that even seven days are not enough to cover everything – from the main fair, the Salone del Mobile at Rho Fiera, to the Fuorisalone – the dozens of exhibitions and installations scattered throughout the city.

Milan Design Week is not really “about furniture”. It is a fascinating cultural phenomenon that uses furniture as its medium and predicts how we will live, work and connect in the next decade. The trends that emerge here don’t stay in showrooms – they end up in your home or office. This is where abstract ideas about technology, sustainability and well-being become reality.

Collectible design is the new central theme

One of the key lines this year at Salone del Mobile was the focus on collectible design through Salone Raritas (“rarities”). The initiative opened the fair to limited editions, unique products, rare objects offered by modern furniture designers and galleries, collectibles, antiques and, in general, design created with a high artisanal value.

“Industrial and limited edition design have been part of the interior design toolkit for over a century. It’s time to give collectibles a place alongside contemporary industrial design,” says Salone del Mobile President Maria Porro. This is not just an aesthetic gesture, but a signal of a reordering of value in design – towards uniqueness, narrative and materiality.

Draga & Aurel stand - photo Temenouzhka Zaharieva

One of the impressive stands was that of the duo Draga & Aurel - "Affinity in Light" - a new collectible design created in collaboration with the Murano glass manufacturer.

The home as a smart ecosystem

The EuroCucina and the International Bathroom Fair, which took place in Salone this year, confirmed the larger trend: the shift from designing individual products to designing integrated living systems.

The direction is clear – a smart home with deep integration of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things: refrigerators that manage inventory, ovens with voice control, sensor taps that monitor water consumption.

photo Arclinea

Design no longer creates objects but environments and increasingly does not define a function but builds a feeling. The trend towards rounded, “soft” shapes continues, including in kitchens and architectural solutions. This is a retreat from strictly functional design towards creating an atmosphere.

Sustainability and wellness as a standard

Sustainability is no longer a trend, but a baseline. Circular economy, recycled materials, new technologies for water and energy management – ​​all of this is integrated into the product concept itself. In parallel, the home is becoming a space for recovery.

Bathrooms are evolving into home spas with chromotherapy and sophisticated water systems, and kitchens are becoming environments that care for air, ergonomics and the sensory experience.

The home is being reimagined as a tool for well-being.

@Gessi

ne of the most impressive new bathroom collections I have seen is Kartell by LAUFEN, for which Kartell has entrusted the creative direction to Ferruccio Laviani, a key figure in a collaboration that has lasted for over thirty years. The project combines technology, design and a long-standing industrial culture:

photo - Temenouzhka Zaharieva

Bulgarian participation: DOPIR

An important event for us at Milan Design Week is the impressive Bulgarian participation. This year, nine Bulgarian designers and studios have joined forces in the collective project DOPIR (touch). Its initiator and organizer is Kaloyan Vassilev, founder of interior studio KVDesign, and his team.

photos - Temenouzhka Zaharieva

The theme of their presentation – exploring design through the senses – coincides organically with the new idea RARITAS of Salone. Certainly, the very good choice of location – the historic Palazzo Bagatti Valsecchi in the center of Milan – as well as the wonderful arrangement of the presented products also contribute to the effect of the Bulgarian presentation.

Of course, this is only a small part of the huge amount of new and interesting products presented during Milan Design Week. And the analysis of the directions of design development is only just beginning. But we already have positive statistics – here is what the fair organizers report: “Despite the economic gloom and travel disruptions caused by the wars in the Middle East, 1,900 exhibitors from 32 countries showed their projects at Fiera Milano Rho, while hundreds of other events spread throughout the city for the increasingly popular Fuorisalone.”

Milan Design Week once again showed that design does not follow the world, but shapes it, and that the industry is developing despite the crises.

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*This is the English version of my article published in the last edition of Manager special edition dedicated to design and building industry.

But you can have a lokk at much more inspirations from Milan Design Week and Salone in my other sites.