As crowded (almost) as it was in the golden times, the Salone del Mobile 2022 promises to be full on the weekend it will be open to the general public. Missing from among the visitors are the Russians and the Chinese, without a doubt, but Europe has a strong presence, and there are many people from the United States and India, Korea and the Arab countries too. In the pavilions – which in this edition are all active again – the feeling is of great enthusiasm. In part, certainly, for the return to normalcy, but there’s also a new attitude and more awareness when it comes to interiors and design. The pandemic brought a lot of attention to the home. At the fair this can be seen not just in the thoughtfulness of the products, but also in the setups. Never has there been such a focus on comfort in the stands as in this edition, where a soft and pleasant radiance reigns, while visitors walk on carpets that cushion footfalls and absorb background noise.

Setting the tone for this edition is Design with Nature, the installation by the architect Mario Cucinella in Pavilion 15, and it’s from here that we recommend you begin your visit. Cucinella and his team summarised the history of man’s destructive impact on the planet in one sinuous installation, but they also provide us with possible paths forward: on display are surprising materials made from hemp, cork and bamboo, as well as also from mushrooms, fish scales and even waterlilies. A few steps further on is the big Artemide stand, where standouts include the funny lighting system by Carlotta de Bevilacqua inspired by cable cars (the lights move thanks to a playful system of coloured cables) and the many theatrical chandeliers – it’s one of the big comebacks that can be seen in this Salone – like the gigantic fabric jellyfish designed Bjarke Ingels, Veil. Among the most talked about stands of this edition is Scavolini’s (in Pavilion 11), the work of Fabio Novembre. And rightly so. The idea of creating a large, porticoed Italian square works very well, complete with blue sky and clouds, from which you can enter lots of possible kitchens: from the one for a mini-space in the city (like Dandy Plus designed by November) to the one for a country house.

Another absolute must is the Kartell stand (in Pavilion 20), designed by Ferruccio Laviani. As is customary in the East, the entry is indirect, almost labyrinthine. Rice paper walls diffuse an opalescent light, while as you make your way through the carpet creates a muffled effect and promotes concentration. In the great internal agora, in addition to two new Philippe Starck chairs, the beautiful Japanese-inspired Tea table lamp with a woven lampshade designed by Laviani stands out. There’s also an eastern flavour at the stand next-door, the one by Glas, between iridescent glass screens and the new intriguing Simoon collection of tables and consoles designed by Patricia Urquiola, all-glass objects with fresh colours and odd orange-peel surfaces (obtained with fragments of Murano glass). Also in Pavilion 20, another must-see is the stand by Edra, all mirrored and night-effect, in which the iridescent methacrylate pieces by Jacopo Foggini seem to glimmer (while the new super-comfortable Standalto sofa, designed, like almost everything here, by Francesco Binfaré, seems to melt in the darkness).

Finally, a turn through Pavilion 16 (but note, 5 and 7 are unmissable too). The stand by Lago stands out for its floating shelves and kitchen counters with glass surfaces, printed using a special laser technique that simulates the veins of marble, and even cobra skin. Over at Arper (one of the most evocative stands, with its organic veils that create sequences of soft furnished niches) the pieces speak a pleasant Northern European language, albeit developed by an Italian company and by international designers. We conclude with the stand run by Zanotta (design Calvi and Brambilla): it pays tribute to – in part through the production of three brand new pieces – 50 years of a simply legendary collection, Quaderna, designed by Superstudio in 1972.

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In the vortex of events that animate the city during the Salone del Mobile...

Founded in 1961 by Piera Peroni Abitare magazine has crossed the history of costume, architecture and design, international, following in its pages the evolution of our ways of life and how we inhabit places