Thing I notice along the way.
Salone del Mobile 2026
New ideas, beautiful spaces and a city completely taken over by design.
Milano, during Design Week.
There are design fairs — and then there is Milan.
For architects and designers, Salone del Mobile is a must. The scale alone is impressive: hall after hall of furniture, lighting, materials, new collections and brands from around the world.
But what makes this week so special isn’t only what happens inside the fair.
Step outside and the experience continues.
Palazzos open their doors. Showrooms transform. Installations appear throughout the city. Brera fills with people moving from one discovery to the next.
For a few days, Milan becomes part of the exhibition.
The
Salone.
There are design fairs — and then there is Salone del Mobile.
For architects and designers, it’s a must. The scale alone is impressive: hall after hall of furniture, lighting, materials, new collections and brands from around the world.
There is simply too much to see, so I stopped trying to see everything and started paying attention to what made me slow down.
Boca do Lobo was one of them — bold, theatrical and unapologetically detailed.
And then Gessi, with new products and an approach where the experience goes far beyond simply displaying an object.
Different worlds, but the same reminder:
a brand can become a space.
Beyond the fair.
The fair is only half the story.
During Milan Design Week, the entire city becomes part of the experience. Palazzos open their doors, showrooms transform and installations appear across Brera and beyond.
Preciosa played with glass, light and movement, while Baccarat brought crystal into another world entirely.
This is why it’s always worth leaving the fair behind.
Some of the best discoveries happen somewhere in the city.
Old rooms, new ideas.
One of the things Milan does best during Design Week is bringing new ideas into old spaces.
At Palazzo Acerbi, H&M HOME × Kelly Wearstler filled historic rooms with contemporary furniture, colour and objects.
Then, at Palazzo Litta, Metamorphosis in Motion by Lina Ghotmeh transformed the courtyard through architecture, movement, colour and light.
Two very different interventions, but the contrast was what stayed with me.
Centuries-old architecture becoming the backdrop for something completely new.
The past becoming a stage for what comes next.
Milano,
such a cool place!
After days of looking at design, some of the best moments happened in between.
Dinner at Bauscia in Brera.
Watching the sunset over Milan from Duomo 21.
A proper coffee at Artigianale.
And a gelato from RivaReno — highly recommended.
An espresso. An aperitivo. A walk through Brera. A beautiful façade on the way somewhere else.
Because Milan Design Week isn’t only about what you came to see.
It’s also everything you find along the way.
And being in Italy is always, somehow, una felicità.
Because good things are meant to be shared.
A small edit of the things I would actually recommend, revisit or take home.
01 DESIGN
Gessi
Boca do Lobo
02 GELATO
RivaReno
03 EAT
Duomo 21
Bauscia · Brera
Artigianale
THE NOTE
A note worth opening.
A monthly edit of places, objects, ideas and things worth noticing.