Museum Inspirations, Italian Style

There are still a couple of amazing experiences I have not shared from my Milan adventure, as a part of the Blanco Design Council earlier this year. One of them was a visit to the Triennale di Milano Design Museum.the Triennale di Milano Design Museum Milan This center for contemporary art, architecture and design focuses on Italy's contribution to all these disciplines. Opened in 2007, rather than being a museum in the classical sense – one with a fixed collection – it is a space with continuously changing exhibitions. The building which houses the Triennale is located at the edge of the Parco Sempione and was built in 1933 by Giovanni Muzio.  I discovered it on my first day in Milan whilst strolling in the park trying to shake off the last vestiges of jet lag.  Wow! 2014-04-07 15.46.40  The ultimate in Italian HIP!! I love this pic, totally un- editted, by the way. triennale di milanoAs I found my way to the second floor I discovered an exhibit called Constancy & Change in Korean Traditional Craft 2014.  Why Korea you ask? Well Korea and Italy have a long history of diplomatic relations, 130 years.2014-04-07 16.06.44 Korean culture has a 5000 year history to draw upon so the exhibit was vast and varied. Curated as a magical journey through time and space, the exhibit consisted of art works by twenty one prominent Korean artists. Although the media was so varied, the common threads were a conscious awareness and incorporation of nature, harmony, simplicity and sophistication.Meditation Bowl Bells by Master Lee Bong-juThe theme of the exhibit was the five materials of traditional Korean craft: ceramics, hanji (Korean mulberry paper), textiles, metal and lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Displays were designed to enhance these materials.Hansan Ramie Patchwork Wrapper feature hand sewn raw ramie fabric I would be remiss if I didn't mention these stunning cabinets.  These are actually book chests made from paulownia and chinaberry woods and hanji (mulberry paper), delicate and sturdy at the same time.Constancy and Change 2014Sometimes the best experiences are of the unplanned variety and that is especially true of this one.  I guess the Triennale and I were meant to find each other.  ;) More photos from this trip and my other travels visit Kitchens for Living on the Road

Kitchen Love, Italian Style at Acheo and Poggenpohl

Ok so you got me, Poggenpohl is not Italian.  They are German, except when they're in Milan, then they're Italian.  Good enough? I can hardly believe I’ve been home for over a week!  Images and impressions are still swirling around in my head from the wonderful time I spent with Blanco and some fellow members of the Blanco Design Council in Milan.  Design Week was not limited to the extensive exhibition at the Rho Fairgrounds but also included events all over town.  We visited two memorable and cutting edge showrooms on our visit. 450px-5275MilanoViaMadonnina   The first was Acheo (pronounced AH-kee-oh), located in the Brera district.  Brera is also known today as the design district.  It is also one of the few really old areas of Milan which saw 80% destruction during WWII.  Acheo opened it’s showroom there in 2010.  Today they are a showcase of quintessential contemporary Italian design for the kitchen.Acheo,Milan,woodtops,blancoThey put on an impressive pre-dinner spread for us and the peeps from Modenus Blogtour Milan.food2acheo-LAll through our trip we saw many products not available here in the US.  Some will become available, perhaps in other versions.  One such item is this Durinox work top and sink (below) which is a part of the Blanco Steel Art collection.  Think stainless steel on steroids!!  Seriously, it is made with a finishing process used in the auto and aerospace industries so it is super scratch resistant and more than twice as hard as stainless steel.  It is available, as shown, in Europe from Blanco in Germany.  The sinks only will be available for undermount installation here in the US.BLANCOsink Acheo Showroom-LWe found that in Milan you could miss half the experience if you failed to look up!  Look at these cool light fixtures at Acheo!Acheo, Italianlightfixtures, milanThe other showroom we had the pleasure of visiting during our visit was Poggenpohl.  I think you could argue that they set the bar when it comes to innovation in contemporary cabinet design.  As I mentioned, Poggenpohl is a German company and they claim to be the oldest kitchen brand in the world! Poggenpohl, porschekitchen, milan Some years ago Poggenpohl  teamed up with the Porsche Design Studio to develop the P'7340 line of cabinets. Both companies focus their concentration on the overall line as well as  providing unsurpassed quality of product. Above is a Porsche Design Kitchen P'7340 by Poggenpohl.  It's hallmark is the aluminum frame which surrounds each box. Originally designed with men in mind, it has evolved into a brand appealing to discerning contemporary design devotees of either sex.  Chief Poggenpohl designer Manfred Junker was on hand to explain the intricacies of design detail that go into the product including their trademark, no handle, fronts.  In fact, he claims, they are the first to offer touch control on the refrigerator and dishwasher.  Here's what they have to say about that on their website: "Handleless fronts emphasize the clean, uncompromised lines of the kitchen furniture."Poggenpohl,touchcontrolrefrigerator, milanPoggenpohl took care of our tummies too.   After all, design spotting can work up one hell of an appetite!Poggenpohlmilan     This newest version of P'7340 (see below) features a contrasting counter top inset made of solid New Zealand pine with a wire brushed finish.Poggenpohl.PorscheDesignKitchen,P'7340,milanNext up:  FTK (Technology for the Kitchen)  This was the section of iSaloni featuring the latest trends and products in kitchen appliances.Click here for a peek at all my Milan photos!own and automatically completes the closing cycle