Now would be the time of the year when all the top design brands launch their new designs at the world’s major furniture fairs. Design weeks and trade shows feel like lightyears ago, but there’s still plenty of fresh inspiration out there for the start of the new year. So let me transport you to a virtual world away from corona worries and daily stresses, in the form of SS21’s new collections! In today’s ‘On My Radar’ post, I’m sharing the furniture launches and latest interior finds that have caught my eye, from simple wooden chairs and self assembly tables, to new neutral paint colours and wooden fronts to customise your IKEA kitchens.
St. Leo launches Original Pigments, its first collection of interior paints
Danish brand St. Leo creates premium, eco-friendly finishes that ‘elevate the experience of architectural spaces’. I was first introduced to their subtly textured Dolomite plaster surfaces during Stockholm Design Week last year. For 2021, the company is introducing Original Pigments, a new, premium paint collection made from sustainable ingredients and mixed by hand in St Leo’s Copenhagen studio. Inspired by historic facades, streets and interiors around the world, from French monasteries to Italian masserias, each colour in the collection carries the name of the place it references. Light grey ‘Herluf Trolles Gade’ captures the Baroque architecture of Copenhagen, while warm terracotta ‘Rue Loubet’ brings to mind classic Parisian architecture.
The collection is available in six different finishes in an initial palette of 16 colours, which will be expanded to a full collection of 80 Original Pigments by Spring 2021. The low VOC paint comes in a matte finish for interior walls and ceilings, as well as silk, semi gloss and high gloss finishes for wood and metal. There’s even a water-repellent paint suitable for use in kitchens and bathrooms.
The initial Original Pigments colour palette will launch in February 2021. Available in the UK – email info@stleointeriors.com to place an order with the sales team.
Photography by Værnis Studio
Superfront launches new Wood Collection for IKEA cabinets
Swedish company Superfront creates stylish fronts and other additions that allow you to customise your IKEA cabinets, whether for a Metod kitchen or a Pax wardrobe. Superfront’s doors have previously been made of lacquered MDF, but for 2021 it has launched a new FSC-certified Wood Collection.
The new range comprises ash wood veneered doors and drawer fronts in two different designs, Plain and Vertical. There’s also a new Bar handle to match the fronts. Choose from six different colours that allow the grain of the wood to shine through, from dark, walnut-like Umber and elegant Biscotti to forest green Willow and dark grey Thunder.
The new collection will be available from Superfront’s website from 28th January 2021.
Images: Mike Karlsson Lundgren / Superfront Studios
A new collection of natural colours from Little Greene Paint Company and the National Trust
Little Greene Paint Company has teamed up with the National Trust again to launch a new palette of natural colours offering ‘warmth, tranquillity, timelessness and harmony’. The ‘Stone’ collection comprises 36 versatile colours, 22 of which are completely new and 14 of which have been taken from the archives. The tones have been conveniently edited into six families, based on their naturally occurring pigments, from rich Red Ochre and Burnt Sienna to earthy Burnt Umber and Lamp Black.
‘The card has been designed to make colour selection simple – colours within the same column can be used alongside each other within tonal schemes, whilst shades from across the colour families can be combined to deliver more dynamic, contrasting combinations,’ say Little Greene.
Several of the new colours were discovered during Little Greene’s ongoing research at a selection of National Trust properties, where experts have been taking colour readings from architectural details in spaces ranging from grand halls to humble servant quarters. Book Room Green, for example, can be found in the neoclassical book room at Wimpole Hall, while Baluster was taken from a carved balustrade at Penrhyn Castle. My favourites are the soft Sage Green, enjoyed by the Victorians ‘on account of its repose to the sight, and its solid and quiet tone’, and Travertine, a soft warm beige, inspired by the Staircase Hall at Basildon Park.
All images courtesy Little Greene Paint Company
New from Form & Refine for 2021
You may remember I’ve featured Danish design brand Form & Refine a few times before (here and here). Founded in 2018, Form & Refine’s design philosophy is centred around the socially responsible aim of preserving the resources and skilled traditions that make up the Nordic region and beyond. Form & Refine’s furniture and accessories are simple and honest, championing high quality materials and local crafts, whether that’s alpaca textiles from the highlands of Bolivia or ceramics from Alcobaça in Portugal.
For 2021, Form & Refine has launched ten new products. The year 2020 actually helped provide the inspiration that was needed, enabling the studio to dive into the creative process and consider how design could help solve everyday chores at home. The wooden Blueprint Chair is inspired by the shape of the human body, with a rounded backrest and clear, simple silhouette. It pairs well with the round Frisbee table with its solid oak top and glass blown stainless steel legs. There’s also the round Trefoil table, which stands on three central legs, giving the design a lightweight floating appearance, despite its solid form.
Browse the full lookbook and the rest of the collection here. All images courtesy Form & Refine.
New designs from MENU for 2021
MENU is another one of my favourites year in, year out. Its new collection, A Sense of Community, displays the same understated luxury and refined elegance as always. A highlight is the new Passage lounge table by Copenhagen-based Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen. Made of FSC certified wood, and available in natural and dark lacquered oak, the design comes as a flatpack, self-assembly kit to help reduce its environmental footprint. The versatile table comes in three sizes which can be used on their own or clustered together in a more dynamic arrangement. There’s also a stackable stool, which has an elegant simplicity reminiscent of Japanese design.
The Plinth shelf, echoing the form of Menu’s marble display plinths, is another new addition. The solid design comes in a dark, white veined marble called Grey Kendzo and can be displayed horizontally as a shelf or vertically as a small display podium. My favourite from the new collection is the charming Levitate pendant by Afteroom. The characterful design comes in green, black and grey, and combines a perforated aluminium shade with a fixed glass diffuser to cast a warm, ambient light. The one piece I can see in my home, though, is the olive green Duca candleholder by Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen, made from aluminium and steel, and wrapped in tactile rattan.
Browse the new collection on Menu’s website here. All images courtesy Menu
