I am back from a sunny Milan Design Week and what a week it has been! Milan Design Week has evolved from a well-known furniture fair into a reflection of the current design, fashion and art world – encompassing the functional, experiential and existential elements. This year Salone del Mobile was the first large design exhibition to open its doors. After the 2020 gap it came back in a new format as “Supersalone” with architect Stefano Boeri as a curator.

There was much excitement about this new edition of the Salone del Mobile 2021. There were no traditional stands, no division between kitchens, bathrooms, furniture or lighting. It was more a collective exhibition than an expanse of stands. Now I am not sure this approached worked as well. Most of the stands were just displaying their products with very little creative approach. Stand after stand the furniture felt repetitive. In this context it was easy to spot several stands that actually went an extra mile to stand out against the crowd. I’d like to talk about some of them here.

With small windows that weren’t making the most of the beautiful ocean and garden views, and dated décor, this 20-year-old two-storey house in Cappanacush, Greenane, Kenmare was in need of an overhaul.

The owners, Angela and Dennis (an English/Irish Couple) who live in Athens, purchased the property in 2019 as their holiday home, named The Little Red Bridge. When not being used by the couple, the house is also let out to others and their ultimate goal is to retire to the house. Keen to give it a new lease of life, they engaged Justina Gruzdyte and Nathalie Vos of Edit Interior Design Studio, Kenmare.

Co-living may be a new buzzword in the property development sector, but it certainly isn’t a new concept. Most of us have heard, and some may even have first-hand experience, of communal living.

Whilst the idea of a commune may not sound appealing to everyone – property developers are breathing new life into the concept and relating its benefits into crowded city spaces, but with a hipster twist. Its growing popularity is closely linked to modern city-living challenges; a lack of affordable housing, ever increasing cost-of-living, work globalization and technological change.