From Milan, With Style: Castella’s Lens on Salone del Mobile 2025 

Each April, the global design community descends on Milan — and with it, the promise of fresh perspectives, bold provocations, and a glimpse into where design is heading next. Salone del Mobile isn’t just a fair. It’s a mood. A manifesto. A mirror for the future of design.

This year, that mirror was often literal (more on that later). But beyond the gleaming surfaces, what truly stood out was a collective shift in energy — a joyful return to feeling.

Spaces weren’t just styled; they had personality. Playfulness. Purpose. Colour was dialled up. Texture took over. Form became fluid. Salone 2025 made one thing clear: we’re in a new era of expressive design.

Gone are the days of quiet minimalism. In its place? Colour. Character. Contrast. Design is re-embracing its role as a visual language of identity — bold, unexpected, and deeply personal.

As a studio obsessed with the power of the smallest details, Castella walked (25,000+ steps no less) Salone with a discerning eye. We weren’t just looking at furniture or lighting — we were tuning into a broader ethos. A shift in how people want to live, feel, and express themselves in their spaces. And what we saw affirmed everything we believe: Individuality is in. The expressive home is here. And every detail matters.

1. Colour and Character: Maximalism Moves In 

If Salone 2025 confirmed anything, it’s that colour is no longer a finishing touch — it’s a foundation.

Everywhere we turned, vibrant, high-saturation hues commanded attention. Gone were muted tones and tonal restraint. Instead, walls, furniture, lighting and even stone surfaces arrived drenched in colour: punchy cobalt, chartreuse, tomato red, blush, tangerine, and acidic greens. But this wasn’t chaos — it was character. Colour was used with purpose, often layered to create emotional resonance or narrative tension.

At Miniforms, this mood was captured in full swing. The Striche table — its top made from fused Murano glass — shimmered in a kaleidoscope of sugary tones. Glowing like old-school lollies, each piece felt both nostalgic and new, playful and refined. The effect was joyful, unexpected, and distinctly personal.

This wasn’t about trend for trend’s sake. It was about emotional connection. Colour that sparks something — energy, memory, joy.

2. The Rise of the Curve 

Across the fair, straight lines gave way to softness. Curves were everywhere — hugging, swooping, cradling, and gently folding around form. The effect was sensual but structured, fluid yet refined.

In seating, we saw puffy, pillowy silhouettes that looked as comfortable as they did sculptural. In lighting, gently rounded shades replaced angular fittings, bringing warmth and elegance in equal measure. Even hard surfaces — like cabinetry and sideboards — adopted softened edges and convex fronts.

Moooi’s Tavolino tables embodied this beautifully, with their rounded, playful legs and subtle asymmetries. A-N-D’s Pace Pendants also leaned into soft geometry — not dramatic sculpture, but restrained curves that brought harmony and grace to functional forms.

This movement felt emotional. Spaces weren’t just meant to be looked at — they were meant to embrace you.

Shop Castella’s Curves: Linea Italiana Ball Knob, Tuscan Foundry Bow Handle, Urbane Knobs

3. Texture: The New Language of Luxury 

If colour was the headline, texture was the subtext — quietly but powerfully shifting how design feels.

We saw surfaces that demanded to be touched: velvet, boucle, brushed metal, marble inlays, ribbed glass, woven wool, suede, and fur. Texture wasn’t just a sensory addition; it was central to storytelling.

Moooi’s Hortensia Armchair — its upholstery blooming in a sea of petal-like folds — blurred the line between furniture and flora. Even Kartell, long associated with clean plastics, embraced softness through boucle-covered seating, adding tactile contrast to its polished foundations.

Across brands like Minotti and Poliform, richly textured upholstery — from faux fur to heavy knits — dominated armchairs and sofas. Layers of materiality became the new definition of luxury: not cold, untouchable surfaces, but softness, tactility, and depth.

Shop Texture: Chelsea, Romano, Sorano, Tuscan Foundry, Linea Italiana

4. Gloss, Glamour, and a Bit of Surrealism 

Mirror, gloss, lacquer — Salone 2025 gleamed. But it wasn’t the harsh sheen of the early 2000s. This was gloss with glamour, layered and playful, sometimes surreal.

Kartell led the charge with polycoated tables and mirrored surfaces that bounced light and fractured space. Miniforms’ Soda tables glowed like blown bubbles, their glossy candy finishes shifting depending on angle and light.

Designers used high shine as a visual disruptor — expanding spatial perception, distorting reflection, and adding a dreamlike, almost cinematic quality to rooms.

What was once considered flashy now felt refreshing. Reflective finishes brought levity and movement — like design winking back at you.

Shop Polished Finishes: Polished Nickel, Polished Brass, Polished Chrome

5. Sculptural Forms: Where Art Meets Function 

Across the fair, a quiet revolution was happening — design was shedding its purely functional skin and stepping confidently into the realm of sculpture.

A-N-D’s Column lighting series blurred boundaries between lighting, architecture, and art. Towering yet refined, the pieces felt monolithic and meditative — standing as objects in their own right, even before they were illuminated.

The same could be said of Bitossi’s Stool by Patricia Urquiola — entirely handmade in ceramic, it looked like an archaeological relic reborn. Totemic, stackable, and unmistakably crafted, it exemplified a new era of functional art — where process, materiality, and form all play equal roles.

Miniforms’ Caruso Cabinet also took centre stage — not just for its built-in speaker, but for its bold trumpet-shaped front, turning a sideboard into a piece of performance. These were objects with presence — unexpected proportions, emotive forms, unapologetic identity.

Designers aren’t just making furniture. They’re making statements. Objects that hold space, tell stories, and ask to be admired — not just used.

The Takeaway: Design is Feeling Itself Again

This year’s Milan wasn’t about one dominant style — it was about a shift in mindset.

Designers are breaking free from restraint: choosing colour over neutrality, emotion over minimalism, experimentation over convention. Materials are layered. Forms are expressive. Objects are no longer just functional — they’re felt.

The home has evolved from a curated backdrop into a deeply personal canvas — one where identity, imagination and artistry collide.

From Milan, we take home this:

• Embrace contrast and colour — design should provoke feeling
• Let shape and texture speak — they tell stories that surfaces alone can’t
• Celebrate imperfection, boldness, and play — design is a place for joy
• Don’t be afraid to blur the lines between function and art