'Solid' designs prevail at this year's ICFF

(Mabeo)

Following similar trends observed at previous design fairs (Milan's Saloni, IMM Cologne), New York's International Contemporary Furniture Fair was all about natural materials and timeless design.

"This year's ICCF in New York was another solid show - quite literally, with an abundance of wooden furniture, natural materials and designs that will stand the test of time," design magazine Wallpaper writes. "Gimmicks were out and traditional American craft was in."

Wood was so much the material of the moment that Rapsel even presented a bathtub made of the material, designed by Matteo Thun. And the 'nature' trend also went beyond materials, with many shapes being inspired by plants or animals (Amaridian, Michael Savona).

Only few designers really experimented with textures and shapes, with examples including Rachel O'Neill's extravagant wire lamps, or Anne Kyyro Quinn's felt wall coverings.

But while brands were cautious with new materials and 'too fancy' shapes, they were far more willing to dab into color: Jaime Hayon exhibited turquoise seating, labels such as Jonathan Adler or Bakelight presented multi-color collections of home accessories, and block colors were often paired with wood, like in the case of Joseph Albers' tables. Metallics seemed to be another dominant color theme, as seen in Moroso's and Vitra's showrooms.