Latest Material Trends from Surface Design Show

The annual Surface Design Show has been around already since 2005 in London. The event doesn’t look like it has grown recently, on the contrary it felt less busy this year. The problem is that after 10 years, it would need an injection of new ideas. The exhibitors are fairly mainstream, not offering anything really new or groundbreaking.

Carpets designed by Daniel Liebeskind http://libeskind.com/work/loloey-carpet-collection/

Reclaimed wood “mosaic”

Bronze and warm metal shades

High tech ultra thin and light stone

Antique mirror effects

Grey is the new black

Veneer in 3D

Natural stone mosaic

Moss panels

Hand painted ceramics

Fluffy

I especially missed London materials library Scin, which has been a regular contributor of really new and innovative materials. It is a bit unclear if Scin is still open for business or not.

All in all the event is useful for a professional, who knows what they are looking for, since it is easier to get a few samples from one place. On the other hand the show doesn’t really cater for soft materials.

Few observations: growing variety of soundproofing materials, lots of 3D textures, composites, decorative glass, recycled glass, reclaimed wood, veneer patterns and colour choices, concrete products, natural stones and untreated wood.