Milan will be very busy this April as design communities from all over the world would flood in to celebrate the industry's biggest event. Sure, architects and designers will keep the streets and halls busy with product shows, informative talks, and merriment among colleagues and acquaintances but a trip to Milan will not be complete without lingering around the shops, cafés, restaurants, and hotels to bask in the glorious art and stunning architecture. After all, you're in Milan!
Here is a list of must-see places in Lombardy's capital city:
CAFÉ
1. Caffé Fernanda is located in Pinacoteca di Brera art gallery. It is no wonder that a 17th-century painting graces one of its walls. Diners will definitely make the most of their cakes, coffee, and cocktails with this kind of ambiance.
2. For those looking for that café with the interiors designed by the renowned filmmaker, Wes Anderson, you are looking for the café called Bar Luce in the OMA-designed Fondazione Prada.
3. Studiopepe designed Cafezal, one of the most frequented cafés in Milan. Imagine drinking your favorite kind of coffee as you relax on the upholstered pink seats by the contrasting deep blue walls interior accented by terrazzo table tops and copper counters.
HOTEL
1. Room Mate Giulia is situated across Piazza del Duomo. Take in the essence of Milan through the bold colors that Spanish designer, Patricia Urquiola have incorporated in the interiors of the 85-room-hotel.
2. Architect and designer Vincenzo De Cotiis turned Straf, a 64-room hotel, into artwork in itself with the brass walls and jewel-tone furnishings. Duomo Cathedral is its nearest landmark.
SHOP
1. Feel the luxury in the air as you pass by tall doorways and pick out handbags and shoes on stepped marble surfaces when you shop at Milan's Bally showroom. Formerly a cinema, the shop resembles a mini amphitheater.
2. A few steps away from Bar Basso is a shop designed by Milanese duo Cameranesi Pompili, with a classically simple interior that is accented by Kvadrat fabric suspended from the ceiling. 2018 newcomer SEM has opened shop to showcase their collections.
3. The Imarika fashion boutique features an architectural landscape in its interiors. Marcante-Testa used panes of plexiglass, pink clay partitions, and copper pipes to showcase the shop's wide array of merchandise.
GALLERY
Of course, one can only leave Milan if they have ticked out "gallery visits" on their list. Sophie Wannenes made sure that your visit to the Palermo Uno gallery is worth traveling overseas for. The gallery is set up inside the artist's Brera apartment and is open only from April to July. During the design week, the rich tones of the walls are alive with remarkable antiques and irresistible contemporary design pieces.
