Alexander Seifried

This high-grade item of furniture starts as a table for nappy changes and grows in time to have many more functions.

Which re-editions are being dragged from the archives this year? In which pots of paint did manufacturers decide to dip their products? Enjoy browsing our selection of up-and-coming innovations!

Flying parquet floorboards, a Colombian high-speed knitter and wooden buffaloes peacefully grazing: At the 15th Designers’ Saturday in Langenthal, Switzerland, the designers and manufacturers once again opted for unusual means to stage their products.

The imm Cologne is swiftly getting back on an even keel. And how are designers and manufacturers making use of the opportunity? A tour of the trade fair shows that they often resorted to the tried-and-true, reanimating and dressing it up for contemporary use. Even Konstantin Grcic opted for a tongue-in-cheek approach to a design classic.

What emerged at the imm Cologne in 2011 was that the fair has steadied, and in the form of "Living Kitchen" and "Pure Textiles" has gained two important new areas. Thus, the Cologne hodge-podge of the diversity of homes has something for everyone, for a man of the world, a man of the masses, and for kids, too. That said, the high-end design did not live up to expectations.