SALONE DEL MOBILE 2019 | FEATURED
Cocooned in celebration

All the rooms of the COR showroom in Milan are packed and the evening is hotting up as the party gets underway. New guests continue to stream through the door, curious to get a first glance at “Nenou”, the upholstered furniture system with which COR is represented for the first time in years in Milan during the Salone del Mobile. COR boss Leo Lübke, product developer Christian Erpenbeck, marketing director Berthold Strüve and designer Jörg Boner, the minds behind “Nenou”, are visibly delighted – not only with the results of the several years of work that went into the development process, but also with the decision to celebrate the “Nenou” debut in Milan, as well as with the choice of location for COR’s event.

The new showroom on Via Solferino appears to envelop visitors a bit like a cocoon. The hustle and bustle of Milan, which reaches its annual climax as the exhibition opens, suddenly seems very remote, and this feeling persists despite the busy street life that quite clearly continues outside the original arched windows. Indeed, the rooms enfold guests with a warm homeliness, even if – as now – they can barely hold one more visitor.

Here in the Milan showroom, interior designers Peter Kräling and Maria Lübke have created a concept which works in perfect harmony with the setting. The apartment-like floor plan means there are six rooms of different sizes, hence Kräling and Lübke decided to use these divisions to their advantage. Thanks to a carefully calibrated color palette of red and green shades, they have given each room its own character, indeed its own very special atmosphere. Naturally, the fabrics with which “Nenou” was upholstered for its debut have also been incorporated into this color concept.

For the floor covering, Peter Kräling and Maria Lübke have gone down a similar route – hence it varies from room to room. The homely atmosphere of the showroom is hugely beneficial here, since the two interior designers have gone against the trend of the past few years – and dared to lay carpet in many areas. It would seem that the long-dismissed carpet flooring is making a comeback – and it’s surprising to recall just how beneficial it is for the room’s acoustics. While, in other locations, you might struggle to hear even your own voice with just a few visitors in the room, in the COR showroom you can easily hold a conversation even with the densest of crowds – and at a normal volume. The most eye-catching floor covering in the showroom, however, is made of metal. In the central salon, Peter Kräling and Maria Lübke have had a floor laid that uses large-format brass sheets, the reflections from which immerse the entire room in a warm, golden light. And on the subject of light: Here too, the interior designers decided to hark back to an old favorite, using halogen spotlights instead of LEDs. With these, and with purposefully positioned pendant luminaires, they create islands of light everywhere, which form an intelligent reference to the seating concept Jörg Boner has developed with “Nenou”.

The guests are clearly appreciative of the interior design, which makes use of intelligent concepts rather than superficial effects. At any rate, nothing is damaged at any point during the evening. One can’t help but get the impression that it’s precisely the sort of location that has been missing in the last few years at the Salone and the “Fuori Salone” – the exhibition in the showrooms of the city center. It’s therefore all the nicer to see COR back in Milan and to witness – in this showroom on Via Solferino and the “Nenou” upholstered furniture series by Jörg Boner – a truly dramatic comeback. (fap)