News + Trends
Soft on the outside, art on the inside: you have to see these chairs
by Pia Seidel
Design with gaps: Why empty spaces are the trend
23.7.2025
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Pia Seidel
How exciting can emptiness be? At the "3 Days of Design" in Copenhagen, furniture showed that what is missing is just as important as what is there. A trend that gently changes rooms.
It wasn't an obvious trend, more of a subtle vibe. But at the «3 Days of Design» in Copenhagen, one thing stood out: Furniture that played with voids. Chair legs, table tops, backrests - everything looked like a frame, irregular and almost wobbly. That's exactly what made them eye-catching.
Roosa Ryhänen: Design that speaks with gaps
Designers such as the Finnish Roosa Ryhänen take up this approach. Her «Sangria Shelf» focuses on organic shapes and open surfaces that create an airy, Mediterranean feel.
The Finnish designer shows that minimalism vibes can have a stronger effect - if what remains is all the more inviting to look at. For her designs, the Finnish designer uses sustainable materials such as through-dyed veneer from Cwp (Coloured Wood Products), which comes from certified forestry and is coloured using environmentally friendly methods. Her furniture and accessories are accents that look like sculptures.
Made By Choice: Chairs as a symbol of freedom
The Kolho collection by Finnish label Made by Choice and artist Matthew Day Jackson also plays with freedom.
Inspired by the Apollo moon landing and the small Finnish town of Kolho, the series combines right angles with curved, serpentine silhouettes. As Jackson explains: «The space between reason and chaos is that of play. It is in this space that our human nature shows its true potential.»
The «Glits Rainbow Lounge» chair is the latest addition of rainbow plywood and Formica laminate that honours the values of the TLGBQIA community. The first 20 pieces will go out to benefit the Glits Foundation, which works to promote social justice and support marginalised communities.
Matteo Fogale: space for craftsmanship
The «Ambi Vases» by Matteo Fogale and the stonemason Tim Royal show how travertine and aluminium merge to create minimalist art pieces. Particularly striking: the two handles that look like wobbly frames. They let light and air through and play with open shapes.
Whether Matteo Fogale's material experiments, Roosa Ryhänen's playful emptiness or Matthew Day Jackson's socially critical furniture - all these works create more than function. They open up spaces, emotionally and physically, and tell stories that want to be discovered and celebrated.
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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