Last April we visited the Milan Furniture Fair and Light+Building Fair in Frankfurt, scouting for the latest trends in Spanish design. A key one was the return to all things natural – an appreciation of the warmth of wood, artesanal touches and neutral tones. In sharp contrast, we clocked another trend for acid tones, as well as for lots of outdoor furniture reflecting a desire to enjoy being outdoors.

Craftsmanship: a quality on the rise

Sancal surprised us this season by adopting what can only be described as ‘le style anglais’: its Tea collection of padded seats recalled quintessentially British tweed. And courtesy of Patricia Urquiola, a huge fan of artesanal techniques, was her delectable Mangas de Gan rug – not a new design but one which, for the first time, has been created in soothing neutral colours. We also spotted Kettal’s tri-coloured Maia collection.

The company Nanimarquina delighted us once again with its new products. These included Martí Guixé’s Extended rug which departs from the traditional Persian rug to create a piece which manages to look both contemporary and classical. Another was Martín Azúa and Gerard Moliné’s Spiral rug – a fabulous design made entirely by hand out of tiny spiral elements.

The return of wood

One very hot trend at many a Spanish company’s stand was for wood, which appeals for combining such qualities as warmth, comfort and timelessness. Particularly eye-catching were Stua’s Clásica chair, Time sofa, designed by Mario Ruiz for Joquer, and Árturo Álvarez’s Shio lamp.

Vibrant, zingy, energising tones

Totally unavoidable – and great fun – was the trend for brilliant colour: take Cristian Zuzunaga’s Digit rug for Nanimarquina and Konstantin Grcic’s Bchair for BD Barcelona Design. There was also a raft of existing pieces recast in a spectrum of eye-popping, on-trend colours, such as Jaime Hayón’s petrol blue Lounger for BD Barcelona Design and Christophe Mathieu’s Discoco light for Marset.

The importance of outdoor spaces

Spain’s leading outdoor furniture companies, such as Kettal, Gandía Blasco, Vondom and Expormim, unveiled their new collections at Milan: these were in general comfortable, versatile and created by some of the biggest names in design: Karim Rashid, Mario Ruiz, Ramón Esteve and A-Cero.

Vibia, meanwhile, came up with a surprising design at Light&Building – Halley, which is shaped like a comet, and whose arches emit a beam of light, creating a cosy and magical atmosphere.