Salone Trend: Stainless Steel

By Jenny Guggenheim

Our first day at the Rho Fairgrounds was exhilarating, overwhelming, hunger-inducing, and more inspirational than we could have ever imagined.  I loved checking out the fashion just as much as the exhibitors' booths-  Italian men certainly know how to wear their suits properly.

The kitchen cucina exhibition hall proved to be quite groundbreaking compared to American standards and gave us a plethora of detailing ideas and material inspiration.  One trend we couldn't help but notice was the use of Stainless Steel in sophisticated high-end kitchens.  These were certainly not industrially inspired- they were razor sharp with precise detailing.  Who's in?  We're dying to apply some of these concepts.

Boffi (shown above) is of course a stand-out and we managed to discover their showroom while escaping a downpour.  While rubbing elbows with several other soggy designers, we noticed that each room highlighted the use of Stainless.  What is different that what we'd traditionally see in the US is the use of a think-gauge steel with no wrapped edge.  The material is applied in it's purest form and it's natural strength creates the edge detail.  We loved the super clean look of these countertops.

This Stainless Steel application could easily be applied to a US kitchen and is durable enough to withstand the most agressive of chefs...as long as you don't mind a little patina.



These images (taken at the Salone exhibition hall-  low light) demonstrate the use of modular shelving and a SS waterfall edge detail.

What do you think?  Would you give Stainless Steel a try in your kitchen?