Complete lifestyle and experiential design are the recurring themes as Ambiente considers the coming year. The global fair continues to exemplify the blurring of the lines between residential and hospitality style and the desire for meaningful encounters.
Design & Lifestyle highlights for the 2026 fair…
- For her inspiring approach to interiors, Barcelona-based interior and furniture designer Katty Schiebeck has been named Ambiente Designer of the Year 2026. The Uruguayan designer will tap into her experience in high-end residential and hospitality spaces to design the Interior Design and Architecture Hub at the 2026 fair.
“Designing hospitality means creating experiences that live on beyond the space—experiences that create lasting memories, that connect, that awaken emotions.” — Katty Schiebeck, Ambiente Designer 2026
- The juried Emerging Talents section, which invites product designers in the early days of their careers to showcase their work, will celebrate 25 years with a special showcase that will join past and present design talent to mark the occasion.
- Two major exhibitions will dive into lifestyle and design in different ways:
“Material Exhibition — At the Table with Nature.” Produced in collaboration with Healthy Material Lab Europe, the curation intends to provide inspiration for healthy and sustainable building materials.
“Trends 26+.” A global retrospective curated by Stilbüro bora.herke.palmisano, the study draws on design, fashion, art, and lifestyle to examine directions in living. A style focal point for the fair, the themes encourage optimism, even in challenging times; inspiring the pursuit of new ideas and revival of motivating memories. The reinterpretation of familiar design and the art of careful composition, where individual objects enter into the greater dialogue of design and living, will be a focus.
26+ themes:
Brave: Bold. Expressive. Imaginative. Brave celebrates the joy of experimentation — a place where craftsmanship meets technology and retro elements meet digital transformation.
Light: Airy. Ethereal. Visionary. Light brings clarity and ease via flowing materials, pastel and metallic tones, and weightless designs that appear to shift energy from calm to vibrant.
Solid: Enduring. Timeless. Versatile. Solid responds to the desire for lifestyles that are lasting, yet flexible. Modular furniture, unconventional materials, and recycled resources fuel the idea.
Read on for highlights from Ambiente 2025.
Collage art by Messe Frankfurt.
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