Sometimes a nearly forgotten word is exactly what is needed to understand something of the present. ROOMTH once meant room, place and spaciousness. Today, it can describe something that appears to be becoming increasingly scarce: the ability to give one thing our full attention. It is not only about the physical space around us, but also about the space we consciously make for something. For concentration, an experience, a thought, an object or another person.

My archive now contains almost 10,000 photographs from the design weeks in Milan and Copenhagen. Often, I know exactly why I capture something: a colour, material, surface or form. But sometimes I return to an image and wonder: what exactly did I photograph?

Over the past few years, the darker side of the interior palette has mostly been carried by warmth.

A pinched edge, an uneven glaze, a folded textile or a pressed surface tells us that something has passed through hands, pressure, time and attention.

In the Netherlands, orange becomes truly visible whenever a major football tournament begins. It appears on shirts, flags, faces, streets, cafés and supermarket displays. The colour belongs to collective watching, anticipation, national recognition and a temporary sense of shared enthusiasm. Not only because orange is visually striking, but because here it is directly connected to recognition and belonging.

Products are no longer presented only against a beautiful or neutral background. They are increasingly placed within environments that make something felt: origin, handwork, ritual, history or material awareness.

During Milan Design Week 2026, several installations stood out for what they did not fill. The object itself was no longer always the centre of attention. Instead, the space around it became active. Atmosphere, silence, distance and emotional presence became almost tangible.

In an increasingly fast-moving digital visual culture, design is shifting towards the sensory. Images are everywhere. Interiors, objects and atmospheres are constantly being shared, saved, generated and recombined. AI is making it easier than ever to create perfect visual worlds. Precisely because of this, the need for physical conviction is growing.

Tijdens het voorbereiden van Milan Design Week 2026 valt op dat de Nederlandse aanwezigheid zich niet op één plek concentreert, maar zich over verschillende lagen verspreidt. Er is een duidelijk collectief ankerpunt, er zijn grote Nederlandse merken met een eigen podium, en daarnaast duiken Nederlandse ontwerpers op binnen internationale samenwerkingen, stadspresentaties en beurscontexten. Juist die spreiding maakt de Nederlandse lijn interessant. Ze laat zien dat Nederlands design in Milaan niet alleen zichtbaar is, maar ook op meerdere manieren meepraat.

Capsule Plaza returns to Milan Design Week 2026 with a new main venue at Via Achille Maiocchi 8, directly opposite Spazio Maiocchi. This year, the project gains not only a new address, but also a setting that immediately adds tension and character. The building was once an industrial space and was later transformed into a gym and swimming pool. That layered past gives this edition an especially intriguing backdrop.

While preparing for Milan Design Week 2026, I also revisit places that stayed with me.