12 - Orla Reynolds' Out of Nowhere is an elegantly simple idea, so well executed with space-saving tables and chairs hidden among shelves - Ikea should be knocking on her door very soon. JT

Around Milan

13 - Dutch furniture brand Lensvelt chose to rebel against over-functional and often ugly office furniture by producing an intentionally boring collection of contract staples in plain grey archetypal forms. Conceived with Amsterdam architecture studio

Space Encounters, the display in Ventura Lambrate embraced the mundane nature of office life with pieces arranged in a circle to mimic the clock and countdown to 5pm. Some 150,000 crumpled paper balls (the collection's brochure) were strewn around the space waiting to be thrown into rubbish bins, referencing the iconic gesture of boredom. MF

14 - YOY is a Japanese design studio with a sense of fun - it's the creative force behind Innermost's Canvas and Light. It had two new pieces: Cutout, and the marvellous Depth light-cum-wallhanging of an oil lamp that slowly lights up when you hit the switch. JT

15 - In Milan's Triennale building Subtle was an exhibition of exquisite Japanese paper, presented by Takeo Co. The paper producer invited 15 Japanese artists, designers and architects to respond to the show's title with one-off paper installations and artworks that lured visitors to consider the material's inherent fragility, tactility and flexibility. MF

16 - The influence of digitalism was ever more present this year but Design Academy Eindhoven students instead chose to explore tactility. In Ventura Lambrate a wide variety of sensory exhibits, included this hair clothing by Alix Bizet, who is also one of this year's Designers in Residence at London's Design Museum. MF

17 - Fashion brand COS brought in Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto to create an ambient room that was all smoke and mirrors (and some lighting...) in the old cinema near San Babila that housed Tom Dixon's installation last year. JT

18 - Challenging the pervasive hype and newness were Hella Jongerius and Louise Schouwenberg with their window displays at La Rinascente in partnership with the Serpentine Galleries, that proposed ways of moving beyond our insatiable need to add to our material world. 'Why design for a world of plenty?' was one affront plastered across a window display, the messaging jarring somewhat with the acutely commercial and excessive nature of the department store that was hosting it. MF

19 - Occasionally a really simple, elegant, design solution resonates amid the sea of stuff in Milan. Shown at Rossana Orlandi, this bookcase was made up of thin wooden shelves floating from wires running to a central fixing point on the wall. Originally released in 1966 and designed by the Castiglioni brothers, young Danish brand Karakter has successfully reissued the design. MF