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It may have been because at IMM Cologne 2014 they were given a larger stand than in previous years. It may just have been that the time was ripe.
The "why" is however ultimately unimportant, what is important is that at IMM Cologne 2014 Augsburg based Müller Möbelfabrikation presented a series of new products that decisively extended the company's portfolio, a series of new products that, in our opinion, make Müller Möbelfabrikation a more rounded, more complete company.
And which achieved such without altering any of those "trademark" aspects of Müller Möbelfabrikation furniture.
OK, slightly altering one aspect. But more on that later.
For us the highlight of the new products was/is the Modular Wall System by Jan Armgardt. As with all good Müller Möbelfabrikation products the Modular Wall System is defined by its unspectacularity.
Both the Wandboard MB and the Wandmodul MO have an unspectacular yet effortlessly accessible and unnervingly personal appeal. They don't do anything out of the ordinary, but they don't set out to. Instead they do that what they set to with a great finesse. Not only are both components, as with all Müller Möbelfabrikation products, available in any RAL colour, but the Modular Wall System elements are also available in any length, up to 250 cms. Meaning as a shelving system they offer near absolute flexibility.
And not just as a shelving system. The Wandmodules are modular enough to be optionally fitted with legs thus transforming them into free standing sideboards.
Elsewhere Jan Armgardt has also created a second shelving system, Wall, while Munich based design studio Raumfieber have brought the T 35 dining table, T 22 desk, S 48 stool, S 82 bar stool and LA 14 lamp to the party. For all the version of the LA 14 lamp with the small shelf/table and the S 48 stool appealed to us as valuable new additions to the Müller portfolio.
The most welcome addition to the portfolio however is the Stack sideboard system by Kressel & Schelle; for until now Müller Möbelfabrikation have not offered a "large scale" storage solution.
Fully configurable in terms of height, length and positioning of the individual elements Stack can be used just as comfortably in domestic or commercial settings and arranged for use as a sideboard, bookcase, room divider etc.....
And Stack makes the aforementioned major break with the Müller Möbelfabrikation tradition.... wooden doors.
Only optional, don't panic, but in addition to offering steel doors, Stack also offers doors in oak or walnut veneer.
If we're honest when we first saw the wooden doors as we made our Sunday, pre-opening, tour of the exhibition halls we were unsure.
However, after taking the chance on the Monday to have a longer, less hurried look we became more convinced.
A lot more convinced.
And no not because wood in domestic situations leads to the less harsh, warmer ambience that one so often reads about in glossy home furnishing magazines. But simply because the wood breaks the conformity of the aesthetic and brings a disturbance into the object which we like.
As we've oft repeated in previous posts, Müller Möbelfabrikation will, with all probability, never redefine the furniture industry, will never produce anything completely revolutionary, anything that challenges convention.
However what they do, and will continue to do, is produce honest, durable furniture that through intelligent, considered design not only adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the space in which it stands, but which will continue to do so for decades to come.
What can be more desirable than that?
And as ever, more on the artesian production that leads to every Müller Möbelfabrikation can be found in our factory visit post.
