Words: Phillip Ozorio

EuroCucina is part of the wider Milan Furniture Fair held in a purpose-built exhibition centre half an hour’s tube ride from the centre of Milan. It took me about one hour to walk from one end of the show to the other and it’s incredibly crowded (a bit like Oxford Street on a Saturday).  

Kitchen furniture and appliances are now held in two halls, and I’d say there are now as many appliance brands as kitchen furniture brands, due to many of the top Italian and German kitchen furniture brands being absent from the show.

This could be due to the expense and logistics of taking a stand at the show or it could be due to alternative exhibition opportunities in Milan itself. The furniture fair is also part of Design Week in Milan where the entire city becomes a larger-than-life exhibition.

Most of the absent Italian and German kitchen brands were hosting their own events in the city as part of Design Week. Apart from expense and logistics another reason for having an exclusive venue is that they can spend more time with potential clients.   

At EuroCucina, the downside is that when it’s busy, you have to queue for some time to get into the stands. If you are only there for a day or two, you may spend half that time queuing! Queues are annoying and some even block the passages, making getting around even more difficult. Stands tend to thin out towards the end of the day, so this is also a good time to take photos.

The main reason I go to Milan is to spot major trends and design ideas in kitchens. The design ideas are so numerous it’s difficult to mention them all. However, one of the biggest trends I saw was the continuing popularity of  slim or skinny shaker kitchen furniture doors, with their narrow frames. Lots of brands were also showing floor, wall and tall units in glass, with metal frames that were internally lit.

For wall units, I spotted a lot of reeded or fluted glass, some of which combined this with quartz or marble back panels. There also seem to be a lot of wood veneers creeping back onto the displays. I spotted many fluted light woods like northern oak and darker woods like walnut as well. There also seems to be a big trend now for curved shapes and columns, especially on floor units, tall units and islands.

This year there was also a big rise in handleless kitchens, and even a few shaker or skinny shaker kitchens that have gone handleless. Personally I think they look a bit underdressed.

And speaking of “less”, I spotted hardly any high-gloss furniture finishes. In fact, a lot of the kitchens on display had a very eclectic style, mixing finishes, textures and colours in matt and gloss, wood, mirror and metallics, sometimes all in one kitchen! And of course, just like in recent years, there was lots of bronze and brass on display for handles and accessories.

Across worktops, I saw a lot of matt, textured quartz. Lots of companies were showing sinks created out of marble or quartz, and then mixing that with thick worktops in the same kitchen. I also saw a lot of islands bridged with wood breakfast bars to avoid the length limitations on worktop slabs.

In appliances, matt flush fit induction hobs seemed to be everywhere, along with even more matt black ovens than before. It seems to be most hobs now are downdraft models, with very few overhead cooker hoods anywhere to be seen.

And of course, many kitchen manufacturers are expanding their furniture into other areas of the house such as bedrooms, dressing rooms, home offices, and another big trend was that for outdoor kitchens, which I saw several of, such as Miele’s.

Too middle market?

Taking a break from the show and venturing into Milan to experience Design Week properly needed more time. In 2028 (when the show returns) I think I will add an extra day to my visit to take in all the brands who were in Milan but not necessarily at EuroCucina.

I think more of the high-end brands will be looking to move from the show into Milan for their own private exhibitions. I did have time to visit the Museum Poldi Pezzoli where Leicht were exhibiting an artistic kitchen display in the Palace orangery. The choice to have the kitchen furniture colours match the Palace walls and Rosso Lepanto marble worktops to match the original Palace floors was ingenious.

I think the Milan experience is a must for kitchen designers who want to be ahead of the game. It’s an experience that you can’t really get from YouTube. EuroCucina itself was slightly disappointing because there were fewer luxury kitchens, which one wants to aspire to even if one can’t afford them. In fact, I’d say the show is even in danger of perhaps becoming too middle market.   

I think it is difficult to create a high-end kitchen without using darker finishes so the trend towards lighter finishes and pastels has made it difficult to create that show-stopping display that we all want to see. I think the Italian brands such as Febal Casa, Minotti and Largo still manged to display luxury at EuroCucina and make the visit worthwhile because the Italians really do have such style.   

Milan is not just a show it’s more like a design holiday. The entire city becomes a celebration of design, art and architecture and is a must visit for any kitchen specialist who wants to get an overview of trends for the next two years.

To read kbbreview’s own review of EuroCucina 2026 and the major design ideas at the show, click here.