Mirror, chrome, steel: How metal suddenly feels warm
4.9.2026
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Pia Seidel
Silver-colored metal is considered cool, clinical, and distant. The installation 'Interior Reflections' by Studiopepe for Mohd at Milan Design Week 2026 proves the opposite: chrome, brushed steel, and mirrored surfaces appear warm and inviting here. I am taking a closer look on-site to see how this is achieved.
Silver, chrome, brushed steel: metal often has a coldness problem in interior design. Too smooth, too reflective, too much office and not enough living room. That is exactly why this year's installation by Studiopepe for Mohd at Milan Design Week surprised me so much. «Interior Reflections» was its name. Nothing about it felt cold.
How do you keep silver-colored metal from looking sterile? I am taking these five principles from the installation.
1. Round shapes instead of sharp edges
Edges make metal hard. Curves take away its sharpness. A curved sofa demonstrates this across the entire seating landscape, and a mushroom-shaped lamp made of brushed aluminum next to it does the same.
2. Light from within instead of light from outside
Do you know that cold ceiling light in the office that makes every chrome part look even more clinical? At Mohd, they do the exact opposite: the faceted pendant lights made of glass and chrome glow warm white from within. This turns reflective material into its own light source.
3. Grounding through soft surroundings
Metal alone remains distant. Warmth only emerges in interaction with soft materials. When a brushed steel table meets books, ceramics, and a few flowers, it loses its coldness. The wooden shelf behind it follows suit with terracotta and natural tones.
4. Reflection as a connecting piece
The oval chrome mirrors on the wall also play with their surroundings: they reflect plants and the warm tones of the wall. The metal thus becomes a mediator between the colors instead of standing out as a foreign object.
5. A color accent as a point of rest
Finally, the counterpoint: among all the silver, an armchair made of orange suede provides an anchor point, and right next to it stands a deep red table lamp. It takes no grand gesture to ground a silvery setting – a single color accent is enough.
Want to try it out yourself? These metal pieces provide the base, your styling does the rest.
Header image: Pia Seidel
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I celebrate good design and bring you closer to everything furniture- and interior design-related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior finds, track down trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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