7 things we saw at 3daysofdesign and just can't stop thinking about

Copenhagen’s annual design festival, 3daysofdesign, was back and better than ever this year. With an enormous schedule that included galleries, showrooms, and group exhibitions, the festival brought to life the very best of Danish design.

This year’s theme was “remember to play,” and these brands did just that. With bright colours, playful shapes, and a hefty dose of humour, Danish design is emerging from a reputation for only minimalism and showing that there’s a breadth of design styles and languages to be found.

Take a look at the best new pieces, exhibitions, and collaborations we saw this year at 3daysofdesign:

What is a table, and how far can you push the boundaries of the archetypal table? Renowned Danish design brand &Tradition invited five design studios to answer these questions.

There resulting pieces were shown in an art-meets-design hybrid exhibition at Apollo Kantine, the restaurant connected to Charlottenborg Kunsthall. Participating studios were All the Way to Paris (Denmark), Studio Raw Material (India), Teruhiro Yanagihara (Japan), Stellenbosch Art Foundry (South Africa), and Spiritual Objects (United States).

Each studio found ways to work with scale, shape, and material to create a table that is representative of not only playful thinking in furniture design, but also the culture of their home countries. It’s a quirky, charming, and thought-provoking exhibition that bridges the space between form and function in an unexpected way.

Renowned British designer Faye Toogood has previously collaborated with Danish design team Please Wait to Be Seated on the Tubby series. Continuing their success, we now have the Tubby Tube linear pendant lamp. The Tubby Tube series, characterised by interlocking metal tubes, includes both a popular stool and table; the linear pendant shares the clean yet playful look these pieces share.

The Tubby Tube linear pendant is made from hollow aluminium and casts light downward for an atmospheric, yet significant light source.

A rug inspired by a flower market? Who could resist! Copenhagen-based Floral design studio Tableau teamed up with Swedish rug brand Nordic Knots to create a series of saturated, delightfully bright handwoven rugs. Put the rugs, called ‘Tableau Noise’, on the floor or on your wall; these plush pieces offer a slash of colour and texture, whichever way they are used.

Related: Everything you need to know about ‘Danish Pastel’

American design studio Collect.Studio is now producing KufenKarl, a chair designed by the beloved, prolific Copenhagen-based Boris Berlin Design. Berlin has created some of today’s most well-known chair silhouettes, including the Fiber Chair for Muuto and the Soft Edge Chair for HAY.

KufenKarl, modelled on a classic schoolhouse chair, pairs clean lines with a sense of humour and inviting rounded edges. It’s a school chair you’ll be excited to sit on! The chair comes in lounge and rocking chair models, as well as a standard dining chair.

Moebe is known for their frames and other small wooden items. They’ve been branching into furniture, and their expanding bed is the ideal addition to their useful, compact series of pieces.

The Moebe Bed sits low and is inspired by Japanese bedding design. The side can be pulled out, so the bed can expand as your needs change. Made from powder-coated steel, the bed is made to be the ‘last bed you’ll ever purchase.’ It is possible to purchase the additional slats and mattresses from Moebe as well.

A minimalist silhouette, choice of colours, and additional floating side tables make the Moebe Bed a future design classic that is as useful as it is beautiful.

Kristina Dam Studio celebrated 10 years with the gorgeous ‘Frame' exhibition, located in central Copenhagen. The space was a takeover of the apartment of Danish fashion expert, and founder of DANSK Magazine, Kim Grenaa. Filled with Kristina Dam’s piece created over the last decade, it is clear that her work is a collection that builds upon itself.

Inspired by the Bauhaus and her background as a graphic designer, Kristina Dam Studio works at the intersection of art and design in a way that embraces both as important to the home.

The extra large Frame sculpture, which has become an icon of the Kristina Dam design language, would be an ideal outdoor piece in a sculpture garden; its use of negative space interacts beautifully with whatever landscape or space of which it is part.

FERM Living has been creating accessories and furniture for 16 years, evolving over the years to create one of the most charming and recognisable brand aesthetics in Denmark. Their new Ark Chair is made from 100% FSC-certified Ash wood, and is designed with standard specifications for easy assembly.

It’s a solid, playful chair that will look as much at-home at a long dining table as in a child’s room.

The stunning blue colour makes an ideal accent chair that transitions seamlessly into any room when needed.