During the Cologne Furniture Fair 2005, the experts & academicians from the world's different fields composed a Trendboard; the members of this Trendboard included the Tokyo designer----Reiko Miyamoto, reporter of Milan （ Italy ） ----Cristina Morozzi, material expert of Frankfort (Germany)---- Nicola Stattmann, Landon (England) Designer----Tom Dixon, and the Textile Designer of Amsterdam (Holand)---- Ulf Moritz. During the Fair, the Board worked out the book---- 《 Interior Trends 2005 》 , it shows the trend of fashionable furnishing of 2005. The main content are including:

Ethno Techno —— the combination of Persia carpet and the accurate numeral. (Picture 1)

Vintage Modification —— as to the crusted goods with perpetual charm, we can reshape it or add ourselves fresh blood of ourselves to transfer them into modern article vividly. (Picture 2)

Magic Fairytale —— to return the world to the imagination of the naivete Fairytale. (Picture 3)

Sampling Culture —— draw out some elements of the culture and recombine them. (Picture 4)

•  Colours —— match colors with warm green color or mix with gray color, or the white color for covering; the surface should show close reticulation like powder. Some colors are being recommended, for example purple, pink, asymmetry golden color. (Picture 5)

•  Materials —— leather shows the image of crusted goods, the joint can be seen and the stitch of the back is coarse. Metal is mainly with warm color, for example bronze & brass color. The surface can be decorated. Fluff of velours is full, the crimples showing elegance. The structure of textile material is close, and the surface shows erose. (Picture 6)

Klaas----the chairman of Germany Furniture Industry Association showed that: “We saw lots of furniture scenery and environment on the fair; we don't just make simple placement of furniture products. And this ‘new luxury' is the very development trend of furniture”.

The so-called furniture products embody the functional & humanized design. The focus of this year is mainly increasing the multifunctional sofa to meet the demand of multifunctional & suitable products.

In addition, the beech, oak, cherry, alder and birch are generally adopted as materials of the furniture structure & parts, besides, the decoration of hardwood flake is the focus on the face materials of furniture; and this confirms the status of hardwood's using scale & further expands the character on the meaning of zoology.

As for the design of furnishing & textile, plenty of refined textiles & flower pattern and colors of designs with subject of “Orient” can be seen on the fair. The different combination of colors is the bright spot of this fair.

Combining with the trend of fashionable furnishing on the Cologne Furniture Fair 2005, some experts & academicians of the Trendboard declare some philosophic opinions----

Nicola Stattmann said: “In the world, the opportunities of technology, economy, culture are become more and more; in facing of the development, the response of individual is that----we should use our whole life-time to identify and grasp the essence of life”.

Tom Dixon believed: “We have entered the times of praising the return of family; it has not only just become the truth, but also has been considered as our life model; Different life manners are attracting us! That's because of the potential enjoyment of sensory perception”.

Ulf Moritz said that: “It's the moment to express our true feelings! Entertain & give loose to ourselves in a well-arranged environment strengthens our pursuit of mysterioso things and oomph in life. There are many attracting ways for us to escape from reality”.

“We live in today, we don't ask what it was be or what it will be. Where will the next excitement be? That's something we are interested. Sensibilities are part of it, and the sensibilities are always rich. In the struggle, we are not alone; we need collectivity. We are reconstructing our furniture; that's the very feeling that makes us together”.

The words of the experts of “Trendboard” seemed a little heartquake & rebel against orthodoxy; but they also reflect the fashionable gastronomy in Europe at the present age. The modern & aesthetic conception also affects us; and this is the new task that needs the designers to pay great attention to.

he development of heat treatment technique of timber-protection

In Europe, the heat treated timber are extensively used in the construction of house; this kind of material is used on the frameworks of some big-size & small-size constructions, as well as the wall; furthermore, it is also largely used on the patio furniture, wood fence, door & window. Last year, Finland constituted the new regulation: the wood & wood products after chemical dipping are forbidden for sale in the home use market; the distributors only can sell wood & wood products after heat treatment.

The wood types that can be treated with heat are increasing; every new type should be researched carefully in the lab then it can be produced largely.

•  The complex craftwork process

In the craftwork of timber-heat treatment, at first the temperature rise very fast to 100℃ , then to 200 -250℃ in a short time; in the 35 hours, the kiln temperature is increasing continuously from the original 50℃ ; then the whole process finished.

Dry medium can kill bacteria and penetrate the inner of timber evenly; in order to keep positive pressure (a little higher than the exterior air) we should exhaust out of the kiln.

•  Different uses apply different standards

The concerned departments in Europe have issued the processing standards on the different temperature levels. And these standards have become the informal International Standards. Standards T4 & T5 are suitable for indoor use; and standards D1 & D3 are fit for outdoor use.

T5 is suitable for the situation: on the condition that the natural color of the timber is a little dark; this kind of apparent change won't affect the character of timber. T4 has the same function as T5, but for rubber wood it will keep white. This kind of process is extensively use in printing floor manufacture; and in the condition of non-chemical medicament processing it still can keep dry indoors

Standards D1 & D3 are fit for outdoor use. When D3 is used on rubber wood, it will make the product seem like teak in appearance, but the cost is high.

One of the characters of the heat treatment is that the containing moisture rate of the timber is just half of those commonly dried; for this reason, moisture absorption & desorption caused by changing humidity of environment will be decreased evidently. Furthermore, in this way, the timber's containing moisture rate is balance and won't change with the humidity change.

This development on technique expands & gains ground the board market; and interspace & heave will not exist between board and board.

Standard D2 is fit to make the color of rubber wood into coffee brown; and timber passed this process is mostly used to make patio furniture & it can adapt any type of climate.

The process situation of Standard D1 is the most rigorous; rubber wood processed with this standard shows chocolate-dark brown; and the wood become a little brickle. It's usually not used to make furniture but can be used in some situation such as interred under the ground or dipped in the water and never molder. The typical use of it is using it for family wood fence and coast groyne.

•  The ability to cope with all seasons and Resist to inset pest

The strongpoint of this technique is: the timber after this processing possesses good ability to cope with all seasons; the reason is the sugar & amylum are broken up or transferred into other compound under this high temperature; as a result, the timber won't keep the food for fungoid or insect.

After many insect pest experiments on different types of timbers, all of them are come to the same conclusion: insect doesn't like to eat the heat-treated timber.

Outdoor resist insect pest trial has been being carried on for over one year, and the project will accomplished soon.

•  Direction for future development

Mr. Tero Lallukka is the first expert of this kind of research. He believed that the furniture enterprise should try using the heat-treated timber to make furniture; other wood type may be pine wood and other European timber.

Mr. Tero Lallukka is also the founder & board chairman of Stellac Co.; Stellac Co. is also the world's most early Co. using big-size heat-treating kiln to process timber. At the end of 2000, 90% of the exported heat-treated-equipment was produced by Stellac Co..

According to Mr. Tero Lallukka, the benefit of heat treatment on timber of torrid zone is higher than that on pine wood; the reason is that the drying time is too long for some types of wood; evenly 45 days.

In Asia, the Karimoku Co. in Japan and Malaysian Oil Palm Board are carrying on this production. The Karimoku Co. also set up a factory in Malaysian, but until now they haven't sold this type of heat treatment timber outside; the reason is that all of the rubber wood processed in this factory is provided for furniture factories in Japan for use.

Malaysian Oil Palm Board Factory is doing a trial to use smoke kiln to process the bole of oil palm wood that owns very high containing water. They largely reconstruct Japan 's traditional heat treatment rooms, and take them as their processing equipment. Oil palm is not a kind of tree; and will this trial be successful by using this material is not known; but we can learn the trend of applying this kind of technique from it.