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European influence in North American kitchen and furniture design is more evident today than ever before. We’ve seen significant innovation in production processes, equipment, management software and more notably, easily available surface designs and textures. The availability of unique surfaces and finishes is vast and complicated; today we deep dive into what’s driving the adoption of European products and the roles we play to embrace innovation and change in the North American market.

If you were to pick one word to describe what’s happening in the most progressive and productive work places today, it’s collaboration.

Steelcase is all over it.

With its Flex Collection, Steelcase offers an office furniture line that “creates dynamic team neighborhoods that are designed for spontaneity.”

“It empowers teams to reconfigure their space on demand, making it easy to shift from a brainstorm to a workshop or from a daily stand-up to a sprint review,” Steelcase says.

Ironwood Manufacturing has developed a breakthrough interior furnishing. Rich and elegant, its components embody unique intellectual property designs, incorporating customized Italian technology for edgebanding and boring, all driven by a European design application not widely used in the U.S.

Tom Deady, general manager at Ironwood, describes one project, constructed for a large aerospace company. “It was intended to match the aesthetic of its private corporate jets,” says Deady. “The Etimoe veneer originated in North Africa, was fumed in Spain, then processed through Danzer Veneer in Indiana. The doorlites are from 3form, and encapsulate silk strands hand-woven in Nepal, between two layers of acrylic.”

Taking on a greater role in serving its Texas community required a respected non-profit to invest in new office space designed to last. VT Architectural Doors finished with New Leaf Performance Veneers fit right in.