This week, Milan turns into a design mecca as the industry converges for the annual Salone del Mobile furniture fair. It’s where something as simple as a chair can prove delightfully intriguing — like, say, styles inspired by the movement of sharks (Jaime Hayon) or Hong Kong architecture (Andrea Ponti). But there’s plenty to see outside of the official exhibition hall, too. Here, our top picks on what to check out, including one that’s close to home…

Hue Done It
Spanish designer Hayon — yes, he of the aforementioned shark-inspired seating — constructed a modern stained-glass wonderland at Palazzo Serbelloni for Caesarstone. An ode to flora, fauna and folklore, Stone Age Folk is a dazzling kaleidoscope of color, glass, geometry and reflection, all juxtaposed against the palazzo’s Neoclassical surroundings.

Going Green
We’re extending our garden party all the way to Milan with a special window installation (above) at our boutique on Via Della Spiga 7 featuring the Dodie Thayer for Tory Burch lettuce ware collection. Stop by and say hello…

Blue Crush
Relax under a canopy of jeans at Palazzo Litta. There are 300 pairs in all — actual pairs, connected waist-to-waist, cuff-to-cuff (not bolts of denim fabrics) — creating a surreal mesh effect. The project is the brainchild of design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The curved slope of the installation may remind New York visitors of the raised lawn at Lincoln Center, also a Diller Scofidio + Renfro creation.

In the Pink
Wallpaper* magazine takes over Mediateca di Santa Teresa, a former church, for its Holy Handmade! exhibition. If you worship great design, this is a must-see, with works by Tom Dixon, Conrad Shawcross, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec and many others. Don’t miss the garden installation by Marc Ange, which is utterly befitting of its name, Le Refuge: it features a dreamy outdoor bed under graphic jungle (faux) foliage in pastel pink.

And Pattern Plays
Brooklyn-based Calico teamed up with a number of artists for inventive takes on wallpaper. Snarkitecture duo Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen created a topographical pattern from hand-torn cotton papers; Faye Toogood, hand-painted landscapes of the British Isles; Ana Kraš, a minimalist grid, and Amsterdam studio BCXSY, a soapy bubble pattern, equal parts arty and abstract — using actual oversized bubble wands. See them all at Via Varese 12 in the Brera Design District.