Zoe & I visited Maison Objet last week. Maison Objet is an enormous trade show, covering all 8 halls of the Paris Nord Expo park. The displays cover small homewares, furniture, lighting and luxury finishes (as well as less relevant things like clothing and ‘gifts’). Due to the scale, it is often a useful show for;
Observing & being inspired by overall trends in interiors and products.
Seeing new product launches.
Sourcing specific fixtures, finishes and lighting.
Sustainability on the Fringes
We were disappointed that sustainability was not a significant focus at the show; in that few exhibitors were displaying or talking about their approach. The show app included a ‘sustainability trail’ of selected stands, and the show infrastructure itself seemed improved on this front (e.g. signs and pass holders made from recyclable card rather than single use plastic). We did see some interesting products among those for whom sustainability was a focus, including attractive 3D printed lamps made from reclaimed and recycled materials, and high end rugs made from recycled PET.
Neutral colours and ‘natural’ finishes
In previous years we have seen lots of earthy colours and pastel shades. This year, a deeply neutral palette was everywhere; greige walls, off-white textured fabric, dark wood, and cane/ rattan/ raffia accessories and lighting.
The trend for rattan and other similar natural materials has been around for some years now (we think at least partly a response to environmental concerns – natural materials feel like they ought to be a sustainable choice). It was interesting to see how this has developed. In some places, furniture and lighting styles were veering towards ‘shabby chic’ (not something we are pleased to see). Elsewhere, lighting designers have taken a neater/ clean lined approach, which we think works better in a domestic setting. The most interesting interpretation was from Jonathan Adler, who combined cane/ rattan with the other big trend; huge playful shapes.
Big shapes & playful colours
The ‘Neotenic’ trend for squishy tubular shapes, often combined with highly textured fabric (think Boucle) became buzzy back in 2020 (see our 2020 trends blog), and has been settling in since – taking on more organic but still exaggerated forms. We saw a few different interpretations of this;
Fully embracing the playfulness with colour, pattern, and distinctive forms.
Hints of tubular forms in otherwise more classic furniture shapes.
Fairly ubiquitous squishy, beige, textured chairs in commercial furniture (i.e. the crossover of Neutral & Neotenic, creating something fairly bland).
In lighting, coloured glass, especially rose shades, are having a moment.
Freestanding shelving & screens
A mini-trend; we spotted a few pieces of furniture that would work well as partial room dividers, including freestanding shelves and an adjustable wooden screen. We assume a response to the Covid-driven evolution of how we use our home spaces. We’d also note that fitted joinery has become much more expensive over the last 2 years, so there is now a stronger case for choosing freestanding shelves for some spaces.
Strange Luxury items
In one part of the exhibition there is a collection of expensive, well made, but extremely odd or unnerving luxury products. Of note; photorealistic rugs, soft toy chairs, and giant sea-life outdoor cushions.
Our highlights
While we didn’t see very much innovation elsewhere, we were excited by specific items in home accessories and lighting. With lighting, in fact, we saw enough to fill another blog! – Look out for an upcoming post by Zoe.
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