Colour and Form from Maison & Objet

My thoughts on colour and form from Maison & Objet and all the trends you need to know about from the latest edition of the show.

Well, you know the saying “Paris is always a good idea” and I’m all for a quick trip to Paris. Almost two weeks ago I took a quick two-night hop to the French capital to see the sights of Maison & Objet and Paris Deco Off. The one thing I’m always prepared for is how bitingly cold Paris is in January – and this time there was even some snow! What I hadn’t really planned for was how nervous people were about the Gilet Jaunes, central Paris was eerily quiet, especially for a Saturday during the tradeshows. Louis Vuitton was boarded up, so, too, Prada and a couple of banks in the shopping area along Boulevard Saint-Germain in the sixth arrondissement. It might seem surreal for me to say this, but it actually helped me out a little. How you might be asking? Well, the showrooms of the Left Bank were quieter and that meant I got a really good look at the new fabrics on offer for 2019. Anyway, this first post is about the colour and form from Maison & Objet’s January edition, but I’ll follow up with a look at the textiles making me feel warm and fuzzy.

I headed straight from the airport directly to M&O with my carry-on suitcase in tow. A short 3 and half hours from waking up I was actually at the showground. This is one of the biggest perks of living so close to Gatwick airport and the show being so close to Charles De Gaulle  – it’s just one stop on RER B.  The big excitement this year was that Maison had changed its format, separating the show into two distinct categories: home interior, and objects and accessories. For many people, myself included, this is a great update making it very easy to see the product type that you’re after. The higher end brands were then in a “signature” category which had a different carpet making them very easy to track down in the 8 epic halls (or 115,000 square metres of hall space, if you want to get specific).

The first section I visited was the show’s platform for new and emerging designers, The Rising Talents Awards. This year the jury, including legendary designers Tom Dixon and Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu of Neri & Huwere focusing on China’s design talent. Some of the brightest young design minds selected included Frank Chou, Chen Furong, Mario Tsai, Hongjie Yang, Ximi Li, and Bentu. What was fascinating to see was the crisp contemporariness that their designs exuded. Particularly when the designs were shown against a sterile white cube. Many of the designers selected had studied, interned or even worked outside of China, combining their global references with Chinese ones. Ximi Li’s Urbancraft furniture included terrazzo, which has been a popular design motif for the last 18 months or so.

2910 brands presented their latest creations at the January edition of M&O, of which 62% were international exhibitors. Not surprisingly there were new trends developing and apparent throughout the halls, but there really was something for everyone.  As you know I’m a firm believer that we shouldn’t handcuff ourselves to trends in interiors, and that it’s much better to select the best available product for the task required, within your budget. As an interior design trend, by definition, is the temporary popularity of a style and lets face it, renovating, decorating and even accessorising our homes doesn’t come cheap.

I believe we shouldn’t be slaves to trends, I think it’s best to pick and choose the elements that appeal to us intrinsically and choose the best available product for the task required.

However, honestly, it’s useful to know where “fashion” and “trends” are heading so that you have an informed choice. So what colour and form from Maison & Objet did I spot that might be a trend?

Reach out and touch me

Velvet was still very much in evidence across the halls from upholstery to soft furnishings but a new texture was appearing as a challenger to the ubiquitous upholstery fabric choice – corduroy. Could it be the development of the boho/seventies aesthetic? Or was it the charm that the pattern of vertical lines creates?  Whether in a fine micro cord or the wale cord variety it was picking up momentum, creating a warm and tactile textile surface on furniture. I spotted it at Ligne Roset (who were also experimenting further with upholstery textiles using quilting, as were Fogia – so watch this space), Pols Potten and HK Living. Other textures getting in on the act included bouclés and somewhat irregular tweed like textiles. Basically, it’s about furniture that wants to be touched.

Fringing was bubbling up at last January’s show but it’s reaching altogether new heights (or should that be lengths?) with it adorning almost everything.  I was particularly taken with Eno Studio’s fringed wall sconce, although it was hard to photograph. Houtique and ibride still showed plenty of colourful fringes and when I eventually write about Paris Deco Off, you’ll see even more passementerie.

Surprisingly I also spotted a fair amount of crochet. It’s not something I’m a fan of at all. The more elegant use of it appeared closer to rope but I’m still unconvinced – unless its garden furniture that is.

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I’m a Material girl

I couldn’t write about colour and form from Maison & Objet without touching on materials. Wicker and rattan in furniture is still a big theme and one company that particularly caught my attention was Utu Soulful. With their colourful Memphis inspired pendant lights with rattan elements, they were nailing both colour and form. Also a new to me brand called Kann Design showed a fine rattan screen that was anything but rustic. The France based brand had several elegant but livable pieces that I coveted. Portuguese brand Dooq showed that even a humble material can be elevated to a luxury item with the swivel base egoísta chair. Rattan and cane were seen pretty much across all the halls – HK Living, Market Set, Mambo Unlimited, AY Illuminate and many many more brands included this humble material.

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Punched through surfaces that created shadow play (similar to rattan) were also spotted at Pedrali and Exflorim. Plus shadow play or dappled light created by lighting textures was a biggie, seen expressively DWC Editions.

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Marvellous marble was everywhere but the earthy green marbles were centre stage at Ligne Roset, Alex Mint, Cinna and La Chance. I spotted it combined with pinky hues marble at Ferm Living, Dooq and over at Mambo. Alex Mint showed it “spliced” together with gold detailing and Meridiani showed it as a small side table with a simple black metal band.

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Know your shapes

Organic shapes were a force to be reckoned with, with arches, curves, almonds and lozenge shapes leading from the front. In the lighting stakes, it was all about the “globe” – whether it was opaline, coloured, translucent, large or small.

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Earthy hues and spice tones

Whether you agreed with Dulux that the colour of the year is Spiced Honey or with Pantone’s Living Coral prediction, one thing is for sure it about to get a lot warmer. Hues of terracotta, cayenne, mustard and rust paired with warm peachy nudes or with striking berry reds were immediately apparent in the halls of Maison. Pink wasn’t altogether forgotten and still popped up frequently. In fact, these new earth tones work remarkably well with it. However, when it all gets a bit too red toned there are the alternatives of deep forest green bubbling up and deep luxurious chocolate.

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Headboards to wake you up

I didn’t see it coming till it hit me in the face, statement headboards are becoming a thing. Definitely a little different to the standard tufted velvet that is de rigueur these days.

Lift up the rug

Rugs aren’t for the floors anymore, these works of art are meant to be displayed where everyone can see them. The colour and form from Maison and Objet may have varied, but irregular shapes, added texture, fringes and bold patterns were a common thread.

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The Trend Presentations

Every Maison & Objet includes a trend presentation exhibit and this edition was no exception. The What’s New? exhibition showcased more than 500 brands and nearly 1,500 new products from all over the world curated by trendsetters such as Elizabeth Leriche. Leriche’s space was grouped into 3 trends Luxury Graphic, Ethnic Arty and Minimal Brutalist. While the presentation Excuse my French! edited by Vincent Grégoire of NellyRodi highlighted the “je ne sais quoi” of French design and the effortless appeal of French design.

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If you enjoyed this roundup on colour and form from Maison & Objet you may also like to read some of my other tradeshow reports. Or maybe take a look at my article for Interior Design Magazine here.

All images in the Trend Presentation section by AETHION. All other photography by Mary Middleton for Hello Peagreen, except the image from HK Living and Ferm Living indicated.