Tamara Barrage

Maison et Objet, the show of shows here in the interior design world happens twice annually in Paris. This show is considered one of interior design’s epicenters. It’s the place to spot new trend seeds and track the movement of the developing trends. The show is massive, with exhibit halls spanning a few dozen football fields. What better place to see all manner of furniture, fabric, lighting, bedding and accessories from the world over.

To spare you days of walking, a plane ticket and…croissant weight gain…here are the key trend take-aways to let you know what to expect coming up on the design scene. In Part II, I’ll share some fun finds from the show.

Design Trends of Note:

Rose Colored Metal. Think lighting, cabinet hardware and accessories. Just when you thought you made peace with seeing your trusted silvery brushed nickel hardware and accessories take a back seat, replaced by warm brushed gold metal, now get ready to see a new metal color: rose colored metal and pinky-copper. Stay calm. Still shown were smatterings of the silvers. Gold is still the dominant metal though. But in almost every booth pertaining to metal finishes – rose gold was the new different offering.

Light & Living

Metals in General. Though there was some high polish gleaming metals to be sure, there were lots of hammered looks, lots of chunky piecing, lots of “nuggets just pulled from the ground” feelings. If the message was “organic,” we got it.

Natural Stone. Think quartz stalagmites hanging in brilliant surrounds as light fixtures evoking the feeling of beautiful icicles. Table tops looked to be slivers of raw agate collaged under a thick polymer layer, or a console tabletop as one large piece of stone polished on top, with rough raw edges. Golden hammered bronze candle sticks were punctuated in the middle by chunky orbs of amethyst (or its cheap alternative, if I’m going to be able to afford a set of these for my place…).  The story was stone, stone and more stone. All photos in this section from Cravt.

Raw Broken Edges. Whether in wood or stone, from tables to accessories – the edges were organic, rough textures and free formed shaped.

Unexpected Combinations of Materials. Picture glass vases with – what else – natural stone apparently growing on it; or glass accessories adorned with leather; vases adorned with feathers. Glass tables with cork tops. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it was like somebody making a baloney sandwich, asked, “What shouldn’t I put on this?” and when the answer came “Peanut Butter!!” – they did it anyway. I applauded the courageously creative ideas. But in some cases, I wish it luck at the cash register.

Lukas Wegwerth

Color. Still dominating the color scene are every iteration of gray combined with the color of Belgian linen. The punch colors that moved forward was the non-color color: black; black and white prints or solids for accent upholstery and fabrics, and in a secondary position to black for fabrics and accessories was a bright mustard gold. Most other colors on the scene (reds, plums, blues) still carry a grayed down undertone. The only one that didn’t – was the newest green – a combo between grass green and jade.

Furniture Flourishes – Tufting! Tufting, tufting so help us tufting. So popular is the public desire for tufted elements that furniture designers are answering the call and pushing to explore new versions. As a result, tufting shows up in interesting placement on the inside arms of more furniture, or tufting turns a bit to become diamond tufting or other new iterations. We even spotted tufting on the deconstructed back section of a chair. (Poor photo…sorry…it’s there if you look!). Moreover, even when tufting wasn’t on the upholstery itself, let’s say in the case of a modern sofa, note the 3 decorative accent pillows placed on it, each boasting a single button tuft. As a fan of tufting, I had a great time seeing the many creative and imaginative applications.

Woods – What Now? The Restoration Hardware bleached down wood is still on the scene, but wood is taking on stains again too. In accordance with the organic movement in process, shown prevalently were many organic lumber forms as wooden table tops.

Andrew Martin

Remember that multiple interior design trends are always simultaneously in development at any given time. And, trends morph and lurch in fits and jumps rather than dying out overnight. No need to trade in that beautiful traditional or transitional living room you completed last year. As ever, buy what you love, design with the curated and collected items you want to wake up and see each day.

Part II – next week – Fun Finds at Maison & Objet!