I am lucky. I admit it. I am lucky enough to get to go to Paris once a year to visit the Maison et Objet show. This show is one of the world’s biggest furniture and accessories markets. This year is my second trip to this show and I found it to be just as exciting, if not more so, than the first.
We started off in the outdoor section where I needed to visit with a bunch of my vendors, and meet with some new ones. EMU (www.EMU.it) had a stunning booth, as usual — lots of white wire and powder coat — very Italian design. Some of the new dining tables are really fantastic. At Fermob (www.fermobusa.com) they have tons of new stuff including a small bistro slatted deck chair — like a steamer chaise really, as well as a few new seat belt pieces — chaise, lounge, and dining chairs by Andree Putman. Putman is so cool and the new collection is called Inside Out.
La Fuma (www.lafumausa.com) is putting together a striped beach chair collection that is so colorful and fun that it really reminds me of Toile du Soliel’s fabric line, perfect for next summer.
Last year I saw three new lines that I had to think about a bit and now I am ready to move. Freek (www.freek.nl) produces a line of astro turf-ish, but way cooler, shag-ish rugs for outdoors in unbelievable colors and stripes. Perfect to put under a blow up, orange, outdoor chesterfield sofa by Blofield (www.blofield.com). Seriously, a blow up sofa, made out of outdoor safe, UV safe material in fun colors. It even comes with its own pump. I think I will put one in my own garden.
At Sywawa (www.sywawa.be) I placed an order for the coolest garden parasols I have ever seen. The Shady Lace is a white umbrella that is laser cut to resemble leaves and lace in a slightly cut out way. Although Sywawa makes the piece, Chris Kabel for Droog Design, an amazing Dutch design firm, designs it. Those Dutch; they are really at the forefront of cool design.
The Shady Lace is incredibly beautiful and the shadowing effect you get with it is an extra bonus. It also comes in a beautiful kelly green and I am so excited to be getting this in for spring.
Their coolest product, though, is the Frou Frou Parasol. It is hard to explain, but it looks like a Mexican palapa collided in a big way with a hula dancer. I think I will order just one to start and maybe put it in my backyard and show it to clients. OK, I know what you are thinking. “Your backyard must be full.” Yes, yes it is. But it is super cool and one of the great advantages to being a designer is getting to be design fickle and try out new stuff and get rid of old stuff. It is so much fun.
While continuing to wander the aisles of the outdoor section, we stumbled across another new line that I have to have. It was totally different from everything else at the show and it truly is one of the most beautiful lines I have ever seen. Even though most of the outdoor stuff on at market leans toward the contemporary or modern, Massant (www.massant.com) has the most beautiful, classic, and well thought out product line I have seen. When you look at this line, it would never even occur to you that these pieces are intended of the outdoors. Beautiful Louis XV carved teak chairs with outdoor fabrics. They will even do COM (customer’s own material). Regency armchairs, a Louis XVI settee, a Victorian bamboo caned canape, a parquet topped dining table. So completely unexpected and so beautiful. Their booth was also so simple, yet beautiful with a living wall of white hebes to set off the beautiful furniture.
On to the indoor stuff. There is just so much good-looking stuff it can be incredibly overwhelming. There is an ethnic section, home textiles, tabletop, furniture, home accessories, holiday, and kids. As we wandered in and out of different showrooms in different sections, there were a few commonalities that stuck out. It seems that there are three distinct style trends. The first one is a very organic look. Lots of wood in natural tones as well as natural fibers, wool, cashmere, and leather. There was also a lot of wicker in modern shapes and very organic cane colors. The look is very rustic, but still very fine. Did I mention that chesterfields are a huge trend? Huge!
The second look is modern, slick, and smooth. Lots of lacquered surfaces; mostly black, white, and reds. Examples include acrylic chairs, chrome, and Italian modern.
Third is my personal favorite, which is more in the Steampunk style. Lots of metal tables, chairs, and beds. Lots of rivets with wheels on tables. Semi-Gothic, semi-Victorian, industrial revolution-ish. If done well, all of these styles can look great together.
My color predictions for interiors next year are navy blue and taupe (mushroom-ish). I actually did a fair amount of buying at this show. I could not help myself. I can’t wait to pour through the catalogs I brought home, all 35 pounds of them, and decide what to order for spring. Over the next few months we should be receiving the fruits of my labor, so please stop by my shop and take a peek!
JJ De Sousa is the owner of digs inside & out, located at 1829 NE Alberta, Portland, OR. She can be reached at jj@digs-pdx.com or 503-460-3447.
