A Light Less Ordinary – Illuminating Ideas from Maison et Objet 2016 Paris
We love Paris! We really love Paris – especially when visiting Maison et Objet! Every year, interior designers, buyers, trendspotters, taste-makers and style bloggers from all over Europe descend upon Maison et Objet in Paris. It’s the first design show of the year, and the place to be if you want to pick up the new season trends before anybody else. Many of the exhibiting designers use the show to gauge the opinion of the visitors, determining whether they will put their new creations into production. This year we went with our thinking hats on, a comfortable pair of shoes – Stan Smith’s, natch – and a long shopping list for all of our clients!
One of our main objectives for Sara Slade Interiors this year was to source some innovative, show-stopping lighting, and we weren’t disappointed!
Practicaly the first stand we walked into was CVL Luminaires and their fabulous new products. One piece that really caught our attention was their ‘Constellation’ light. Their concept behind the design is a light that is reminiscent of natural formations, but most importantly is designed to grow organically to meet your needs. Beautifully crafted from Brass and Glass, this light can be fitted to your wall or ceiling (perfect if you haven’t got a lot of headroom). It can also be ‘added to’ infinitely, so you could take this across an entire wall to create a dramatic feature.
Following the trend of lighting which can grow with your needs was the Giapato Coombes stand. Judging by the amount of designers and architects that were also vying for position alongside me in wonder at their ‘Bolle’ suspension light, I was not alone in my enthusiasm for this new design. Inspired by the lightness of soap bubbles, this lamp has to be seen to be believed. The feather-light, hand-blown glass of seemingly interlocking bubbles are held together without any screws. It really is a piece of art – one whic you will want to treasure – I am certainly going to be putting my own order in very soon!
MAISON ET OBJET – A GLASS OF THEIR OWN
It would take an entire week to take in everything Maison et Objet 2016 had to offer, so we had to be selective with our choice of destination. Hall 8 was all about luxury; luxury furniture, luxury lighting and luxury finishings. We found ourselves spending a large amount of time staring in awe at the simply beautiful glass pieces by Anna Torfs. Born and trained in Belgium, she is a master of glass using unconventional techniques that reveal the contrast between the vibrant centre and the sober ‘skin’ of her objects. The glass and titanium piece below was made as one piece, and when hit by the ambient light of the room, you couldn’t tell where one shape finished and another on started – such was the skill that went into it’s construction.
We were also dazzled by the amazing glass furniture from Glas Italia, with stunning pieces such as the ‘Shimmer’ range from Patricia Urquiola which has a special iridescent multichromatic finish and Philippe Starck’s ‘Box in a Box’.
The luxury didn’t stop at the furniture or objet however; we are now looking for the perfect project to build around these Diedre Dyson rugs. The geometric and abstract shapes were offset by some vivid colours which caught the light and seemed to change every time you look at them. Then there’s the texture – these hand-tufted pices are the sort of rugs which will caress your bare feet every time you walk across them! To be honest, you could wall mount them as art, they were SO beautiful! She has a showroom on the Kings Road in London, so if you ever get the chance, you MUST go and see what we mean!
For more information about Maison et Objet, please visit their website www.maison-objet.com
