I’ve always wanted to visit Maison&Objet - the design and decor trade show exhibits bi-annually in Paris, and it has always appeared to me as a larger, more trend-led interior trade show in comparison to its British counterparts. After a two-year break due to COVID, Maison&Objet is back for 2022 (albeit a bit later on than usual thanks to the Omicron variant- the first Maison usually runs in January), and this year they invited me to pop over and experience the returning exhibition for myself. Having felt void of inspiration and a craving to witness new design after lockdown stopped everything in its tracks, I couldn’t wait to see what was forthcoming in home decor and furniture design from the leading artisans, makers, designers, and brands from all over the world.

With 3000 exhibitors all under one roof over five days, the focus for the design fair this year was ‘New Luxury’: highlighting a combination of fine crafts with new technology, as well as concentrating on how design is influenced by current pop/street culture and the powerful influence of social media.

After arriving at Maison&Objet as soon as it opened, it was clear that I was not going to make it all around the fair in one day! There are 7 large exhibition halls categorised into 14 sections covering decor, craft, art, accessories, technology, home fragrance and home textiles (amongst others). There was also a wide range of conferences and special experiences to enjoy alongside the exhibition stands. I prioritised ‘Home Accessories’, ‘Signature’ (the leading names in decoration and design), ‘Today’ (contemporary interiors) and ‘Forever’ (interiors with character), and headed off to these parts of the fair to find the latest trends and discover new brands and collections. Below, I’ve listed my top ten discoveries from Maison&Objet 2022!

Oi Soi Oi

I had seen Oi Soi Oi’s hand-woven silk lampshades before on Instagram, but it was only at Maison&Objet that I was finally able to view them in reality. Founded by two women: Britt Goodall and Christina Thorbøllin in 2007, the company celebrates Nordic design with an Asian twist. While their lamps and lacquered trays are designed in Denmark, the items are produced in Vietnam (where Britt lives and oversees the responsible production). When you buy a product from Oi Soi Oi, you’ll find in the box a card featuring a picture and a quote from the artisans who created the piece for your home.

Oi Soi Oi ships to the UK - click here to be taken to their website.

Kristina Dam Studio

I own a couple of side tables by Kristina Dam Studio that I purchased via Heals, but I was unaware of any other products by the brand; to my delight, I stumbled upon their stand full of sculptural minimalist pieces at Maison. A Danish company that uses mostly natural materials within their designs, each piece on the stand was very architectural in style. From the forthcoming collection, I was immediately drawn to a range of decorative bowls in a peachy-brown colourway that rolled up and over to create a lip using no lines or edges. Curves are used perfectly as part of the designs, and the colourways are soft and muted.

See more at www.kristinadam.dk

Lucas Du Tertre

Lucas Du Tertre is a popular Parisian company who are looking to branch out in the UK. Known mostly for their floral print blankets, they are now launching a range of table linens, so this year at Maison they decided to exhibit in the home accessories section rather than the children’s area. Designed in France but printed in India, the rich reds, blues and yellow florals found on the table linen range would create the perfect summer table.        

https://en.lucasdutertre.com/

Broste Copenhagen

Broste Copenhagen is one of my favourite Scandinavian homeware brands. They release two collections a year, so I knew that their stand would be full of new creative pieces that I had not seen before. I was not disappointed: baby blue dining chairs with double-aspect legs sat alongside frilly-edges mirrors, ribbed ceramic storage jars, giant decorative fans, and Marshmallow-coloured accent chairs.

You can see the full range of Broste Copenhagen at www.brostecopenhagen.com, but they have a wide range of UK distributors including Amara.

Sophie Lou Jacobsen

French-American designer Sophie resides in New York where she creates beautiful objects for everyday use. On display at Maison was her colourful range of hard-wearing (but delicate-looking) borosilicate glass. The manufacturing process involves mixing sand to obtain a range of pink, yellow and purple colours. While the drinking glasses look like they could break upon touch, they can actually take boiling hot or freezing cold water - they can even be placed in the dishwasher!

www.sophieloujacobsen.com - find her designs in the UK via Selfridges.

Hübsch

Another leading Scandinavian brand - Hübsch - embodies the ‘New Luxury’ focus of this year’s Maison&Objet. Trend-led, but with a constant and consistent focus on developing sustainable materials, Hübsch declares to have responsibility at the heart of their company: they use only FSC sustainable and traceable woods, while their textiles are produced in a safe and sustainable manner containing no toxic or allergic substances. Their stand was full of clever home office ideas, and I was a particular fan of their stylish new range of outdoor furniture.

www.hubsch-interior.com

Barro

One of my favourite new discoveries at Maison - I got particularly excited when I found Barro’s stand full of richly coloured 3D and geometric tiles. Handcrafted in Portugal using hand-glazed recycled red clay, each tile is made to order and completely unique. The standout tile for me was a half tube design that created the effect of deep-creviced reeding upon application.

https://barroficina.com

Juliette Vivien Céramique

I stumbled on French artisan Juliette Vivien’s ceramics when walking through the ‘Craft’ area and I was overcome by her miniatures collection: tiny porcelain cups and teapots sit on top of typically-sized porcelain cups and teapots which are milk-white and silky-smooth.

www.juliettevivien.com

Humble

The biggest design trend that I took away from Maison&Objet was the rise of the portable, wireless lamp. Every large brand had its own charge-up indoor/outdoor lamp design on display, but the version of the wireless lamp that I was most impressed with was by Humble: the Dutch brand has designed a cordless, chargeable wall light called Bee -  meaning you don’t have to compromise on knocking a line into your plaster or have a dangling cable hanging down if you want to erect lights onto the wall of your home. Simply affix the base plate of the Bee to the wall to twist the main body of the light on and off. With 200 hours of charge time and with smart lighting controls from your phone, this was the cleverest design that I found at Maison - expect other brands to swiftly follow suit.

www.humblelights.com

Poster & Frame

Celebrating an eclectic range of Scandinavian illustrators, photographers, and artists are Poster & frame - a print-to-order (avoiding over-consumption of paper) Danish company that ships worldwide to bring over 150 hand-picked artworks and a colourful range of perfectly-fitting frames to your door. I selected a few prints by some of my Scandi favourites such as Poppykalas and Gurilla Design to bring back to the UK with me, along with some coordinating pink and yellow frames.

https://posterandframe.com

Mahe Homeware

This Spanish homeware brand is all about rattan and vibrant textiles. A lot of the pieces would work well in a child’s room that wants to avoid being overly childlike. From weaved rattan clam shell wall lights to quirky wooden duck heads, each piece is handmade and the materials used are natural and sustainable.

www.mahehomeware.com