Jan 26, 2009

Paris Trip Envy- Volume Two!

Allison and Louis of Maison 24 sent me more updates today on their exciting trip to Paree!

Today was our 1st day shopping the Maison et Objet Spring/Summer '09 collections.
This is a huge show that takes place just outside Paris from Jan. 23 to Jan. 27 with 6 major pavilion halls and 3 specialized halls.


Halls 1 - 6 include ethnic chic, home textiles, interior decoration divided into "references", "charme", and "inspiration jardin", and home accessories.
Hall 5B is called "Scenes D'interieur" and it is a show for the greatest creators of luxury home fashion - sort of a best of the best and a very inspirational section of the show.
Hall 5C is "Editeurs" and it features over 150 international luxury upholstery fabric houses.
Halls 7A & 7B house "Now! design a vivre" which is a preview of new, edgy, innovative design.
We covered Halls 1,2,3 and Now! today - which is about all you can do in 6 straight hours of walking the aisles.

Our first stop was to visit the the design installations in Halls 1, 2, and 3 to see how this year's designers are interpreting design in today's world. All noting that we are living in uncertain times, each designer used his or her space to offer reassurance that the home & experimenting with design can be the best antigloom remedy.

Chalk white walls covered in vibrant, jarring graffiti created the backdrop for Iconoclash by Vincent Gregorie. The products, curated from among dozens of exhibitors, fused urban & rustic, natural & artificial, and the archaic with the technical.


Our favorite pieces included a white porcelain Richard Ginori sculpture of 4 regal men with 'love' painted in rainbow stripes across them, a glossy white buddha that had assuring words like 'believe!' scrawled across the base and a chest of drawers where every drawer front was unique - mirrored, baroque, stained wood, lacquered wood - and mismatched.


Francois Bernard created a space called Valeurs-Refuge. As he sees it, whimsy and humor are an antidote to the time we're living in and the home is comfort - revisiting classics and fixing up the run-down charm of the known. Mr. Bernard's space was tented with fabric printed with a classic hounds tooth pattern but on an enormous scale and the entrance was meant to look as though it was being unzipped or opened by a giant zipper which immediately revealed a working fireplace beyond the entrance that made you feel warm, welcomed, & comforted.
Unique finishes & fabrications and hand-made & limited edition pieces made up the unique offerings.

The best examples we spotted that reflected Mr. Bernard's vision included an acrylic chair and stool screened with a classic Louis style design in a shimmery silver and a mounted deer head covered in a patchwork of vintage needlepoint canvases (and we bought both to add to our Spring mix at Maison 24).


Both designers visions seemed to be echoed throughout many vendors booths where bright colors, whimsical design, and a re-invention of the classics were dominant themes.


We can't wait to continue exploring & buying tomorrow!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The photographs really look wonderful! I surely would want to go there someday.

Seattle Real Estate said...

Great photos. Very creative.