Attending Maison & Objet this year as an Ambassador, I expected to be inspired by innovation but what stayed with me most wasn’t a single product or piece. It was the atmosphere, the way stories, materials and memory converged to shape how we experience space and object.
As I moved through the halls, one idea kept returning: design today is more playful, more experimental, and more engaged with experience. Function remains essential, but it no longer dominates the conversation. Instead, personality, emotion and interaction are front and centre; design that invites you in, rather than explains itself.
There was a clear confidence in how materials were brought together. Glass, wood and metal were mixed freely, often in combinations that felt unexpected but deliberate. The usual rules seemed to fall away; materials didn’t need explaining or defending. What mattered was the atmosphere they created, a confident dance of contrasts, resolved through feeling rather than formula.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Hotel Designs.
