Posts from — September 2012

“Kid in a candy store” perfectly describes me at MoOd earlier this month. I saw, coveted and obsessed over textiles of all kinds. Some were stunningly beautiful, others blew my mind technically and still more pushed the design envelope. So many to choose from and so little time…

I don’t know how the U.S. jobbers we saw there made the hard editing choices to build their collections. Here are my please-won’t- someone- book- this picks:

Technical Innovations

This development has never been seen before in upholstery fabrics. Building on sports trend theme, Nachik chose a design based on technical textile (sports mesh) used in sports shoes. It took a lot of R&D to modify the texture in such a way it could be used for upholstery. ( Blue Drop winner in upholstery)

Delius brings an innovative concept which is primarily focused on the contract business, but why not residential? It is a fabric for window coverings with an ultra fine woven reflective tissue in Lurex and PU on one side and an elegant design on the other. Thanks to the Lurex, the sun is reflected and the textile heat-insulating. They succeeded in achieving a heat-insulating effect without a coating. Because no coating is the hand and drape of the fabric is not compromised. (Blue Drop winner for innovation)

This was an amazing screen I would love to have in my sample books to sell my window covering clients. First, the color is great- after decades of cream, white and beige, I am ready for color on my windows. The metalized bands are interwoven in a way to create a light crinkle effect. Plus, the metal reflects the sunlight and works as a heat shield.

This 3-D fabric is from the Secret Rainbow collection. What makes this innovative, besides the dimension on the surface is that is creates surprise as it reacts with sunlight and reveals fairytale themed images and colors depending on the light level.

Wovens

Deltacron’s collection was right on trend - Simple Luxury- expressed with essential materials, transparency, clean lines and gradation of color. This degraded stripe is a great example. When it comes to linen they are GENIUS.

I loved this wide width devore sheer. It reminds me of Cole and Son’s much imitated Woods wallpaper.

The colorations, pile height and hand on these velvets were sumptuous.

Modern Velvets

And Just Awesome!

I absolutely love the scale on these panels. If were are going to sell plain stationery draperies; let’s bring it up a notch with murals, bold scale and color and pattern.

Last but not least, my ultimate favorite, This is what “faux silk” polyester was meant to be- crushed, laser cut, contrast reverse, subtle metallic awesomeness. Please book this; please!

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The Random Harvest collection by Nicky Haslam, Britain’s “ultimate” interior designer and international bon vivant recently caught my eye. Inspiration comes from Haslam’s travels and spottings of a curious eye.

“This collection is the result of a lifetime spent looking, noticing, and registering my surroundings.”

The designs hark from various parts of the world. I LOVE “Shutter Stripe” obviously inspired by wood blind on a window somewhere.

or ”Greenbrier” from a pattern on a Spode plate spotted in a tiny antique shop in North Carolina.

“Balcony Stripe” was inspired by the shadow of a balustrade in New Orleans.

A real grotto created to feed into a swimming pool from a past project gave the name to “Grotto”.

Winter Wheat in Taupe

Seafern in New Mown Green

Fabrics in U.S at Claremont New York and L.A.

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Where to begin? Maison and Objet never disappoints for me. I always leave with my head spinning with ideas and inspiration. Some times it’s about new products or innovation;some times it’s about presentation, but is it always a visual feast. Some trends are still going strong; some have moved on and new ones have taken there place. So here’s round one of my takeaways from the show and Paris Design Week.

Patterns

We still can’t seem to get enough of ikats and tribal / ethnic patterns. Suzanis have waned a bit and patterns are now being printed on silk/cotton blends and velvets and made to look fresh with patchwork effects.

Stripes and chevrons still important.

Dots, sharper, angular geometrics and pattern mashups were also everywhere. More on that in round 2. Here’s a sneak peek:

Purple hasn’t gone away. Will it be a contender for Pantone color of the year 2013??

Loving the lighting -Organic LED, punched, perforated, mesh, color, pattern, mixed media.

Walls treatments were amazing with designers using unexpected materials like petrified wood , ceramic, crystal and resin to put 3-d relief and texture on the walls as art installations, panels or paper.These looks were seen again and again at Paris design Week and AD Interieurs showhouse.

Outdoor Furniture. See for yourself - awesomeness!

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I’m off to Europe today with our Paris Decor Tour where we’ll be attending Maison & Objet, MoOd, Paris Design Week, the Pierre Frey Archives, AD Interieurs /Artcurial Showcase, the flea markets and a few surprises along the way.

Watch for real time posts here at Design Confidential of what I’m seeing, trends I’m spotting and my latest design obsessions. I’ll also be on Facebook and pinning inspiration on Pinterest…. Follow us on our European design adventure.

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