See what Copenhagen Interior Designer Maurice Brantley has to say about his incredible experience at Paris Design Week in September 2017! The original interview was conducted by the premier publication Tu Casa Nueva magazine in their November 2017 edition, and we wanted to share the English translation of Maurice's responses. He touches on up-and-coming trends in furniture and interior design and gives us a sneak peek into what innovations and styles we can expect to see from the most innovative companies in the design industry.
Some of the trends that marked Paris Design Week are the continued integration of technology with home furnishings. Organic shapes and materials such as tree trunk wood tables were evident everywhere. Vivid shades of green and jewel tone colors. Velvet is the preferred choice of fabric for upholstery and Italian marble and travertine for dining tables. Classic and updated mid-century Danish design furniture continues to be the most sought after style preferred by top designers.
Greenery is the Pantone color of the year for 2017 so I certainly saw a lot of that. I also noticed an infusion of orange and yellow so I expect we will see combinations of these two in 2018. Turquoise and shades of teal continue to be an accent color that is quite popular.
Paris Design Week took place this year September 8-16. Over 100,000 visitors from all over the world attended this event that celebrates all things design. I concentrated my efforts on Interiors so this took me to the complete universe of Maison & Objet in Paris at exhibit hall #7 called NOW! www.parisdesignweek.fr
The stand-out Artist that captivated me this year is Geraldine Gonzales. Her work explodes with color, light and dimension and truly defies comparison or description. It is best viewed on her website www.geraldinegonzales.com .
Paris Design Week is truly International in participants. Tom Dixon is a British Industrial Designer specializing in lighting, furniture and accessories and truly inspired me with his innovative designs. www.tomdixon.net
Lush velvets and sumptuous faux furs were everywhere on upholstered furniture. One of the best examples of this that seemed to capture the most attention and photographed was the flamingo and polar bear chairs by the AP Collection of Brussels. Hilarious! Check them out on www.apcollection.be
There were so many beautiful and eye catching installations but there were two real stand-outs. The first was from SELETTI. This Italian design company was bursting with vivid color and whimsical designed furnishings and accessories. Very young, very hip with a decided appeal towards Millennials. www.seletti.it . A more glamorous and elegant presentation came from Emanuel Ungaro for the Belgium firm of JNL. www.ungarohome.com