24 Mar Maison & Objet in Paris 2024: The Intimate Art of Living
Maison & Objet in Paris 2024: The Intimate Art of Living
A sensorial journey through Maison & Objet 2024, where artisanal craftsmanship and sculptural forms redefined contemporary living. Set against the poetic charm of Paris, this year’s fair celebrated material honesty, emotional resonance, and the timeless art of detail.
Each January, the design world converges in Paris for Maison & Objet—a show I’ve come to view as a quiet yet powerful counterpart to the exuberance of Milan’s Design Week. Both cities stir something deep in me, but in distinctly different ways. Milan is bold, architectural, and assertive. Paris is poetic focused more on finished and decorative aspect of design.
Being in Paris for the fair is never just about what’s inside the halls. It’s about the entire rhythm of the city. The act of walking to the show through narrow streets still wet from morning rain. Pausing at a café for a noisette and still-warm croissant. Watching people take their time. The scale of Paris allows for intimacy, and the city never ceases to feel like it’s whispering secrets to those who notice.
This year, Maison & Objet 2024 invited a return to the sensory, the handmade, and the emotionally resonant. I wandered slowly, absorbing not just furniture and objects, but materials, finishes, gestures. Below is a curated reflection on the design stories—and the Parisian atmosphere—that made this visit so meaningful.
Paris: A Moodboard in Motion
Before diving into the fair itself, it’s important to acknowledge how much Paris sets the tone for the design it showcases. There’s a philosophy of restraint here, of elegance by omission. You see it in the way people dress—well-made, quiet pieces, layered in considered ways. You smell it in the streets—amber, sandalwood, or iris trailing softly from someone’s scarf. The perfumeries, even the less famous ones, are exquisite. Their packaging, their interiors, their compositions—everything reflects a reverence for craft.
I always return from Paris with more than samples and photos. I return with textures: the crust of a perfect pain aux raisins, the weight of an antique brass door handle, the hum of voices in a quiet gallery. It’s a city that sharpens your senses. That awareness inevitably shapes what I notice at the fair. These inspirations are reflected in our custom luxury rug collection, blending traditional techniques with contemporary aesthetics.
Milan Design Week often gives me macro-level inspiration—architectural interventions, collectible furniture, installations that reimagine the city. Maison & Objet operates differently. It’s an intimate conversation. The scale is human. The impact is emotional.
Where Milan dreams of the future, Maison & Objet enhances the present: the vase you fill with branches, the light that warms your dinner table, the candlestick that reminds you of something passed down. These details matter—and in Paris, they feel sacred.
Highlights: Galleries That Stayed With Me
Galerie Glustin
The first thing that caught my eye was the dominance of larger than life chandelier—not just as functional lighting, but as expressive, sculptural element.
The “Totem” chandelier by Studio Glustin, was truly a highlight. Crafted from Murano glass and brass, it carried an old-world gravity with contemporary grace. It felt like something you’d find in a Roman palazzo, yet it wouldn’t feel out of place in a modern pied-à-terre overlooking the Seine.
These statement lights weren’t trying to be clever. They were composed, layered, and generous. They held space.
Invisible Collection & Mobilier National at Féau Boiseries
Walking into Féau Boiseries felt like stepping into a cinematic dream. I was immediately enveloped by a pendant made of deep purple glass globes, casting a moody, jewel-toned glow that set the stage for what followed.
Inside, the collaboration between Invisible Collection and Mobilier National unfolded like a dialogue between past and present. Contemporary pieces by Pietro Franceschini and luxurious textiles by Dedar were layered within rooms framed by centuries-old boiserie, stone fireplaces, and antique architectural fragments. These weren’t simply settings—they were stories, deeply anchored in French heritage.
It wasn’t just maximal—it was majestic. Every vignette felt curated not for impact, but for depth, each space carrying the weight of time while whispering something entirely new.
Pierre Augustin Rose
His work consistently channels restraint with personality. The “Helios Marble Mirror” in Viola marble was striking in its sculptural clarity. His “Eole” ceiling lamp and sconces, along with curvilinear sofas and armchairs, added to a collection that balances softness with architectural gravitas.
Galerie Léage: Pierre Gonalons
Known for its dedication to 18th- and 19th-century decorative arts, Galerie Léage brings a sense of historical gravity to contemporary design. Within its richly traditional setting—ornate paneling, period lighting—the “Calla” chair by Pierre Gonalons stood out in delicate contrast. Reminiscent of a wedding dress in both form and fragility, it was poetic and unforgettable: a contemporary gesture quietly holding its own amid the weight of centuries.
Themes that Resonated thorough Maison & Objet
Natural Forms: Curves, Mass & Softness:
Maison & Objet 2024 revealed a clear evolution in form: curves are not disappearing—they’re deepening. What once read as purely fluid or feminine now carries a grounded presence. Sofas, chairs, and especially the larger-than-life lighting fixtures across the fair leaned into generous mass and softened geometry. These voluminous silhouettes offered quiet strength—curvy yet substantial, bold yet comforting—hinting at our collective pull toward shapes that feel safe, tactile, and enduring.
Discovered in a Parisian showroom, Michel Amar’s work echoed this shift with poetic clarity. A French designer known for blending minimalism with material richness, his Vence Dining Table—composed of twin travertine slabs—embodied both strength and serenity. It’s the kind of piece I imagine in a room with candlelight and silence—holding space, anchoring rituals. With its monumental form and quiet soul, it felt entirely in step with this deeper, more architectural curve narrative.
Bringing these global insights to our Newport Beach & Los Angeles interior design projects, we create spaces that are both innovative and timeless.
Crafted Texture: Materiality as Meaning
Texture emerged as its own language. Juliette Berthonneau’s 3D woven textiles transformed fabric into spatial sculpture—tactile and immersive, they altered not just the look of a space, but its feel. Atelier Mayeul Gauvin pushed materiality even further, presenting fresco-like surfaces made from cardboard-pierre and plant-based pigments. These finishes felt both ancient and future-forward—like ruins made sustainable. Together, these expressions of volume and materiality didn’t chase trends; they marked a quiet, emotional revolution in how we experience design.
Studios & Designers That Inspired
Coki
Coki’s vases combined ancient Italian stone with modern glasswork. They felt like relics from the future—objects that told stories without words.
Gardeco
Their deep-hued glass objects exuded quiet drama. Rich purples, olives, and smoked tones added emotional weight to otherwise minimal forms.
Kayu-Creation & Stoned
Kayu’s stone-soft sculptures and Stoned’s cleanly cut marble decor pieces gave the show moments of irreverence and simplicity. Proof that even the smallest accessory can hold presence.
Rooly Pouf by Raphaël Pontais
This whimsical pouf from Raphaël Pontais offered a charming punctuation mark to the fair—a reminder that design can be both sculptural and joyful.
The Parisian Layer
My days ended the way they began: walking through Le Marais or Saint-Germain, peering into artful shop windows, picking up fresh baguettes, or ducking into a quiet wine bar.
Design lives in these moments too. In the perfect cup of espresso. In the way a perfume lingers on your scarf after an afternoon in the 6th arrondissement. Even the packaging in small, family-run perfumeries feels crafted with more intention than most interiors.
Paris reminds you that beauty is not occasional—it is lifestyle.
Maison & Objet 2024 was not a show of spectacle. It was a show of resonance. Of materials that feel good in the hand. Of objects made to last not just physically, but emotionally.
This trip, as always, reaffirmed that good design is not about showing off—it’s about slowing down. Letting quality speak. Letting texture whisper.
And Paris, with its golden light, crooked buildings, and flawless patisseries, provided the perfect context. Not just for inspiration, but for remembering why I do what I do.
At BRANA Designs, we don’t follow trends—we listen for what feels timeless. And this year, that sense of timelessness was everywhere—in the fair, in the streets, and in the smallest details of Parisian life.
