There was no escaping the prominence of new lighting designs at the recent Maison & Objet trade fair, which took place Jan. 15-19 at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition center. Across the seven halls, lighting featured in almost all areas. While lighting is always a focus for building interiors, the brands displaying their designs at the show confirmed that, beyond the practicalities of illumination, light is core to interesting and beautiful room designs. We round up the looks to watch — sculptural masterpieces, statement fixtures, quirky additions and high-tech options.
Ale Casanovas lights
Ale Casanovas uses paper as her material of choice. The French-Argentine artist showcased moldings, each made by hand and created individually as a one-of-a-kind object or in a small series. She also creates luminous sculptures using LED technology and welded metal, wood and other materials, carefully selecting them to combine with paper to ensure the pieces are high-quality, repairable and recyclable.
Dolmen lights by Lorenzo Zanovello for Il Fanale
Another notable lighting sculpture was the Dolmen design by Lorenzo Zanovello for Il Fanale. Each piece is handcrafted using a coil-building technique, the oldest known to humankind, according to the brand.
2. Abstract Nature
While the natural world has long been inspiring interior collections, the pieces have become more abstract. Designers are looking to minutiae for their creations, and those at Bomma found inspiration in dew-bedecked blades of grass for the aptly named Dew Drops collection. The pendant light provides a striking focal point, and the line also includes floor, wall and table lamps. Each features crystal globes with an internal light source adhered tightly to handsewn bands.
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At the Knikerboker booth, the brand showed its bestselling Le Gigine multibulb pendant. Made of steel, it features leaf-shaped hammered metal hangings with a tea-light-style fixture providing the illumination.
Aromas went bold with its natural influences, grouping its Rita floral-shaped wall light by Nacho Timón to create this feature at its booth.
3. Lamps Go Oversize
Substantial lamps were also on view, many of them with sculpted bases and generous heights. The standout offering was Pulpo’s Kokeshi light by Kai Linke. The designer has an affinity for Japan and used the traditional kokeshi dolls and their lean, oval shape as inspiration. With a ceramic torso and handblown glass head, the stylized piece comes in 5-foot (1500mm), 3⅔-foot (1125mm) and 2½-foot (756mm) heights.
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4. Linear Looks
Although seemingly simple, linear lighting shone a spotlight on both quality engineering and creative details. Like a real bridge, the Bridge collection by Tonone has various supports to distribute the load evenly along the lamp’s length. The pieces are made from recycled plexiglass, with the power to the LED bulb conducted by the steel cables used for hanging.
The 101 Copenhagen booth included its Frame pendant, which is designed to showcase the light source itself. Perforated metal and a rounded glass casement balance sharpness and softness in an industrial look that fits with the trend toward quiet luxury.
Materials matter when a design is restrained. At the Grand Collection booth, veined alabaster was the material of choice in its Mario and Gio linear chandeliers.
5. Bold Color
In a sea of neutrals, brands such as Ferroluce stood out. The company describes light as not merely functional, but as “emotion, character and personality bringing optimism, authenticity and vitality into everyday spaces. It is an invitation to play with style, blending past and present with lightness and irony, never taking itself too seriously.”
The products on display at the brand’s booth were testament to that: The colorful Voila pendant light and the Deco Phytia wall light boldly caught the eye.
Simple shapes with a focus on color and shape were also seen at the Valerie Objects booth, where its tubular Uno collection by Piovenefabi in vivid red and green took center stage.
6. Flexible Styles
As today’s homes adapt to changing needs and serve multiple purposes — from work to relaxation — lighting must be flexible as well. Styles that can be altered and arranged on installation and beyond offer a design-led solution.
Utu debuted its Flow collection, which features LED tubes flowing between lacquered metal and travertine marble elements that can be arranged on walls and ceilings in different shapes.
Meanwhile, Olivelab showed its Stoccolma lamp, which features two tension cables and a spring mechanism to position the bulb at the point required. It also highlighted the D02 suspension pendant, seen here, with customizable lengths and number of bulbs.
7. Jewelry Reimagined
Of his new exclusive lighting collaboration with Eichholtz, interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins said, “Lighting has always been the jewelry of a room…. I wanted to disrupt that, and Eichholtz was the perfect partner to break the mold and create something unexpected.”
His opulent Erika chandelier is inspired by the glamour of 1920s couture and Art Deco style.
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Chain Light, Barratt & Maxine. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
The duo behind Barratt & Maxine’s Chain Light is made up of a lighting designer and a jeweler, bringing the two worlds together in a fresh outlook on illumination. The product is the first from the brand, and the links can be configured in varying lengths and swoops.
La Languochat pendant light. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
La Languochat featured its striking pendant designed by I. Royer and V. Carlotti as part of the “What’s New? In Decor” space. Some might say it resembles a stylish earring with pleasing movement.
Vidé Creation
8. Mesh Metals
Mesh metalwork featured across brands, including the sculptural pieces by Vidé Creation and as part of the Ukrainian Neo-Folklore exhibit (next photo).
Luccino light sculpture by Valerii Kuznetsov and Otto Winken
The collective brought together native creators from Ukraine, many of whom looked back to revive heritage craftsmanship with modern applications. For example, designers Valerii Kuznetsov and Otto Winken displayed the Luccino light sculpture, made of copper.
9. Experiential Lighting
Showcasing the benefits of lighting as part of a well-being ritual, the Laufen booth presented its Val Luminex bathtub. The translucent cast-mineral material Sentec allows atmospheric lighting to project from the LED in the base, controlled via remote to set the intensity and colors.
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Li-Fi speaker, Horizon
Elsewhere, the Light Trend installation Horizon by French-Japanese designers Akari-Lisa Ishii and Motoko Ishii took visitors on a sensory journey that married lighting and technology. It featured Li-Fi, a communication technology that uses light to transmit data. The designers demonstrated the innovation’s potential by playing music data downloaded via Li-Fi through a speaker.
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1. Sculptural Art Forms
Artistic expression shone throughout the exhibition with the fair’s emphasis on bridging historical craftsmanship with modern, sustainable and often digital innovation. A return to local or ancestral techniques was seen in the prevalence of handblown glass pendants, paper shades cast into organic forms and the use of industrial materials.
James Haywood Studio’s monolithic 8-foot (245cm) Erreur 404 light was featured in the Curatio installation. Dubbed an exploration of synthetic geology — objects shaped by contemporary hands yet carrying the weight and silence of deep time — it is composed of quartzite, mica and more than 100 natural minerals drawn from the artist’s personal collection and bound using a natural mineral resin. Find an interior designer on Houzz