Sue Wadden shares her observations from Maison & Objet in Paris — and provides insight into trends to come in color and design.

By Sue Wadden

When it comes to trend-spotting for our annual Sherwin-Williams Colormix^® Color Forecast (you can read more about my team’s coffee-fueled forecasting sessions here), there are few places that stir our thinking more than Maison & Objet in Paris. Maison & Objet is arguably the world’s most influential home décor, interior design and architecture tradeshow. It’s the perfect place for our color team to survey global color, design and lifestyle trends for the year to come.

This year’s show, which ran from January 19 to 23, featured audacious motifs with bold (sometimes throwback) patterns, whimsical colors and a maximalist design that our industry hasn’t seen in years. Here are my key takeaways — and a few clues on where I think color and design will go from here.

Designing to the max

The last half decade was all about minimalist design, like the clean and functional Scandinavian craftsmanship we’ve grown to know so well. That influence isn’t going away, but 2018 will amp it up. Maximalism — which includes bold patterns, bright colors, fringes, tassels and more for an effect that is complex and opulent — is coming in in a big way.

This no-holds-barred design approach was all over showrooms in the form of bold paint colors and loud wallpapers. For coatings, dark hues and rich color abounded — from deep loamy hues like brown and green to rich neutrals and black/charcoal. Wallpapers included jungle, floral and tropical motifs that weren’t always the only focal point in a vignette. Maximalist design allows for flashy walls to be paired with just-as-flashy accessories.

This maximalism movement doesn’t mean that its counterpart, minimalism, is gone for good. Minimalist Scandinavian design was still present, but took on a new vibe with warmer colors and somewhat bohemian styling. A 1970s minimalism was also existent in many showrooms in the form of bright brass, gold metal and clean, geometric lines.

 

Welcome to the jungle

While 2017 design was inspired by the quieter side of the outdoors — hot springs, nature walks and Zen-focused intentions — 2018 will see a shift to the wild side. Dramatic florals were everywhere, from large installations in oversized vases to patterns and textures on tiles and walls. This bold outdoors trend continued with tropical motifs like palm wallcovers and objet d'art inspired by jungle themes — all in bright colors.

It wouldn’t be the outdoors without some animals, so naturally they made an appearance too. Monkeys were a key theme and came to life on textiles, bronze statues and framed art. Cheetah print is also back (don’t be scared!) in chic fabrics. Finally, birds, elephants, big cats and African-inspired décor were all common themes throughout the Parisian showrooms.

If the bold and brilliant designs at Maison & Objet were any indication, 2018 and beyond will feature plenty of playful patterns, whimsical colors and daring design choices. I can’t wait to see how our industry’s new bold optimism will assert itself as a trend in the near future.