One of the things that began to stand out while visiting the booths at Maison & Objet was an embrace of unusual material pairings. The juxtaposition of unexpected materials, finishes and textures makes for pieces that are memorable, sometimes for their unexpected beauty and sometimes simply due to the shock of the mix…
But, reactions to individual pieces aside, it was definitely a design construct that was prevalent enough to feel like a real direction. Done right, I think it's quite exciting and am sure it's something we'll continue to see plenty of, especially from cutting edge brands and designers.
Shown above, top row, left to right:
1. Ceramic and twine: Les Artisans de Tunisie
2. Neon acrylic and wood: Jean Marie Massaud with Christina Morozzi at Skitsch
3. Fur and glass: Nativo Campana
4. Marble and logs: Stephane Parmentier
5. Acrylic and logs: Bleu Nature
Middle row, left to right:
6. Glass and rope: Eno Studio
7. Leather and lacquer: Memento
8. n/a
9. Wood and leather on a cutting board: Memento
10. Logs and lacquer: Bleu Nature
Bottom row, left to right:
11. Crochet and mirror: Wonderable
12. Wood and brush fringe: ALKI
13. Rope and ceramic: Reiko Kaneko
14. Leather and glass: Nativo Campana
15. n/a
What do you think? Do you like the concept of making materials mix?
Images: Janel Laban
Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families
Emi & Nathan's Natural History
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sprout Side Table
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
Sources of these things would be great to know.
Love this post. I can appreciate the design & creativity even if it's not my cup of tea. That said, my curiousity has the better of me. What IS that nappy looking thing in pic #3?
Do tell.
Wow, blatant spam.
I love a few of these things, the rustic/modern mixes. Some of them are totally indiscernible, like number 3, what the heck?
I like the idea as a whole though.
@jamesg
I agree that this post was light on the details (you'd think there could be more description of the objects themselves and their materials) but if I'm not mistaken the source for all of these should be Maison&Objet.
LinnyBee (and everyone else): for blatent spam, click on the username & then click the 'report spam' button on the user's profile page. : )