There are few things that make my heart beat faster than Paris in January and Maison & Objet in full swing. From January 15–19, 2026, the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition center once again became the epicenter of global design—and honestly? This edition had everything.
Organic materials. Sculptural ceramics. Textile art you wanted to touch (and maybe hug). Experimental 3D‑printed objects. Maison & Objet 2026 felt like a quiet but confident shift toward meaning, materiality, and reinterpretation rather than excess.
Here are the standout moments that truly stayed with me.
1. Designer of the Year 2026: Harry Nuriev & TRANSFORMISM
📍 Hall 3 – Paris Nord Villepinte
Maison & Objet’s 2026 Designer of the Year, Harry Nuriev, from CROSBY STUDIOS delivered not just an installation—but a manifesto.
TRANSFORMISM unfolded as an all‑silver, immersive environment where objects were stripped of context, hierarchy, and labels. Old and new dissolved completely. Heritage, innovation, and the everyday existed on the same plane, reframed through one powerful lens: perception.
Nuriev invites us to disengage from the exhausting need to define things as timeless or trendy. Here, each object exists simply as itself—free, equal, and open to reinterpretation.
Blending art, interiors, fashion, and spatial design, TRANSFORMISM explores how history can be revealed through a contemporary gaze. Discomfort becomes a catalyst. Transformation happens not through addition, but through reframing.
More than an installation, this was a statement—one that deeply resonates with designers shaping tomorrow’s interiors, hospitality spaces, and cultural environments through narrative, reuse, and radical simplicity.
2. Mohebban Milano: Tactile Art Underfoot
📍 Hall 4 – Stands D44 & E43
If there was one moment where I physically stopped and stared, it was at Mohebban Milano’s rugs.
The standout? The Tactile Gold Rug (USD 13,440).
This piece reinterprets visual art through texture, merging sight and touch into a fully immersive experience. Part of the Tactile capsule collection, it plays with layered tones, abstract forms, and material depth in a way that feels both grounded and elevated.
Crafted in India, the rug invites interaction—it’s not just something you look at, but something you experience. A true reminder that flooring can be art, not background.
📎 For the USA, the Tactile Gold Rug is available via Artemest.
3. Linda Ouhbi: Ceramics as a Way of Life
📍 Fine Craft Hall A5 – Booth G15
The Fine Craft section delivered some of the most emotionally resonant work of the fair, and Linda Ouhbi stood out instantly.
Born in Casablanca in 1984 and now based in Paris, the Moroccan‑French ceramic artist approaches ceramics not as a discipline—but as a way of life. Each piece carries the imprint of time, touch, and material honesty.
Awarded the Visa Kyoto Prize in 2018, Ouhbi deepened her practice during a residency in Japan, later exhibiting at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and Oike Horikawa Gallery in Kyoto.
Her work feels quiet yet powerful—earthy forms, subtle glazes, and an intimacy that only hand‑crafted objects can convey. Pieces you don’t just style, but live with.
4. Omar Antwerp: Arty Textiles with a Belgian Soul
📍 Hall 4 – Stand E116–F115
Bold, joyful, and unapologetically artistic—Omar Antwerp’s cushions and plaids brought color and character to the fair.
Made in Belgium, these textiles feel like functional artworks. Painterly patterns, rich palettes, and tactile finishes that instantly elevate a sofa, chair, or bed. Perfect proof that soft furnishings can completely transform a space without shouting.
5. Ukrainian Neo‑Folklore: The Love Floor Vase by Maryna Pupcha
One of the most poetic moments of Maison & Objet 2026 came from the Ukrainian Neo‑Folklore booth, curated by Sana Moreau.
The monumental Love Floor Vase by Maryna Pupcha stopped visitors in their tracks. Maryna who crafts rugs, textiles, and jewelry in a signature *ethno-boho-funk* style. Giant, plush, and sculptural, the piece blends traditional Ukrainian folk motifs—from Kosiy ceramics and pysanky—with contemporary forms.
Woven in bold colors onto wool rugs and shaped into a floor‑standing vase, it feels both ancient and radically modern. A celebration of identity, resilience, and craft—translated through scale and softness.
Available via Galerie Sana Moreau, 1750 €
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For more inspiration, check out:
Final Thoughts
Maison & Objet 2026 felt thoughtful, tactile, and deeply human. Less about spectacle, more about substance. A fair that reminded us why we fell in love with design in the first place—not for trends, but for stories, materials, and meaning.
And Paris? Always the perfect backdrop.
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