Lessons from Paris I

WHO: Tracy Lynch, Cape Town Decor Editor WHERE: Paris, France

Lesson: Humble turns heroic 

From unassuming materials used in a new and innovative applications to humble household items receiving designer attention – modest, it seems, is back in fashion.

Domestic bliss

Everyday items ranging from bottles to pans got a Midas makeover in Seletti’s Estetico Quotidiano – or Daily Aesthetic – collection designed by Selab and Alessandro Zambelli. 

An Italian homeware brand, Seletti also transformed domestic essentials with a Baroque-style treatment. Tracy loved the Trash Chic dustbin with its painted rubber finish and the ornate toilet brush. www.seletti.com

Modest materials

The whimsical Cartoccio series by Italian ceramicist Paola Paronetto is made of paper clay – paper strengthened with cellulose – and looks both fragile and wonderfully tactile. www.paolaparonetto.com

Brazilian brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana – chosen as the 2012 Maison & Objet Designers of the Year – created a magical cardboard forest. The squiggly plantation of corrugated cardboard trees spilled from the ceiling with green lights completing the verdant effect. www.campana.com.br

Ooobject creates household items from recycled material. The Tusk vase is made from the biodegradable thermoplastic mixed with wheat husks – the part of wheat that is thrashed away during grain production. www.ooobject.com

The French couple who make up Papier à êtres turn paper into art. Their chandelier of paper houses looks like the lights of a distant village twinkling on a dark night. www.papieraetres.com

To celebrate the rejuvenating season of spring we’re giving away a Braai Cube and case of Henry Shiraz from Zandfontein to two lucky readers.

To enter, tell us what your top spring trend is. Either Tweet it to @visi_mag with #springvisi or post it on our Facebook page, before Saturday 1 September 2012.

More trend reports

• Lessons from Stockholm: Alma Viviers visits Stockholm Furniture and Lighting Fair and learns that we should look to our heritage for authentic design expression
• Lessons from Paris I: Tracy Lynch, our Cape Town decor editor, visits Maison & Objet in Paris and learns that the humble is turning heroic.
• Lessons from Paris II: Gera Smuts also visits Maison & Objet in Paris and learns that design is going practical by prioritising assembly.
• Lessons from Frankfurt: Annemarie Meintjes, our deputy editor, visited Ambiente in Frankfurt, Germany, and learnt about designing less, but designing better.