DESIGN DAILY: Trend-Defying Products

I have been dying to go to the Maison & Objet tradeshow for years. A week in Paris watching next season's trends unfold, interspersed by croissant breaks—nothing could make me happier. Alas, I couldn't get to this winter's show either, but I made darn sure I had someone to cover it for us. Our design correspondent, Patty Bouley, has just divulged the "Design Forecast of Fall 2008," featuring the six dominant trends and 25 to-die-for products. There were so many amazing things— we couldn't include them all in the article—but we just had to show you these.

(Above) Pops of pattern peek through this white bone china. Perry dishware by Watts Contemporaries

This delicately carved wood is more architecture than table. By Asia Tides

Love is an incredibly hard thing to depict without a saturation of cheesiness but Lladró got it right. These foot-high bone china figurines depict the different stages of love, starting with the budding of flowers to a full-bodied takeover.

Sometimes the best products are the ones that defy the trends.

Anne E. Collins
Editor, PointClickHome