Innovative Sustainable Ideas From Fall 2024’s Maison & Objet
Explore home products that use exciting new materials made from crushed apples, old police uniforms and more
The twice-annual Maison & Objet show for interior decoration, design and lifestyle has for several years highlighted the latest eco materials and the finished products they’ve inspired. The fall 2024 show, held Sept. 5 to 9, was no exception. It sent a clear message: Ecology and sustainability are at the heart of design, and exciting solutions are on the rise. We took a closer look at the innovations shaping the future through sustainable, cutting-edge design.
Adaozañ, a material made from crushed apples. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
Upcycling
The term upcycling, which is more specific than generic recycling, refers to transforming waste into a better-quality product with higher value or better features than the original material. This is the mission of many French companies.
Top Design Trends From the Fall 2024 Maison & Objet
Upcycling
The term upcycling, which is more specific than generic recycling, refers to transforming waste into a better-quality product with higher value or better features than the original material. This is the mission of many French companies.
- Adaozañ (meaning recycle or enhance in Breton) is a brand based in Quimperlé, Brittany and created by designer Youenn Le Pocréau and cabinet maker Guillaume Bournigal. Its mission is to convert apple pomace from cider pressing into a material by drying and then compressing it without binding agents. It can then be used to create sustainable objects and wall cladding.
- Compo’plume, founded by Benjamin Moreau in Remouillé in Loire-Atlantique, southern Brittany, transforms badminton shuttlecocks into ground material and bonds it with resin to produce 10-by-3½-foot boards, which are perfect for kitchen countertops and backsplashes.
Top Design Trends From the Fall 2024 Maison & Objet
Les Matériaux Urbains lamps made from coffee grounds. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
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- Meanwhile, Parisian company Les Matériaux Urbains, founded by Thibaut Nilles, recycles organic materials such as coffee grounds, oak sawdust, stale breadcrumbs and even clippings from glasses frames into cellulose acetate and paper. These materials are expertly combined to be compressed before further processing with a binder. The final material is transformed into desk tops, wall cladding, office items, lighting fixtures and door handles.
- Also worth a mention are the felt panels from Pierreplume in Tourcoing, northern France. The wall cladding, with acoustic properties and ranging from 5 to 10 inches thickness, comes from recycling used textiles, notably police officer and firefighter uniforms.
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Malakio’s marine terrazzo. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
New Natural and Bio-Based Materials
These materials are derived from renewable, mainly bio-based resources, such as plants, animals and microorganisms. Our tour of Eco-Materials Corner also included exploring many marine-derived products.
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New Natural and Bio-Based Materials
These materials are derived from renewable, mainly bio-based resources, such as plants, animals and microorganisms. Our tour of Eco-Materials Corner also included exploring many marine-derived products.
- Bysco, a Nantes, France-based label created in 2021 by Robin Maquet and Charline Prod’homme, specializing in manufacturing technical textiles (Byscoplak and Byscoflex) using mussel byssal threads from Cancale Bay in Brittany. They are acoustic, thermal and naturally fireproof (M1 rating). Also known as sea silk, this byssus is the natural fiber produced by mussels to cling to rocks. The raw material, which has a huge mineral deposit, hasn’t been used until now.
- Ostrea and Malàkio, both in northwestern France, presented their creations made from marine terrazzo, a material manufactured with waste products from oyster production and shellfish harvest (scallops and mussels).
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Vescom fabrics made from recycled PET bottles. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
New Composites
Another innovation discovery was composite materials, with the exploration of new combinations to produce more ethical end products.
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New Composites
Another innovation discovery was composite materials, with the exploration of new combinations to produce more ethical end products.
- Dutch firm Vescom, which specializes in wall cladding, has developed several industrialized and certified eco-materials that are greener alternatives to traditional vinyl wallpaper. Its new wall cladding on cotton or paper frames is made of olefin and printed with water-based inks. On top of that, the textiles in the line (pictured) are 100% recycled PET from plastic bottles found in the ocean.
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Environmentally friendly stone by Phydiastone. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
- Offering a touching and more artisanal line, Phydiastone founder Seta Zandi creates “synthetic, eco-friendly stones,” which she turns into items on demand. With a doctorate in mechanics and rock modeling from Mines ParisTech, Zandi could have devoted her career to finding oil or shale gas, but she left it all behind to launch her business, producing beautiful, handcrafted materials and personalized products for interior design projects.
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Designer Lionel Jadot at the What’s New? In Hospitality exhibit. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
Designer of the Year
In another sign revealing the importance of including more sustainability in design and our homes, this edition of the show was led by Belgian designer Lionel Jadot, who is based in Zaventem near Brussels and was awarded Designer of the Year by Maison & Objet. This title recognizes a remarkable career, marked by an inventive and committed approach ever since he began working in the family factory at the age of 18.
Supported by a collective of local designers who are fully on board with this process, Jadot showcased his working methods through scenography entitled What’s New? In Hospitality. His inspiring hotel suite highlighted the use of sustainable materials, recycling and upcycling.
“Each object or material used in this project has already had another life traced back to other projects we’re currently working on in the hospitality sector,” he says.
Designer of the Year
In another sign revealing the importance of including more sustainability in design and our homes, this edition of the show was led by Belgian designer Lionel Jadot, who is based in Zaventem near Brussels and was awarded Designer of the Year by Maison & Objet. This title recognizes a remarkable career, marked by an inventive and committed approach ever since he began working in the family factory at the age of 18.
Supported by a collective of local designers who are fully on board with this process, Jadot showcased his working methods through scenography entitled What’s New? In Hospitality. His inspiring hotel suite highlighted the use of sustainable materials, recycling and upcycling.
“Each object or material used in this project has already had another life traced back to other projects we’re currently working on in the hospitality sector,” he says.
What’s New? In Hospitality exhibit. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
Framing the shower area in the hotel suite is a partition designed by Mircea Anghel composed of seven layers of recycled textiles that have been compressed and sanded. The pink wall, meanwhile, is made of a special terrazzo. “Every month, we grind waste from our 30 designers and mix them to produce this material. It has sort of become our trademark,” he says.
Framing the shower area in the hotel suite is a partition designed by Mircea Anghel composed of seven layers of recycled textiles that have been compressed and sanded. The pink wall, meanwhile, is made of a special terrazzo. “Every month, we grind waste from our 30 designers and mix them to produce this material. It has sort of become our trademark,” he says.
What’s New? In Hospitality exhibit. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
This bench was made by Jadot using collected bitumen from roadworks. The cushion comes from army surplus, and the wall is made of papier-mâché from Papier Boulettes.
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This bench was made by Jadot using collected bitumen from roadworks. The cushion comes from army surplus, and the wall is made of papier-mâché from Papier Boulettes.
- Elsewhere, we came across a headboard made with salt by Roxane Lahidji, and an eye-catching mushroom mycelium table from Bento Architecture.
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The Ombak chair made from recycled river plastic, Sungai Design. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
Future on Stage
Future on Stage
- Another source of inspiration is Sungai Design, a French family-owned company based in Bali. The brother and sister duo decided to fight against plastic pollution on the paradise island, where there are no local trash collection services and waste floods the rivers. Once collected, the used plastic is made into sturdy and elegant furniture. Their leading product, the Ombak chair. is handmade using 62 to 66 pounds of recycled plastic, and has been a runaway success, allowing them to improve financing for their cleanup and advocacy work. Sungai Design is also working on new projects, including a stool, and collaborations with other designers, while aiming to achieve more industrialized production.
Bath, Konqrit. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
- Also noteworthy is the highly reasoned creative process of Konqrit, a new Argentine artisanal brand launched in April 2023 by designer Cecilia Garcia Galofre. It offers sinks and baths made of glass fiber-reinforced concrete (GFRC). The long and delicate process was optimized to minimize environmental impact: less waste, lower energy costs, certified additives, priority for green labels and reusable cardboard and wood packaging to foster a sustainable life cycle. What’s more, Konqrit contributes to the regeneration of indigenous forests in Patagonia through NGO Forestarg to reduce its carbon footprint.
Maple office desk by Gimmic. Photo by Anne-Emmanuelle Thion
More Nature-Friendly Brand Picks From the Fair
The show floor also exhibited some hidden gems. Here are the must-know brands creating more sustainable products.
More Nature-Friendly Brand Picks From the Fair
The show floor also exhibited some hidden gems. Here are the must-know brands creating more sustainable products.
- Gimmic Design, a social and solidarity-based company in Bordeaux founded by Bastien Carretier and Nathalie Giraud to produce high-quality (and fairly priced) furniture from industrial waste. The team’s maple wood office desk has the curved shape of its feet, which are used cardboard tubes.
With their own workshops, the company can adapt the furniture to your needs and even provides a deposit scheme. “We wanted to change the way we look at furniture consumption, which is the third largest waste category in France. That is the premise of the deposit. If the furniture gets damaged, we’ll take it back to transform or repair it,” Giraud says.
100% recycled HDPE chair made from used canoes. Photo by The Fab Unit
- La Fab Unit is a business from Drôme, southeastern France, that gives recycled plastic a new lease on life by manufacturing eco-friendly furniture. Spotted at the fair was the Ceci est un Canoë chair by designer Thomas Merlin, an outdoor seat made from recycled canoes. Other products, chairs and tables are crafted entirely locally, like works of art that reflect on circularity.
Brewer’s spent grain, a residue from beer production, offers a palette of natural colors. Photo by Instead
- The four founders of Instead in Nantes jokingly call themselves “brewers of furniture.” Using cereal residues from beer brewing (brewer’s spent grain), the manufacturer designs furniture that’s environmentally responsible and made in France. The material, which had never previously been upcycled, is compressed with rubbish from corn starch food waste bags — a binding agent that’s also 100% natural. The resulting collection features stylish eco-friendly furniture, bar tables, stools and chairs.
The Beluga chair by Polimair, a company whose mission is to produce high-quality recycled furniture
- Polimair is a new French label exhibiting at Maison & Objet for the first time. It aims to change mindsets regarding plastic by creating high-quality recycled furniture.
The firm’s line includes flat-pack chairs made in France entirely from recycled mono-material. Using a single material makes recycling easier and quicker, avoiding any hassle along the recycling chain. The chairs are easy to repair by replacing the damaged part, ensuring a lifetime warranty.
Cosmic Nap scenography. Photo by Les Résilientes by Emmaüs Alternatives.
Waste From Maison & Objet Recycled
Let’s end this tour of the fair’s sustainable initiatives by appreciating the Cosmic Nap scenography from the Les Résilientes project by Emmaüs Alternatives, a design and vocational integration studio. On display in Hall 1, this exhibit was created entirely from reused materials from the previous editions of the trade show.
Launched in January 2017, the goal of this design studio is to craft collections of objects from reserves of materials that are donated to the association and cannot be sold or redistributed in their current state.
Waste From Maison & Objet Recycled
Let’s end this tour of the fair’s sustainable initiatives by appreciating the Cosmic Nap scenography from the Les Résilientes project by Emmaüs Alternatives, a design and vocational integration studio. On display in Hall 1, this exhibit was created entirely from reused materials from the previous editions of the trade show.
Launched in January 2017, the goal of this design studio is to craft collections of objects from reserves of materials that are donated to the association and cannot be sold or redistributed in their current state.
Ella chair and bistro table by Instead
To sum up, these innovative companies demonstrate that sustainability is not so much a luxury as a necessity. By committing to local production, recycling and upcycling, they prove — to paraphrase 18th century chemist Lavoisier — “Nothing is lost … everything is transformed.”
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To sum up, these innovative companies demonstrate that sustainability is not so much a luxury as a necessity. By committing to local production, recycling and upcycling, they prove — to paraphrase 18th century chemist Lavoisier — “Nothing is lost … everything is transformed.”
More for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Learn about Houzz Pro software
Talk with your peers in pro-to-pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
Eco-Materials Corner: A First That Left a Lasting Impression
Eco-Materials Corner made its debut at the Maison & Objet fair, proving that sustainable design is thriving. This space, dedicated to promoting the use of sustainable and eco-friendly materials in decoration and design, was a huge success. It presented nine initiatives from designers and manufacturers committed to using sustainable materials and reducing the environmental impact of their products. We spotted several areas of innovation.
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