Top Picks From Maison & Objet 2013

There are no words. It doesn't get better than these shapely (and vaguely trombone-like) U-turns in the Clark Suspension Lamp by Delightfull Unique Lamps. 

The fluid form of Philippe Aduatz’s Melting chair looks like liquid mercury, but is actually covered in a scratch-resistant polyeurythane layer. 

There's something so delightfully tactile about leather and metal, such as these sophisticated brass and leather magazine racks from Kanaya. The firm was one of many Japanese companies making a splash this year. 

This salt bowl is actually made from salt! Created by French company Best Before, the bowls are chiseled out of salt blocks mined in Poland. 

Maison & Objet Designer of the Year winners Barber Osgerby, made up of industrial design duo Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby,  built a marble bench that I will dream about, but they also had a great display of simple office chairs. I love the beveled treads, which allow for a bit of rocking during the most mind-numbing presentations. 

When space is at a premium (at it is in the Netherlands, where design group Mensch Made is based), even the most quotidian tabletop items should be beautiful. I lovethe modern desk organizer and tape dispenser from the Dutch firm. 

French design duo Statue created the closest thing to a chic, adult fort as I’ve ever seen. They wove dyed-cotton strips into the Cloison Textile, a folding canopy that mounts to the wall to create a little nook. Try it instead of a privacy screen. 

New York-based artist Tamara Kostianovsky recreated butchered slabs of meat from bits of fabric. Disturbed? That's the point. The cloth carcasses are intended as symbols of violation and murder. 

Tom Dixon has been adding to his new Eclectic accessories line, which we covered last fall, and debuted a fabulous tearoom trolley (bottom left, among these other treasures) at the show.

I love the bleached-blond wood designs from WeWood Portuguese Joinery, and the beautifully spare CanCan coat hanger is no different. I especially like the thick stitching joining the three struts.