Salon Art + Design is the town square at the center of the decorative and fine arts world. An inclusive and encompassing offering of curiosities beckons the seasoned collector just as much as the trend-oriented wanderer. We tracked down five works that are telling the story of what’s next.

Microbeauty, Crystals, Copper, and Strings: Five Design Trends to Discover for 2024

Abask’s Pavilion at Salon Art + Design 2023. Image: Abask

Trend: Crystals

Inspiration: Large Hearts Chandelier at Maison Rapin

*Large Hearts Chandelier* (ca. 1980) by Robert Goossens. Image: Maison Rapin

At some point, crystals transitioned from a mystical no-go zone to a fixture in many a household. Often presented as roughly cut rocks and amulets, a recent Swarovski x Skims collaboration has further reinforced the presence of the crystal: intimately communicative, energetically potent, and inherently beautiful. Expect crystal to continue to emerge into the next year in new and refined ways.

In their journey from Paris, Maison Rapin brought along a cache of treasures by Robert Goossens, one of which was adorned in countless crystals. Perhaps most well known as a jewelry designer, Goossens’ work with Chanel marked a departure from the more delicate and refined jewelry of the time, opting for gilt metal, poured glass, and various gemstones to tell a story of whimsy and romance. Staged near a Kam Tin Black Octopus bench, a chandelier features countless heart-shaped rock crystals dangling from chains of gilded bronze and brass; bringing an unexpected humanity to otherwise hardcore materials.

Trend: Microbeauty

Inspiration: variety of objects at Abask

Hand-embroidered bed linen from Loretta Caponi. Image: Instagram/Abask.

As we go into 2024, we cannot expect minimalism to evaporate, but many are tempted by the accessible comforts of what we’re coining microbeauty: small doses of personalization and fractal-like expressions of self which can freely exist in otherwise minimal spaces. These are best articulated not through art and furniture, but through the highly designed ephemera of home- glassware, games, trinkets, objets, and more. Handheld goodies meant to function can now form the space.

Abask, making its debut at Salon Art + Design, is an online platform offering a vast selection of unique items designed and crafted by artisans around the world. Beyond their beautiful curation, Abask has close relationships with their artisans. For Salon Art + Design, Abask commissioned no less than fifty new pieces for the event. Reinforcing the principles of equity, artisans are compensated for full production orders, not on commission. This facts allows an artisan to be free of anything that might compromise creativity. The sense of discovery and charm was met with a feeling of sustainability. These items feel like keepsakes for a lifetime.

Trend: Copper Things

Inspiration: Fireplace Mantel at Galerie Mathivet

**Fireplace mantel, circa 1900 by Carlo Bugatti. Image:** Galerie Mathivet

Copper is among the “old fashioned” materials like brass and wood that are well-suited to respond to the hyper-refined tendencies of many materials. Blemish-free surfaces can be alienating. Hammered copper is among the most charming and regal of these old fashioned materials, where details can survive at scale and history feels inevitable. The mule mug is perhaps the most visible copper object in our world today, a thing of nearly medieval tone; communicating a convivial spirit impressed by history. Still, the appropriate application of copper is sparing— the occassional glint of metal to catch the eye. Copper is completely functional as a canvas for decoration: hammering, perforating, etching, and oxidizing. To that end, we can imagine copper once being extremely contemporary and cutting-edge; the subject of exciting exploration.

Cylindrically motivated but ensconced in symmetry, a fireplace mantel of Carlo Bugatti offered a comfortably rustic and “discovered” character with its use of copper. In practice, encountering this monumental mantle felt like wandering about a long-abandoned qasr in a sandy corner of Morocco or Algeria. Fantastical in its spirit and generally unpredictable, this work is characterized by Moorish, Gothic, and Oriental styles— I can imagine this mantel being a key component in pulling together a wildly eclectic room. In blackened wood inlaid with pewter, the work is finally brought to life with decorated discs of copper.

Trend: Bar Carts

Inspiration: Bespoke Bar Cart from Trunks Company

Bar Cabinet by Trunks Company. Image: Trunks Company

Often the mark of a good host, a stocked home bar is a sign of an obliging attendant and an enthusiastic custodian of hospitality. Fully stocked, a bar can be an extension of personality by way of what might be stored among its shelves and racks. What gin is that? The vodka is a special one… and is that an Alpine liqueur only to be drank in the dark belly of winter? No longer confined to what the drink of choice might be, the design of the bar itself has become a character in the story of one’s home. For example, my parent’s house has three bar all with very different personalities and demands. Each serve a different intention. An evolved interpretation of the bar cart has become the midnight bar, often contained as part of the primary suite of a house. This area offers a moment of simple refreshment or perhaps a bashful late night libation.

Now evolved with the talents of mobility and contained convenience suited to pied-à-terre or the space-maximizing home, the bar cart has stepped in to play a leading role. To communicate a formal elegance or an easygoing free-for-all, it is this question that can be answered with the right bar cart. Trunks Company has long maintained a perfect balance of both with its completely bespoke range of bar trunks and cabinets. These acrobatic cupboards offer vast accommodations that can be customized to suit, featuring all glassware required to host a reflective midnight sip or a grand celebration.

Trend: Translucent Things

Inspiration: Lamp at Charles Burnand Gallery

A new creation from 2023, Agathe Labaye and Florian Sumi’s Colonne Noailles is a landmark contribution to humanity’s paradoxical fascination with visibility and concealment. Along with that, an examination of plastic as a practical and beautiful material has enthralled mass-market producers and artisans alike (albeit, for very different reasons). Colonne Noailles, crafted from metal and stained acrylic and offers two movable elements, revisits this interesting story and reinvigorates a dialogue around movable architectural elements. Despite its implied transparency, it communicates on a grand scale. This limited edition work, one of only three, embodies a captivating interplay of materials and light.

While the lamp is a showcase of a harmonious blending of innovation and craftsmanship in the realm of contemporary sculpture, we can expect more exciting developments to come from this fresh understanding of clarity and layered light. Some items within this category have transcended the concept of trend, like the Louis Ghost Armchair (2002), a postmodern triumph of technical innovation and historical style. Clear things can respond directly to their environments in a wholly unique way, offering optical interest as well as functional value within itself.