In Paris, another white house

PARIS — IT was an unseasonably fair January day outside the celebrated Maison & Objet design show, but inside the crowd was hit with a blizzard. "All this white!" said a textile designer from Connecticut, noting that the 1.8-million-square-foot exhibition that closed Tuesday had a decidedly monochromatic air, a sense of deja vu recalling a recent succession of seasons in which white, then black, then black and white, and then white again (with a side of black) have become the inevitable palette dominating European interiors.

"People are always coming in and saying, 'I'm sick of color, give me white or black. Or gray!' " said a woman minding the Silvera booth, where a pearly sofa by Patrick Norguet shimmered soberly. Pointing to a nearby piece upholstered in shades of green, she added, "It looks great in the display, but people don't necessarily want to live with it."

If this year's Maison & Objet offered few show-stopping surprises, at least the restrained palette gave focus to form, pattern and shadow. "There's a lot of white now, but white that has a bit of texture," Maison & Objet communications director Veronique Thouvenin said, reflecting manufacturers' efforts to squeeze as much complexity out of white as they could, with varying degrees of success. The Italian company Bosa showcased faceted white or black vases as well as lamps designed by Jaime Hayon with a "soap bubble" base that, to some skeptics, looked more like a skin condition than a design innovation.

"White and black is a very simple and efficient chic base," Thouvenin said, adding that for many people, luxury translates to space and light. Consumers are seeking "anything shiny, like patent leather or vinyl, that reflects the light. But it's more sophisticated and less bling-bling -- unlike President [Nicolas] Sarkozy!" she said with a laugh, referring to the showy French leader nicknamed President Bling-Bling.

Metallics were indeed a trend held over from last year, seen on the matte silver handbags and gold snakeskin boots of the mostly black-clad international design set. The new bronze edition of architect Zaha Hadid's Z-Scape furniture had a subtle but high-powered gleam. German designer Konstantin Grcic's geometrically patterned Chair One from Magis looked fresh in shiny aluminum. The My Lazy Garden collection of sculptural objects from Alex Davis presented a range of high-gloss stainless steel cactuses, cherry blossoms, orchids and creepers -- the ultimate zero-maintenance garden for the urban dweller.