Person holding two large, sculptural textile forms—one pink, one red—against a neutral studio backdrop.

DESIGN OBJECTS THAT BECOME ART

Design objects that become art have always challenged conventions and reshaped our visual culture. From Aalto’s curves to Bauhaus minimalism, design history is shaped by rule-breakers. First came the rejection of ornament, then the reinvention of function. A chair became an idea. These objects spark emotion, create presence, and redefine space. Through bold silhouettes or radical restraint, they carve new paths. Ultimately, to design is not just to solve, but to shift, to let beauty emerge from silence and surprise.

BEYOND STYLE: SCULPTURAL FORMS THAT DISOBEY

Crème Atelier: Sculpting Light Like Dessert

Soft Serve Lamp by Crème Atelier in pastel purple, styled with eggplants on a plate for a surreal dining setup.

Design on the menu. Crème Atelier’s Soft Serve Lamp, here in lavender, served with a side of irony. Courtesy of Crème Atelier.

At first glance, the Soft Serve Lamp, is a twist of silicone that glows like nostalgia. Crème Atelier was born in Stockholm, built by two women with a sweet tooth for design. Their aesthetic? Playful and pastel. More importantly, sustainability is their secret ingredient: 3D-printed locally, made to order, zero waste.

&Tradition: Danish Silence with Backbone

The P376 Pendant by &Tradition — a sculptural form suspended above a round dining table with burgundy chairs, framed by angled beams and lush indoor greenery.
In quiet dialogue with the space. The P376 Pendant by &Tradition brings sculptural softness to a loft-like dining room. Courtesy of &Tradition.

On the surface, the P376 Pendant appears simple. Instead, it hovers, casting shadows like soft clouds. But, &Tradition carries the DNA of Nordic minimalism. And yet, it never feels sterile. Instead, the brand reissues classics and births new icons, all rooted in function and material honesty.

WHEN FUNCTIONAL ART EVOKES EMOTION

HKLiving: Time, Melted

Melted metal table clock by HKLiving with a distorted circular face and embossed numbers, cast in reflective silver aluminum.
Time undone. The Retro Ceramic Clock by HKLiving warps reality with molten curves and surreal reflections. Courtesy of HKLiving.

Nothing about this Metal Table Clock stays in line. For instance, it ripples like a Dali painting. Time drips, edges melt. Meanwhile, rooted in the Netherlands, HKLiving is far from clinical. The brand’s world is eclectic: vintage-inflected and a little surreal.

Dejima: The beauty of handmade craft

Two Ko-sometsuke porcelain cups illustrated by Amélie Fontaine, depicting figures in a bathrobe and yukata.
“Robe de chambre/Yukata” Duo Cups, a creation by Amélie Fontaine for Dejima, printed in cobalt blue on Arita porcelain.

Furthermore, Dejima is less brand, more philosophy. Named after the Japanese port-island where cultures collided, their pieces channel hybridity. East meets West, art meets function.These are design objects that become art, poetic, purposeful, and quietly radical. Finally, it’s craftsmanship as a soft revolution.

Courtesy of Dejima

VOLTA: Motion, Made Poetic

VOLTA’s Mykonos mobile sculpture in matte black, suspended against a concrete wall above minimalist storage and a lounge chair.
Stillness, redefined. The Mykonos mobile by VOLTA drifts above modern interiors, sculpting space with a quiet sense of motion. Courtesy of VOLTA.

As if moved by breath, each mobile resists stillness. Instead, it dances in slow rhythm. VOLTA was born in Paris. They don’t just make mobiles, instead, they compose air sculptures. In fact, each piece is hand-assembled, designed to move with the slightest breath. In the end, it’s a visual sigh.

DECORATIVE OBJECTS THAT DEFY EXPECTATIONS

Boncoeurs: Devotional Drama

The Ex-Voto Cœur Impérial gleams like a sacred heart. Not holy, just luminous. At its core, Boncoeurs reclaims religious iconography and turns it decadent. Based in Lyon, the brand fuses French Catholic kitsch with interior seduction. As a result, they’re half relic, half rebellion.

Gangzaï: Surrealism with Teeth

Colorful decorative trays with surreal botanical patterns, including roses, leaves, and vibrant swirls, arranged against a matching floral background.
Botanical-patterned trays by Gangzaï, where irreverent design meets visual satire. Courtesy of Gangzaï

Trays wink, mirrors leer. Significantly, botanical patterns spiral into absurdist chaos. As if echoing, Gangzaï is a design studio that misbehaves. They distort the polite. Not only that, they twist tradition into visual jokes.

DECORATIVE DESIGN AS ECO-POETRY

Urban Nature Culture: Flaws as Features

Urban Nature Culture’s “Paprika” terracotta vase, displayed in a minimalist setting alongside neutral-toned ceramics and a sculptural branch.
The “Paprika” vase by Urban Nature Culture, a grounded form in terracotta that brings warmth and quiet strength to any space. Courtesy of Urban Nature Culture

Its grounded silhouette, its matte terracotta skin, is almost soft to the eye. No ornament, no excess, just the beauty of form doing what it does best: holding space. In short, Urban Nature Culture proves that design doesn’t always need drama. Sometimes, all it takes is a curve, a texture. Based in Amsterdam, Urban Nature Culture builds sustainability into every curve. Thus, everything feels alive. They believe design isn’t about perfection, all in all, it’s about pulse.

WHEN OBJECTS BECOME TRANSFORMATIVE

Design objects aren’t just necessary, they’re transformative. As shown in Design object that become art, they hold memory, they ignite emotion. They mark the shift from space as backdrop to space as story. Overall, it composes it, like a lyric you never forget.

Also, for more elevated interiors, explore these five luxury home decor designers redefining refinement check our luxury home decor


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Marie Loire Moulin approaches fashion as an immersive language—one that expresses identity, character, and cultural influence. Echoing Jean Cocteau’s observation that “Fashion is what goes out of fashion,” Moulin embraces the paradox at the heart of her craft. For her, fashion is a living, breathing art form—constantly deconstructed, reimagined, and reshaped in response to the world around it.

What fuels Marie Loire’s creativity is the ability to blend worlds—to explore the intersections of fashion, technology, history, and art. She is inspired by how these disciplines collide to generate experiences that are not only visually compelling, but also deeply purposeful.

Moulin is particularly drawn to artistic expressions that serve as bridges—linking cultures, fusing tradition with innovation. Sustainability, for her, is not a buzzword but a foundation. She sees it as a long-term commitment to thoughtful creation, not a passing aesthetic.

As a stylist working with actors on film sets, Marie Loire thrives on transforming a director’s vision into living, breathing characters. Through wardrobe and silhouette, she builds atmospheres that tell stories—stories of emotion, intention, and presence.

Her creative drive extends into virtual reality and immersive art, where she explores how emerging technologies can shift perception and spark connection across cultural boundaries. For Moulin, the digital realm is just another canvas—one that, when used with care, has the potential to resonate as powerfully as the physical world.

Whether on set or in virtual space, Marie Loire seeks originality and depth. Her work is marked by richly layered references, a reverence for detail, and a belief that fashion—at its best—can speak not just to the eye, but to the mind.

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