Make it big

It started a few years ago with Philippe Starck’s bath-sized plant pots. Then, in 2003, came the Giant Anglepoise lamp.

But this year the trend for overscaling objects has come into its own. At the Milan Furniture Fair, the Dutch designer Marcel Wanders showed bedside lamps that stood three metres tall, and the Belgian/Dutch duo Studio Job made Alice in Wonderland-type teapots and mugs. A huge ball chandelier by the Devon designer Alex Randall – made from old gramophone horns (pictured) for £5,000 – stole the show at Liberty’s recent Trash Luxe exhibition, and Giant Anglepoises are selling like hot cakes at The Conran Shop. Last month’s Design Week featured double-sized wooden chairs by the Cornish collective Sixixis. The trend is baffling, but maybe we should just enjoy the silliness. Dior’s ostentatious postwar skirts succeeded because they were two fingers up to rationing. Perhaps, giant chairs are the only sane reaction to the madness of property prices and shrinking floor plans.

www.philippe-starck.com, www.marcelwanders.com, www.studiojob.be, www.hayonstudio.com, www.jerichohands.com, www.sixixis.com

FLY BUYS

1. The Super Galileo thermometer is 1.2 metres tall, with coloured glass baubles to show the temperature.£179; www.caterpillarstrading.co.uk

2. Thorsten Van Elten’s designs are loaded with wit: giant teacups serveas plant holders and huge sticky notes are designed for those with too many ideas for the small ones.Plant Cup, £175, Genius Pad, £19.50; www.thorstenvanelten.com

3. Conran has its strongest statement-lighting collection yet, with Studio Job’s papier-mâché lamps and Hella Jongerius’s Blossom. From £1,548 and £1,796, respectively; www.conranshop.co.uk

4. Buying big adds drama to the bedroom (so no pressure). Check out Tristram Mylius’s Françoise bed and the gothic-looking Ball Poster. The price tags aren’t small, but they’re worth it.£2,250 and £8,995, respectively; www.conranshop.co.uk

GREEN PRINTS

Graham & Brown is the Topshop of the wallpaper world. Not only are its wares inexpensive (they’re even sold at B&Q), but it’s on to every trend going, forging boutiquey collaborations with designers such as Basso & Brooke and Julien Macdonald. More recently, the company has launched a project with Central Saint Martins students to create a range of environmentally friendly wallpapers that challenge the typical overpriced and hempy-looking green designs. The papers feature fresh, original prints of birds and birdcages, rainforests and fossils. They are printed on 100% Forest Stewardship Council-approved paper, with using water-based inks. So, with the glam-factor intact, doing good isn’t a chore – in fact, at £25 a roll, it’s almost an afterthought. www.grahambrown. com

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