Referring to the Paris Maison-Objet as a home furnishings trade-show is sort of like calling the Louvre a museum or the Champs-Elysees an outdoor mall. This twice-yearly international event is an experience more like a magnificent spectacle and is the desire of interior designers all over the world. All American home shows pale in comparison. January in Paris is gray, damp and bitter cold. But for the faithful, entering the show is like a sudden injection of adrenaline with a rush of energy that is pure exhilaration. Here every square inch receives loving attention and nothing is overlooked or taken for granted. High style home furnishing vendors, manufacturers and artists from all over the world compose breath-taking vignettes of gorgeous furniture, distinctive accessories, striking lamps, ornate chandeliers, exquisite fabrics, and garden statuary modeled after the Masters.

Attending this show always comforts me that true style still exists in the world and I'm reminded how Europeans are dramatically different in their manner of living with old-world artistry and enduring timeless quality. Every vendor has worked hard to make his or her individual space irresistible. As a designer and buyer for my shop, I am always looking for what's old and new in trends, design and color. The Europeans have such a knack for scale and proportion and they're not afraid to put together the unexpected. Elegant chairs with animal feet and fabrics of durable mohair, mixing modern with traditional and making it work, vibrant colored French furniture, paintings on linen wall hangings, and beautiful china pottery in bright colors are only the beginning. The styles range from French country and traditional, to chic and modern, both casual and formal. Major themes at the show included over-scale lamps and accessories for big impact, bright vibrant colors everywhere, and accessories from Nature, including all kinds of taxidermy animals (chickens, geese, fox) and small mounted antlers as design elements for the home.

Texture is also big this year, both rough and soft, in textiles, glass, and antique stone transformed into modern sculpture. Colors are flat and glossy, and there are lots of printed textiles. Elaborate garden statues and urns for both indoor and outdoor living are everywhere. Faux flowers crafted from new life-like materials all come together with a touch of classic elegance. And, as always, furniture with great lines, some with painted floral prints with every detail ornate but not overdone.

Just as fascinating as the furnishings are the eclectic people from all over the world with styles as varied as the show itself. Everyone is very fashion savvy, no poorly dressed people at this show. Show fashions are very casual but very high quality with cashmere, wools, and plaids. Boots of all kinds are really in, with the pants tucked in, and simple but stylish scarves of attractive soft materials. All manner of beautiful languages fill the aisles.

For the vendors, the Paris show is like a big family affair. The cooking, wining and dining, and gossip that is so common in European homes is also reflected in the vendors at the show. Unlike American shows, at the end of the day European vendors quickly shush everyone else out the door and get together more privately to laugh and socialize and of course bicker and complain about everything over wine and cheese – conversations that probably go on for hours.

It is pure joy to see furnishings and accessories you don't often see in America and be able to bring some of them home to share with customers and friends. Beauty never goes out of style. Wanda Crossley is the owner of The English Manor in Leesburg, Virginia