Feeling Sensory Deprived

We live in a world of cold, flat surfaces. Computer keyboards, granite countertops, stainless steel and hard plastics greet our hands and fingertips all day long - we are sensory deprived. Adding an element of tactile, touchable elements to products is a growing trend satisfying the consumers need to utilize more of their senses.

This very cute, slightly shaggy desk chair from our coverage of Casa Foa in Buenos Aires is not only fun, it's a sensory experience on wheels perfect for the younger generation.

The addition of tactile elements as the supporting element to color, product or materials at the retail level allows the consumer to have a sensory experience with a brand. Plascon Paint's Living Concepts in Australia does a great job with their showroom - each color display features a tray of natural materials that give sensory support to the colors offered by Plascon.

What's in your drawers? L' Atelier A Francais gives you the illusion and dimension of overcrowded drawers, but the idea of cabinet doors with an intriguing texture or unique shape is something that could shake up kitchen design.

The Adidas store in Paris is willing to show you how they make shoes and they invite you to touch and feel the materials that will make up the products you will buy in their store.

To compliment the shaggy chair, we have the shaggy light fixture. While we're at the Maison et Objet show in Paris later this month we will have to make sure to catch Chiara Lampugnani's Atmosphere series of shaggy lighting. The lamps are made of optical fibres and LEDs on bases of ceramic and metal and are sure to be a sensory experience in both sight and touch.