New York City homes tend to be private affairs. We live our lives in public spaces – but as this NYCxDesign spree (originally a week and now near one month) suggests, home is where we want to be. Whether in showroom unveilings, site-specific installations or imaginative booths at ICFF, Sight Unseen Offsite or Wanted Design, there’s an overall mood shift in what designers are offering, and the creative demands for residences and hospitality projects in New York and across the globe.
That’s not to say that there’s been a cultural shift in our domestic spaces to revolving doors – no, no, secrecy and sanctuary still rule private space. But particularly for what many designers uncharmingly call ‘end users’ or us, their clients, if there’s a message underlying many a home design collection is that Netflix has won: we want to stay home.
Design Within Reach, for starters, revived Shaker furniture with new interpretations of wood swivel chairs by Studio Gorm and wood baskets by Gabriel Tan; and its latest summer collection offered oversized seating by Studio Tolvanen and Matthew Hilton, a nod to the binge-watch phenomenon, perhaps? That same impulse for comfort was seen in Marc Thorpe’s ‘Husk’ sofa for Moroso, with its soft felt, and body-conforming cushions. At the Carl Hansen & Søn showroom, warmth and ease came in the form of Poul Kjaerholm ‘Smile’ and ‘PK1’ chairs.
Designers reinterpreted Shaker design for the ‘Furnishing Utopia’ collection
‘Take a seat! It’s so comfortable,’ Eric Hansen bellowed, pointing to the ‘Beak’ chair, a smoothly sanded Danish oak lounger with muted peach leather seating pads, a reissue of Ole Wanscher’s 1951 design. Beside it stood Anker Bak’s foldable ‘Rocking Nest’ chair, shaped like a baby’s bassinet but for adults. De La Espada, at the Future Perfect’s secret space, had sprawling ‘Armstrong’ three-seater sofa by Matthew Hilton; while humorous text-painter Marc Hundley (who recently created a home environment for Frieze), launched a collection that included a sofa and modular tables and benches.
The world hasn’t turned hermetic – designers of all stripe seem inundated with hospitality commissions, and the dictated demands for public spaces are in stark contrast: razor-sharp geometric forms, lavish natural materials of marble and onyx, and muted palettes that fit any filter. The latter especially being true at the very edited Sight Unseen Offsite. Newcomer from Montreal, Claste debuted at ICFF a seriously sexy line of ‘pure material’ chairs in glass and pink onyx that gave a ‘slight sense of unease’, tells studio co-founder Philip Hazan.
Anna Karlin amped up the mystique at ICFF with her ‘Moon’ cabinets, in which a marble gazing ball, perched within a glass cabinet, illuminated from within. Bernhardt, perhaps the week’s farthest reaching studio, offered a lobby-friendly chair by NFL legend turned actor Terry Crews. Within these spare-but-strong rooms, each piece is a considered gesture, but also pieces often pull double punch. Elsewhere, Rich Brilliant Willing’s lighting collaboration with Mayer Davis had a flexible pendant that can be installed however you wish, while Roll & Hill, too, introduced the ‘Krane’ ceiling mount, all of which spoke the same language as Robert Stadler’s ‘Anywhere’ lamp.
Just as the idea of a moveable light source expands the options for ways to use a space, it was also quite playful – a gesture seen often this week. Elyse Graham’s spellbinding ‘Black Magic’ collection debuted at Sight Unseen Offsite. From Graham’s smoked glass nesting side tables to resin vessels, her ode to colour interplay had us feeling nostalgic for our childhoods; over at Patrick Parrish, Chris Wolston unveiled an outdoor collection of pre-Colombian vessel chairs that feel like being hugged by the gods. Home is, after all, where the heart is.
LA-based lighting brand Atelier de Troupe showcased its newest pieces against a rust backdrop at Sight Unseen Offsite.
Carl Hansen & Søn’s New York flagship was a a destination for simple but sumptuous wood furnishings. On display were original commissions from top Danish designers, including Poul Kjaerholm, Hans Wegner and Frits Henningsen, as well as forays with young designers, like Anker Bak’s ‘Rocking Nest’ Chair
Portland salvage-turned-home emporium Rejuvenation commissioned 14 designers to create new products made of only two natural materials. The result? Fruitsuper’s polished brass book ‘Wedge Weight’ and Pigeon Toe Ceramics’ porcelain brushes, both seen here
In collaboration with Swedish furniture brand Hem, London-based designer Philippe Malouin used an assortment of fabrics and materials to create an experimental and curious selection of screens, addressing the future of workspace design.
The 13 screens took only six days to create, and was presented in the neoclassical WeWork building in Bryant Park.
New York lighting manufacturer Rich Brilliant Willing collaborated with boutique agency Meyer Davis Studio. The pendant and sconce collections combine cutting-edge technology with casual sophistication
Sight Unseen Offsite featured its regular gang of Millennial-friendly designers, like Fort Makers, Another Human, Calico Wallpaper and Home Studios, whose impressive marble ‘Gather’ table was paired with its new ‘Double Swing’ pendant seen here.
Over in Brooklyn, Wanted continued its transnational outreach with a partnership with Oui Design, an outpost of the French Embassy’s cultural affair programme, where a seasoned design house is paired with an unlikely collaborator. The prime examples included glassmaker DH McNabb’s reflective prisms and orbs with Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, as well as David Week’s rugs with legacy loomers Ateliers Pinton
Also in Wanted’s Manhattan hub, Studio Gorm – awarded American Design Winner – unveiled new furnishings from its ‘New Frontier’ series, including the ‘Shell’ desk seen here
Surprising, delightful and multi-use, Chris Wolton’s indoor-outdoor terracotta furniture works put the fun in functional. Based on pre-Colombian deity statues, these handmade chairs double as planters, giving new meaning to garden stools
Prim but naughty Lee Broom knows how to make an entrance. His marble and crystal lighting fixtures do know how to cast shadows. No wonder Bergdorf Goodman tapped the designer to unveil four environments— work, play, exercise and explore – for its men’s store Fifth Avenue windows, replete with Broom’s signature pendants.
Czech glass manufacturer Lasvit and designer Yabu Pushelberg joined forces with the ‘Cipher’ lighting series. The hand-blown cylindrical crystal bulbs comprise heritage techniques and contemporary form with its clean cut lines that encourage flexible configurations
Brooklyn studio Volk debuted its ‘St Charles’ collection at ICFF, seen here as a freestanding mirror, chair and side tables, as well as the muted, pink-and-grey ‘Pacific’ armoire.
Stellar Works had a big week, especially at ICFF, where the contemporary Asian studio corralled Yabu Pushelberg, Jun Aizaki (whose dyed, indigo-blue wood chair is seen here), and Space Copenhagen to unveil collaborative collections for the home
Moscow- and Brooklyn-based Crosby Studios, which made its debut last year at Sight Unseen Offsite, presented architectural seating in steel and brass for its second outing.
Norway x New York returned this year to Sight Unseen with another round of pairing Norse designers with some of New York’s brightest. Included in the booth were Jamie Wolfond and Sigve Knutson’s steel ‘Split’ bench and Moving Mountains and Runa Klock’s vessels blown at Urban Glass; and Vonnegut/Kraft and Kneip’s brick-and-wood side tables and vessels, seen here
Seattle-based Tom Kundig releases six new products including ‘Roo’ (left), a magnetic leather storage pouch that attaches to the collection’s steel tables and desks, and '‘B Hide’ – a welded steel tube door pull (right)
Over at Future Perfect’s ‘secret’ space, De La Espada’s clean comfy couches, light wood large dining tables and Karl Zahn’s jewellery-esque metal mobiles and lights were on show in a perfectly pink set.
Also on view at Sight Unseen was Fernando Mastrangelo’s new additions to his 'Ridge' series that included a wall mirror made of cut glass portraying a mountain landscape.
LA-based designer Elyse Graham hand-casts resin in colourful columns bearing geometric patterns
At ICFF, Anna Karlin – a standout every year – introduced cast bronze sculptural lights and a new bench
Brooklyn cross-disciplinary open forum Cooler Gallery challenged a particularly quirky group of designers for NYCxDesign including Pat Kim, Ben Erickson, and Aelfieand Michael Yarinsky to explore the limits of functionality. The results in include Erickson’s ethereal powder-coated amoeba blob, and one-of-a-kind prints from Kim
Montreal newcomer Claste stood out at the fair with its illusory chair collections. Pictured, ‘How Fragile This Love’ glass and onyx lounger
With home as the undisputed locale of choice, design retailer Avenue Road opened up an apartment-like showroom where the brand’s latest collaborations were on display, including the ‘Pli’ dining table by Victoria Wilmotte, ‘Mars’ dining chairs by Konstantin Grcic and ‘Array’ table lamp by Christopher Turner
Wanted Design has become a platform that offers a cross-cultural exchange. At its Manhattan fair, Brazil and Mexico held spotlight sections, as well as young designers from the Netherlands – from Alissa+Nienke’s pixelated motion ‘Dangling’ mirror, Dirk Vander Kooij’s ‘Chubby’ chair and Renate Vos’ cork-and-rubber squishy ‘Loev’ vases
Bathroom brand Gessi collaborated with The Rockwell Group for new fixtures that take their cues from industrial pipping and raw materials
Arper’s roomy ‘Arcos’ chairs and couches by Lievore Altherr met their playful match with lively carpets by Studio Proba and equally charming tabletop accessories by Good Thing
Sollos returned to ICFF for the second time to show its southern Brazilian design with the likes of ‘Cigg’ side tables, and Red Dot Design Award-winning ‘Mia’ armchair
Italian architect Ferruccio Laviani realised a wildly patterned pop art backdrop for Foscarini’s newest designs inside its Soho space
Artist duo Chiaozza invited artists and designers to create objects under the themes of ‘Piles, Stacks, Lumps and Mounds’ at Sight Unseen. Pictured, ‘Coca Loco’ vessel (left), by Chiaozza; and Chen Kai's ‘Moonmilk Shard’ (right)
At its Flat Iron district showroom, bathroom brand Kohler launched anew experience centre, giving customers a first-hand offering of its luxury technologies including Real Rain, DTV+ digital showering system and VibrAcoustic hydrotherapy
Herman Miller showcased the experimentation and research of The Eames Office, and how its iconic designs have changed the times.
Bernhardt released new products by the likes of Airbnb’s Joe Gebbia, and NFL legend turned actor Terry Crews (his ‘Lilipad’ chair, pictured here)
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the NYCxDesign website
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