Impeccability, it turns out, is vastly overrated in contemporary interior design. At least, that is the prevailing sentiment among a new wave of creatives who are rejecting predictable perfection in favor of layered, highly personal spaces that embrace the eclectic, the unexpected, and the worldly. Across the design landscape, a fresh batch of collections, showrooms, and spaces—highlighted in the October issue—points toward a collective desire for rooms that feel lived-in, unpredictable, and rich with historical dialogue.
Pretty, Pattern-Happy, Yet Utterly Unpredictable—Mieke ten Have’s New Collection for Rejuvenation Embraces the Fine Art of the Mix
If you ask Mieke ten Have, impeccability is overrated. "I don’t like rooms that feel predictable," says the interior designer and stylist. "I’d rather something be weird than perfect." That old-soul sensibility is precisely what attracted Rejuvenation, the Oregon-based brand known for vintage-style lighting and hardware. Looking for a fresh perspective on pattern and color, the company tapped her, a kindred creative spirit, to bring an eclectic approach to their product offerings.
For her debut collection, ten Have combed through textile books and her own archives, gathering references that included Indian block prints, English documents, and even a Manhattan living room by Billy Baldwin. Inspiration also came from the grounds of her converted 18th-century barn in New York’s Hudson Valley, where Japanese spider chrysanthemums and peonies informed both her palette and subject matter. The dusty yet saturated hues of ancient Roman wall paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art likewise shaped her sophisticated color story.
The results of those inquiries are heirloom-worthy pieces ten Have has long wished existed for her own projects. Think hand-knotted medallion rugs based on a 19th-century Iranian carpet; drinks tables modeled after those she carts to photo shoots; petite brass lamps; and pillows and quilts adorned with exuberant florals and a traditional Tree of Life motif.
"I like for interiors to be in dialogue with different time periods and parts of the world," says ten Have, whose collection debuted alongside handpicked antiques. "In decorating there’s nothing new under the sun. It’s the way that you rework or combine things that makes it feel novel."
Ralph Lauren Home Unveils a Collection of Urbane Furniture and Lighting That Mines the Timeless Possibilities of Lofts
Raw and ripe for reinvention, lofts have long captured the architectural imagination, whether referring to the cast-iron buildings of Lower Manhattan or the factories turned artist ateliers of Montmartre. In her seminal 1986 compendium The International Book of Lofts, design writer Suzanne Slesin goes so far as to call them "the interior design laboratories of our time." Proof that the sentiment still rings true, Ralph Lauren Home has debuted a collection of furniture and lighting tailored to those cosmopolitan spaces—an idiom Mr. Lauren has mined in his own New York City apartment, where a downtown, open-plan ethos is inserted into an uptown prewar envelope.
Melding industrial touches with hallmarks of automotive and nautical design, the Loft collection transmits an air of casual cool through a palette of chrome, leather, and stone. Yet, those tough materials are carefully tempered with warmth, evident in details like the woven-rope seat of the tubular Lucien chair or the rustic, slightly Brutalist wood base of the Anderson cocktail table, which is topped with a slab of Belgian Blue limestone or sandstone.
Together, the pieces conjure the ultimate urban loft fantasy. One can easily imagine coming home to the Tournament sectional’s channel-tufted leather upholstery set on a gleaming chrome frame—the ultimate landing pad after a long day’s work. Surrounding it, Harbor wall lights deliver a moody, sophisticated glow, while a glass-top Octane drinks table ensures an ice-cold martini remains within arm’s reach.
Inspired by Queer Club Culture, Wunderkind Ceramist Joël Brodovsky-Adams Is Painting the Town Orange
Dance music is a constant presence, blaring from 1970s speakers at Joël Brodovsky-Adams’s Brooklyn studio. "Robyn is my favorite pop star of all time," says the Canadian-born ceramic artist during a visit to his Bay Ridge workspace. That affinity runs deep: the sunset palette of the Swedish singer’s Honey album cover helped crystallize a new body of work that formed the basis of a solo exhibition at Manhattan’s Superhouse gallery.
The exhibition draws directly upon queer theories of club culture. Its title, "Like a Rumor," references José Esteban Muñoz’s seminal 2009 book Cruising Utopia, while McKenzie Wark’s 2023 text Raving inspired the amorphous style of the sculptures. "She describes the dance floor as blending and edgeless," Brodovsky-Adams says. "I really latched onto that." At Superhouse, works bearing fluid forms riff playfully on everyday objects. One basket-like piece features handles recalling creatures kissing or exchanging gossip, while alien hooks suggest an extraterrestrial coat check.
Orange offers a uniform palette across the collection, whether applied as glaze dots covering a cantaloupe vessel or painterly pumpkin stripes—modeled after a favorite tank top—enlivening a legged vase. "I wanted a feast of textures and colors," says Brodovsky-Adams. "Parameters are such a generative exercise. Giving yourself a smaller infinity to work with is really helpful."
His creative roots trace back to Montreal, a city renowned for nightlife, where he first picked up pottery as a hobby while studying biology at McGill University. He subsequently pursued ceramics at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design before completing the prestigious master’s program at Alfred University, which he credits for instilling his work with a language of levity and playfulness. "Every component of every piece starts as a wheel-thrown thing that I refine and manipulate, and then stick together into composite forms," Brodovsky-Adams notes. "I keep thinking of ways to remix them."
Wrapped in Marquetry, an Amsterdam Chamber Designed for Music Goes Against the Grain
"It looks like a train car," says designer Rio Kobayashi of a private Amsterdam music room sheathed in a dizzying marquetry made of cut and spliced cherry, walnut, oak, and other fine woods. The space functions as an extension of Future Days Shop, the concept store and workshop that musician Tomo Katsurada and textile designer Eloïse Ptito opened downstairs within a former Art Nouveau fish-and-produce market.
"I wanted to be inside an instrument," explains Katsurada, who was inspired to work with Kobayashi after seeing his veneer-clad speakers at the London Design Festival in 2023. The Japanese-Austrian talent, who apprenticed as a furniture maker in Tyrol and honed his craft under London woodworking maestro Martino Gamper, began the puzzle-like scheme over two years ago. He later collaborated with designer Onni Aho and a Helsinki-based fabrication team to execute the design with utmost precision, incorporating a hanging textile piece by Ikumi Kawashima.
During installation, Kobayashi’s improvisational spirit took over as he introduced graphic spray-painted accents. Close inspection of the timber surfaces reveals inlaid motifs of flying fish, cherries, apples, and pears—all subtle nods to the building’s history. Visitors can sit back on foldout benches beneath twinkling Jasper Morrison lights and listen to music. "A room’s design shapes the way music feels," says Katsurada, who conceived the space to host intimate DJ sets as well as live sessions for broadcast. "Playing here feels really cosmic."
Dior’s Rechargeable Corolle Lamps Translate Sculptural Elegance Into Rippled Murano Glass
In 1947, Christian Dior revolutionized women’s fashion with the debut of his New Look, featuring a sinuous suiting silhouette with softened shoulders and a voluminous skirt. That iconic skirt now serves as the direct inspiration for the house’s new Corolle lighting collection. Breaking free from the physical constraints of cords and electrical outlets, the rechargeable portable lamps were designed by recurring brand collaborator Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance. The fixtures feature a calfskin strap, an aluminum crown, and a mouth-blown bell of rippled Murano glass, available in six-and-a-half- and nine-inch-tall formats. Emphasizing the expressive savoir-faire of the artisans involved, Duchaufour-Lawrance notes, "From one craftsman to another, from one atelier to another, the gesture differs."
Lizzie Fortunato Transforms Its SoHo Office Into a Refined Showcase for the One-of-a-Kind
Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato share genetic code as twin sisters and co-founders of the beloved jewelry line Lizzie Fortunato, but they also share a profound appreciation for the one-of-a-kind. "That’s the spirit that has always guided our brand, our outfits, our homes, everything," says Kathryn, speaking from their newly redesigned showroom and atelier in Lower Manhattan. True to that ethos, the unique takes center stage throughout the space, from the individually crafted glass, stone, and porcelain beads used in their jewelry to the vintage treasures dotting the rooms.
When the duo signed the lease seven years ago, their team had outgrown their prior workspace, leading them to undertake ad-hoc tweaks to interiors previously occupied by a law firm. The COVID-19 pandemic subsequently transformed their business model, as at-home shoppers expanded a traditionally wholesale operation into a direct-to-consumer enterprise. As devoted clients began requesting in-person appointments to try on jewelry, the sisters recognized the need for a formal separation between public and private spaces. As Lizzie puts it, "We realized a curtain rod wouldn’t cut it."
Partnering with emerging designer Alexander Laing, an alumnus of the AD100 firm Studio Valle de Valle, they reimagined the layout into a sequence of shiplap-clad rooms, where an entry vestibule gives way to an effortless showroom and office. Walls painted in muted cream and pistachio tones by Little Greene Paint provide a calming backdrop for custom millwork, eclectic art, ceramics, and home accessories. Behind the scenes, a bustling atelier, stock room, kitchenette, and conference room house the day-to-day operations. "This is where the mania is," Kathryn remarks with a smile.
Today, customers travel from across the globe for appointments or drop by spontaneously. "We have had people come straight from the airport, fresh off a plane from Denmark," Lizzie says, energized by the dynamic pace of the hybrid workspace. "It’s the next step—everything we have done has been incremental," adds Kathryn. "Short of having a store, it’s nice to have a space that reflects our personal style."
For Her First Foray Into Interiors, Fashion Designer Hillary Taymour Collaborated With Layered on a Collection Suited for All Generations
"I’ve always thought that somebody needed to do floral couches again," says Hillary Taymour, the fashion designer behind the high-octane feminine womenswear line Collina Strada. "But properly, in a cool way."
With her Layered decor collaboration, Taymour is delivering on that vision. Her brand’s first furniture venture—comprising two sofas and four hand-tufted rugs—is drenched in signature grounded-yet-girly prints. Taymour borrowed a melted floral motif on one couch straight from the curtains at Collina Strada’s Chinatown flagship, while another features a pink, brown, and green plaid that also appears on the brand’s runway.
"I feel like people need some liveliness in their homes, especially as Gen Z is getting older," says Taymour, who recently purchased a weekend home north of New York City that she jokes resembles a "70-year-old man’s cabin." Alongside the bolder pieces are quieter designs intended for city dwellers less inclined toward heavy color. Her beige Garden Haze rug, for instance, utilizes varied pile densities to create the impression of an undulating, camel- and bone-toned flower bed.
This organic, lived-in comfort inspired Taymour’s entire design process, prompting her to use her country home as the campaign’s shoot location. The resulting imagery reflects an edgy, botanical aesthetic suited equally to seasoned flower children and younger generations.
Nicholas Obeid Channels Frank Lloyd Wright in New Casegoods Featuring Geometric Restraint
Nicholas Obeid remembers his first introduction to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Growing up outside Detroit, the interior designer received a monograph on the pioneering American architect as a birthday present from an insightful neighbor. "So much of Wright’s work is intricate in its geometries but also shows considerable restraint," says Obeid.
That early influence was reinforced during a visit to the Detroit Institute of Arts, where a series of Wright’s early-20th-century stained-glass windows caught his attention. "He was able to make something so visually impactful with one material in different shapes and colors."
Obeid has applied that philosophy to his new Frank collection of casegoods, launching with a side table and a cabinet. Handcrafted in Los Angeles, each piece is constructed entirely of white oak and offered in three finishes: high-gloss lacquer and two ceruse tones, one light and one dark. True to Wright’s ethos, strong shapes predominate, highlighted by contrasting pulls and asymmetrical doors. "It looks sharp and angular," Obeid notes, "but it’s all soft to the touch."
