Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i Living Etc

Every designer I talk to at the moment is telling me of the ways they’re using blush tones right now. Pinks, peaches, sandy yellows, terracottas – soft shades that seem to bathe you in light and warmth. This palette is making decor feel so rich. Farrow & Ball’s colour curator Joa Studholme was practically rubbing her hands with glee when she told me that cooler tones were – to all intents and purposes – dead during our interview on page 28. She made a compelling case for how we all need more nostalgic shades right now, a sentiment we’ve carried into our decorating story on page 94 and the cover. It has a haze to it that reminds me of the soft focus imagery of the 1970s, yet still manages…

ON THE EDGE Occupying the middle space between wallpaper and plain paint, offering a punch of the former’s pattern without taking away from the latter’s minimalist appeal, wallpaper borders have been big news for a couple of years now – but a new collaboration between Dado Atelier and Birdie Fortescue has brought the decorative detail right to the fore of design conversation again. Influenced by the architecture and decorative arts of southern Spain, the new collection – featuring three borders and four small-scale papers – combines dainty florals and geometrics with contemporary flourishes. Launching on 10 March, it has us inspired to update our walls this spring.  Felipe border in Green, £79 a roll, Dado Atelier x Birdie Fortescue…

BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP Reissued by Artek and marking the Finnish Design Shop’s 20th anniversary, Alvar Aalto’s curvy birch plywood relief is a stylish talking point for those Zoom work calls, without being too distracting. Aalto experimental wood relief in birch, £4,439, Artek at Finnish Design Shop…

FRESH THINKING We’ve discovered the key to taking a neutral scheme in a fresher direction, thanks to this Parisian apartment (explored on p44) – simply introduce a gentle wash of colour here and there, and the whole thing suddenly feels fresh and interesting. Perhaps it’s the element of the unexpected – even the softest, most ‘natural’ green acts as a disrupter in this space – or the hue’s brightening effect: we just know we’ll be giving our beigest schemes this treatment going forward.…

picture the scenario: your family home is in the country, but you’re a huge fan of the Barbican – the bold, brutalist apartment and arts centre complex in the heart of London. Over time, the kids leave home and suddenly there’s the chance to snap up a little one-bedroom pied-à-terre in the iconic development. The design aficionado couple who now own this apartment jumped at the chance, well able to see past its then green living room and pink-upholstered bedroom walls. They drafted in interior designer Olga Alexeeva, of Black & Milk, to reinstate its design credibility. From the start, the renovation was about staying true to the Barbican’s rugged yet minimalist aesthetic – retaining and reinstating all the carefully considered original features – whilst layering in a sense of…

at the time of renovation, and of this interview, the war in Ukraine was ongoing – we all hope it has finished by the time you’re reading this. But the threats to life and constant disruption didn’t stop the Kyiv-based designer Nastia Mirzoyan’s desire to create a calming space. ‘We faced challenges due to regular power cuts, missile attacks and air raids,’ Nastia says. ‘Sometimes builders could not come to the site, and sometimes they came and sat in a shelter for hours. There were times when construction was halted for months, and the budget was cut in half. Despite this, we focused on delivering the project as planned, working flexibly within the constraints.’ Designed for her client to rent out, the aim was to create a space tenants could…

In the abstract We see abstract patterning most years in fabric and wallpaper design, but we were struck by the way brands have combined it with geometric detailing this season – just take this tapestry by Dedar as an example. With a palette inspired by a 17th-century original and pattern by early 20th-century avant gardes, it’s rich with creativity. Check mate Since this classic pattern made a comeback through the Playfulism trend, we’ve been obsessed – it’s fun, it’s jaunty, it adds a playful bent to any scheme, and it encourages you to be a bit bolder with colour. Give it a try – it lends itself well to everything from bright, poppy pinks through to dark academia-coded oxblood. Heady florals While florals for spring might not be groundbreaking, at…

NO WIRES CROSSED HERE You’ll have seen the recent boom in portable lights – lightweight lamps that are easy to move around as you need them, and aid a life of flexible living. But step forward the new wireless lamp, which luxe lighting atelier Visual Comfort & Co has embraced. With this lamp, it’s the bulb that’s rechargeable, not the lamp itself, meaning you get lights that are substantial in form yet won’t have unsightly wires that will trail off the edge of a table. And this is just phase one – these bulbs will soon(ish) be working for a series of the brand’s ceiling lights, allowing you to fix a pendant anywhere with no electrician required. The future’s bright……

HEADS UP South African and Amsterdam-based furniture brand Lemon has a 100% track record with its launches – we’ve fallen in love with its new designs every single time. The latest collection of nautical-inspired headboards, by South African designer Yaniv Chen, is no exception – using rich, lacquered timbers and mother-of-pearl borders, these are beautifully layered pieces that we’d love in our own spaces. Aquarama headboard by Yaniv Chen in Bird’s Eye Maple, from £6,007, Lemon SHELF LIFE Moebe does smart, multifunctional pieces really well, and that certainly goes for the brand’s new mirror with a shelf – a product that does what it says on the tin, with a mirror frame made of FSC-certified oak. The construction is component-based, so you can choose which side you want the shelf…

THE HEAT IS ON Bathroom showrooms are so often cold, dull and clinical – but not so for C.P. Hart’s Waterloo base, which showcases some of the brand’s ranges through a colourful room set from Matthew Williamson. It has all the warmth typical of the designer’s work, combining textured pink walls with multicoloured tiles in earthy hues, fluted and stone finishes, coloured glass accents and vintage Murano lights. It’s a real blueprint for a bathroom that feels warm, cosseting and a pleasure to spend time in – we’d recommend popping in to experience it in person if you can.…

IN GOOD CHEER It’s London Design Week this month and the showrooms at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour will be showcasing their latest launches in a burst of joy to propel you into spring. Our own executive editor Pip Rich will be hosting a talk on the subject of ‘Happy Homes’ with interior designers Ellen Cumber of Golden Design and Margot Tsim, along with Casamance’s Jonathan Stachowiak. They will be sharing a host of new ways you can put a smile into your style – book tickets for the event on 13 March at 3pm and find out more about Conversations in Design at dcch.co.uk.…

ISTANBUL MUSEUM OF MODERN ART Kılıçali Paşa, Tophane İskele Cd. No:1/1, 34433 Beyoğlu/İstanbul Istanbul Modern is one of my most cherished art spots in the city, and Turkey’s first modern and contemporary art museum. Not only does the institution act as a bridge between Turkey’s artistic legacy and the world, but it also brings creative works from different geographies to Istanbul. ÇUKURCUMA Firuzağa, 34425 Beyoğlu/İstanbul Located in the Beyoğlu district in the city’s European side, Çukurcuma – Istanbul’s design district – houses a variety of shops, including antique stores, vintage clothing boutiques, art galleries and the stuck-in-time Museum of Innocence. It is also home to our office, Studio Lugo, giving you another reason to visit the area during your trip. ARKESTRA Etiler, Dilhayat Sk. No:28, 34337 Beşiktaş/İstanbul Michelin-starred Arkestra is…

CURVE APPEAL All eyes might have been on Ron Arad’s One Page armchair in the window of Moroso’s flagship store in Milan last April, but there was another new launch we got seriously excited about: Patricia Urquiola’s Gruuve sofa system. We’re revisiting it now because, inspired by the One Amazing Thing theory we covered in last month’s issue – where you add one hero piece to an otherwise ordinary scheme and completely transform its feel as a result – this modular masterpiece, with its rounded, low-slung profile, encompasses it so perfectly. Designed to sit at the centre of a room, it commands attention, changing the flow of a space and fostering a sense of conviviality that will be so important to the way we design in 2025 and beyond. ALL…

What comes first, the (roughly) bi-yearly drop of new Farrow & Ball paint colours or our desire to decorate with them? It’s hard to tell – the brand’s colour curator Joa Studholme’s finger is so firmly on the style pulse that while she claims to be creating shades that the public have been asking for, each collection also manages to change and shape the direction of decoration. Stiffkey Blue saw us embrace inky dark shades in 2014, Sulking Room Pink ignited an enduring love for blush in 2018 and now this new set is likely to build on and increase the way we all seem drawn to particularly luxuriant tones. ‘I feel people want colours that are rich and like they’ve been there forever, nothing too shiny and new,’ Joa…

Stepping into the home of Christian Frascaro and Francesco Cristiano in Milan feels like an intoxicating awakening of the senses. The leather and tobacco notes of Trudon’s Ernesto scented candles meld with the melodies of bossa nova; while the glimmer of diffused vintage lighting reflects off a marble and onyx floor. As creative consultants in the fashion and design industries, the couple are naturally pretty good at curating memorable imagery, but they also claim to be excellent hosts, pampering their guests until the small hours with lip-smacking nibbles and cocktails. No detail is too trivial for the inseparable couple, who met just over a decade ago in Italy’s style capital – now their adoptive city. ‘From the very beginning we’ve been aligned on everything, despite being very different. From what…

it is perhaps no surprise to learn that Clio Dimofski and Olivier Garcé used to work for the designer extraordinaire Pierre Yovanovitch. Their Lisbon apartment, now used both as a space in which to live and to show their own work, contains many of the hallmarks associated with Pierre – a grandiosity of period details next to equally grand but much more modern Design/Art furniture. But what sets this apartment apart is that many of the pieces here are designed by Clio and Olivier themselves, under their studio name of Garcé & Dimofski, a brand sold by The Invisible Collection, or directly from out of this space. ‘We are a multidisciplinary design studio in the sense that we thrive on working with many different projects and in many arenas,’ Clio…

PRECIOUS GEMS Colour, happily, has a real hold on decorating this season – it’s a sure-fire way to a joyful-feeling home after all. Instead of pure, saturated brights, however, which can feel too energetic for spaces you want to unwind in, you want colour that’s softened at the edges. Paint & Paper Library has managed to nail the balance with its Jewels capsule collection, with eight paint shades inspired by crystals, minerals and stones. These are bold yellows, blues, greens, pinks and reds, big enough to pack a punch whether they’re being used to envelop a room or as an accent colour – but thanks to their natural inspiration, they feel grown-up and restrained, not primary and child-like. We honestly love them all, but if we had to choose a…

BIG SOFTIE Interior designer Brittney Hart, one half of New York-based studio Husband Wife, loves styling curtains behind beds. ‘We have used this strategy in a couple of projects as it’s such a nice way to add texture and warmth,’ she says. But why stop at just the bed? Wrapping the entire circumference of the room can be just as impactful, and works particularly well in modern spaces, like in Husband Wife’s Steinway Tower project shown here. It’s an easy way to add privacy, but also softens the sharp lines of most modern builds, instantly making the space feel more comfortable – not to mention, way more luxurious. HIDE AND SEEK In this project by Auckland and LA-based architectural practice Fearon Hay and interior designer Katie Lockhart, curtains provide a…

LAURA CASAŇAS MAYA Passementerie – the art of making decorative trimmings – has the potential to be pigeonholed as having a ‘trad’ aesthetic. But Laura Casañas Maya, the Rhode Island School of Design furniture graduate-turned passementerie artist, whose recent Passementerie Series reinterprets the craft to modern-looking tubular steel coffee bases with clear glass tops and lovely lamps, casts a new and altogether contemporary light on centuries-old techniques. ‘I remember, when I was a young girl, my grandmother’s apartment with tassels holding back draped curtains, and sofas with trimmings with fringes,’ Laura says. Laura’s creative inspiration is rooted in her love of colour – she cites animated films as a particularly keen influence – and the ‘endless possibilities of combining it […] in unexpected ways’. Alongside this, her grandparents’ creativity has always…

THE TICK LIST When stepping over the threshold into the realm of front door design, before you do anything, think about the practical details; there are a lot of them. ‘Explore the ways a door opens: other than swinging on standard butterfly hinges, doors also pivot, slide into a pocket, slide on tracks, stack on one end, bi-fold to two ends. How a door opens plays a major role in how one experiences the action of passage,’ says Louis Lin, principal of New York-based interior design firm Studio Louis Lin. ‘Also, determine the appropriate weight for the door – doors can be made with solid material, hollow-core, or any percentage combination in between, and a front door may benefit from a solid build, not only for better insulation and sound…

LEADING LIGHT The swirling shape of the Issey table lamp by Fornice Objects commands attention. With a form inspired by the pleating of fabric, the shade is printed from blue PLA and fixed to an aluminium base – it is just one of a series of designs from the studio’s founder Chiara Ravaioli, whose 3D-printed ‘ceramic’ forms are turning heads around the globe. €450, Fornice Objects In form Sustainability meets style with the Arzachena stool by Mediterranea Design. The firm’s collection of 3D-printed furniture is made using a PLA bioplastic – resulting in elegant shapes and forms. This stool references a famous rock formation in the Sardinian town after which it is named and can be used both indoors and out – what’s not to love? £805, Mediterranea Design at…

So captivating was Armani/Casa’s Antoinette vanity table when it was introduced into the fashion brand’s home offering in 2007 that we hoped we’d see more iterations in time. Presented then as a singular cylindrical form clad in patinated linen and dark lacquered wood, it untuck to reveal a curved-back chair and a desk with a luxurious, iridescent acrylic interior. A backlit mirror folded upwards to complete the setup, transforming it from side table to vanity area in moments. Then, in 2023 in Milan, it formed part of a collection that drew lines of admirers waiting to catch a glimpse. ‘These are some of the most precious pieces,’ says Giorgio Armani of the collection, ‘re-editions of now iconic furniture, covered in mother-of-pearl tiles arranged in a mosaic.’ This edition has only…

Pip Rich This is the first time a room at WOW!house [Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour’s annual installation] has focused on a space for empty nesters, but that’s exactly what you’ve done. Why? And how is a home different when the kids have left?  Alex Dauley Well, that’s going to be my life in a few years, and I’m looking forward to the next stage, to being a bit more selfish and bold with how my home looks. It’s very family friendly right now, and I want sumptuous, tactile materials, to not be worried about sticky fingers touching things, to go a lot more sophisticated. PR What materials encapsulate that grown-up approach for you? AD Marble, mohair, velvet. I’m going to have lots of warm brass, polished plaster and limewash, things…

if there is one thing to consider when looking for the perfect pied-à-terre, it is without a doubt the location. Situated in the Big Apple’s Chelsea neighbourhood, this two-bed apartment fits the bill exactly. Its enviable position is adjacent to the emblematic High Line, a 1.45-mile-long elevated public park created in 2009 from a disused rail track originally built in the early 1930s. Planted by the influential garden designer Piet Oudolf, the High Line has since become a destination for both New Yorkers and visitors alike. The locale affords this apartment views over Hudson Yards, with the 16-storey Thomas Heatherwick-designed Vessel in clear sight. Nestled in a new build with floor-to-ceiling windows from which to enjoy the incredible panorama, the apartment has been transformed with eclectic yet contemporary-leaning interiors, for…

Moments of colour flutter though this space. The home of Tali Roth, principal and founder of New York and Melbourne-based design firm Studio Tali Roth, is a delicate, expert weaving of pigment and natural shades, which somehow has a sense of both the peaceful and the experimental. ‘It’s a very thoughtful palette,’ muses Tali. ‘I wanted it to feel super cool and calming and not stuffy or precious. It’s warm and cosy.’ Each surface is delicately deployed to create a homely yet elegant and exciting space – it’s a tutorial in texture. It all starts with the heavy weave of the jute rug, which creates a rather rustic feel and sets the tone for tactility as it greets us underfoot. Work your way up from there, and chunks of stone,…

LOUNGE LOVER Clever architectural planning means that the new landing of this extended home also doubles up as a snug, just a few steps up from the open-plan kitchen and dining room. ‘We incorporated the snug as a key part of this redesign as we knew that it would positively add to the spaces around the kitchen,’ says Johan Hybschmann, partner at London architecture studio Archmongers. ‘The raised floor created extra storage under the rug, which meant that we could avoid adding it under the staircase, which we much prefer as a design principle. It leaves the staircase as a clearly defined element in the room.’ UP AND OVER ‘The joinery in this space was here when the client took us on, and even though it wasn’t the most elegant…

1 HIGH DESIGN Times Square isn’t exactly on any design enthusiast’s map. And that was just part of the challenge for Brooklyn’s Home Studios, tasked with designing its first commercial space, Charlie Fox, a threes-torey dispensary (recreational cannabis is legal in NYC) in the tourist district. Bringing a cosier vibe to a place where the scale of most shops is larger than life, the studio channelled old-world apothecaries (think wooden shelving and custom joinery) and boutique hotels (corduroy-upholstered banquettes and a marble-topped bar) with warm neutral tones and soft lighting – a bright spot for the brightest spot in New York. 2 BRIGHT IDEA My new go-to spot for meetings and meet-ups opened last spring, but the space itself never gets old. Tucked in Tribeca, Quarters blends a bar, gallery…

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ORIGINAL BTC Once upon a time, good-looking lighting for the areas of your home prone to splashes – kitchens and bathrooms, that is – was few and far between. But thanks to the design world’s pivot to a more decorative approach to these spaces, we’ve seen a wealth of new options enter the market. And Original BTC is leading the way with its handmade pendants and wall lights with an IP44 rating, meaning it can withstand the odd splash. The linear wall light from the brand’s new Blossom range is one of those pieces – we adore its subtle elegance, with a frilly flourish that makes it feel much more special than bathroom lighting used to be. Bravo!…

IN TUNE In a London garden such as this, a studio works best when it blends in with the plot – it makes it feel more spacious and avoids the eye being drawn to yet another building. Wilkinson King Architects used a pergola in black charred timber to form a boundary between the garden and the studio itself, while trellised sliding screens help to hide away the interior and provide privacy – with the exception of that large, circular window, allowing views across the garden to the main house. ECO THINKING A self-build project by Commonbond Architects, this studio was designed to explore the potentials of hempcrete, a breathable material that sequesters carbon. It’s not just an exercise in sustainability, though: the studio is a permanent space, grounded in and…

Meliá IBIZA, SPAIN IN A SENTENCE Meliá is known for its luxury minimalism, and the hotel chain’s new launch is no exception – peaceful, soothing and as connected to Ibiza’s natural beauty as much as to the nightlife and beaches. DESIGN DOWNLOAD Expect a traditional, clean, white Ibizan palette with plenty of natural touches. The pared-back interiors make it even easier to admire the Mediterranean surroundings and spectacular sunsets – especially when you do it from the rooftop bar and pool. ON THE (SPA) MENU Guests can enjoy treatments inspired by Thai techniques and book onto a yoga session, but it’s the outdoor water circuit that’s the real draw – one of a kind in the island’s hotel scene, Meliá says. HOTEL HIGHLIGHT For the hotel’s first season, it partnered…

BOWLED OVER I discovered Kurt Alexander through the Green Grads programme, an amazing initiative set up by the iconic design journalist Barbara Chandler to support design graduates creating things sustainably. His work stood out, his bowls and vases are so different from everything else. What appealed to me is how vigorous his pieces are, and by that I mean that they command your attention with their eye-catching ornamentation. His bowls show remarkable restraint. Often, when young designers happen across an unusual technique they’ll feel compelled to cover their whole work with it. But for Kurt, while parts of his vessels seem to be alive with texture and detail, other areas are smooth and simple, creating a wonderful juxtaposition. I also really like his message. So often with sustainability the conversation…