6 New Interior Stars

By Nancy McKeon

THE DESIGN masters of the classic modern period (think Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Isamu Noguchi) earned their status with furniture designs that became icons. By contrast, we find many of today’s brands reaching out to recognizable names from various fields to add some luster to their offerings (a set of Tarot cards by the spooky actress Christina Ricci, anyone?). Over the years we’ve seen Zenni eyeglasses inspired by wild-child Iris Apfel, bedsheets “by” legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland, even toilets by French starchitect Philippe Starck.

While we wait to be tapped for a MyLittleBird kitchen-tools collection or something, here are some home and design collaborations worth a look.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Anthropologie have been inspired by the Gilded Age to introduce a romantic, Art Nouveau–style array of table ware. Octagonal shaped wine glasses start out dark turquoise at the rim and have a nuanced ombré effect ending in light gold ($72 and $80 for four depending on size) and graceful Floral candle holders come in silver- or gold-tone aluminum (12 inches and 15 inches tall, $48 and $68). There are also delicate-looking (but they’re sturdy stoneware) dinner dishes, dessert-plate sets, mugs, soup bowls, even napkins.

These chairs, a collaboration between shoe meister Christian Louboutin and interior designer/limited-edition furniture craftsman Pierre Yovanovitch, are the height of . . . something. Each limited-edition chair represents “a strong woman,” including Josephine Baker, Queen Nefertari, and Madama Pompadour. A singular statement for the high-end art or furniture enthusiast, to be sure. And, really, how much more ridiculous are chair legs that end in stiletto heels, complete with the signature Louboutin red sole, than antique Chippendale chairs that terminate in lion’s  paws, hmm? The chairs are available for $28,000 each. There are also open-edition “Simply Nude” chairs, $13,000 apiece.

Although she died earlier this year, at age 102, Iris Apfel is still attached to those Zenni specs and some current offerings in home furnishings. Ruggable makes two-piece flat-weave and tufted rugs whose patterned top layer can be lifted off  and actually washed, a godsend for pet owners. The firm has a dozen collaborations, including styles in Iris Apfel’s name. Shown above is her Birds of a Feather tufted rug, available in sizes ranging from 2×3 feet ($169) to a 9×12 ($1,119). The English decorator Martyn Lawrence Bullard (with a celebrity-filled clientele) has half a dozen vivid signature pieces, and there’s a whole collection of Regency-inspired rugs, one shown above, in collaboration with the Netflix Bridgerton series, including the Lady Whistledown rug in vintage pink or soft blue.

The only apartment in New York City designed by Belgian architect and designer Vincent Van Duysen has just gone on the market for $30 million. Much more affordable is Van Duysen’s furniture collection for Zara Home, the domestic edition of the Spanish clothing giant. This handsome dyed-oak chaise longue with its quilted leather top and pillow ($4,000) is one of more than a dozen of Van Duysen’s minimal, almost monk-like Zara pieces. Remove the leather topper and the chaise can lounge outdoors as well as in.

Nothing monk-like about these cute ice cream bowls and spoons, made exclusively for the Museum of Modern Art by Geocromia of Italy. Part of a line of similarly bright-spirited dinner and dessert plates, plus coffee cups and saucers, the bowls are hand-made, their design applied by what MoMA calls a “top-quality decal.” The set of four bowls and spoons is $60.

Stark Carpet has a long history of collaborating to achieve high style. Its Missoni collection is getting homepage treatment these days. The signature Missoni zigzags are not in evidence in all of the styles, but the patterns are still bold. The Missoni Turin, above, gives an optical effect without those flame stitches. It’s American-made of 100% wool and available through designers for wall-to-wall installations or as custom-sized rugs.