The Zeitgeist Edit — This Is What's Inspiring Our Editor This August

We might be in the midst of the summer holidays, but August is a time when we start to see previews of what autumn and winter hold in store in the design world. New collections are announced, and while many of them sit under embargo until September's design shows arrive, others are ready to talk about now, my thirst for newness during the drought of the slower summer season finally quenched.

But, with one eye on the season ahead, I'm still firmly in holiday mode. I've got my own summer break coming up this week, and I'm currently curating my itinerary for a trip to Lisbon (if you have any good suggestions, let me know).

August plays out as one of those liminal months for me, one foot in each season in terms of work and leisure, but that lends itself to an interesting and diverse mix of inspiration, as this edition of The Zeitgeist Edit goes to prove.

↑ Going Up — Cherry Picking

There's a reason I love a good collaboration, and it's because it signifies a linking up of diverse interests for the greater design good. While this new idea from Heal's isn't a collaboration, as such, it has this sense of collaboration at its core, opening its furniture designs up to new possibilities.

It's called 'The Pattern Portfolio', and sees the opportunity to bring patterns and prints by some of the best-known fabric brands to Heal's furniture offering. Think Liberty, Paul Smith & Maharam, Linwood, and Yarn Collective, alongside rugs from HANS ÜGER and wallpaper by Morris & Co.

↑ Going Up — 'Secret' Clubs

Bar and restaurant design in 2025 wants you to feel like you're part of the club, and that you're in on the secret.

However, the rise of the private member's club aesthetic takes on a more nuanced, authentic meaning within the interiors of the recently opened 'queer clubhouse' Roses of Elagabalus. Its rooms, created by designer Domnhall Nolan, reference illicit nightclubs, glamorous Parisian cabarets, and gay bathhouses. “The interior is referential to various design eras," Domnhall says. "The Wiener Werkstätte in Vienna, the interiors of Adolf Loos in Prague, the deco opulence of the early Parisian cabaret scene, Yves Saint Laurent’s sexy Paris apartment, and the dancefloor of Studio 54."

Dreamed up as a more laidback drinks, dining, and entertainment space for London's queer community, there's a surprising sense of casualness and intimacy in its arrangement, in contrast with its opulent drapery, classical decor, and rich color palette. Spaces include a tiled dance room, an erotic library with hand-painted murals, and an elegant cabaret with Art Deco interior design.

↑ Going Up — Furniture 'Tattoos'

The question plaguing the Livingetc office right now — why are we drawing over everything? It started, for us, with a conversation about model and reality star Kendall Jenner's couch, made in collaboration with Custom Bode and Green River Project that tells the story of her life and interests through hand-drawn 'anecdotes' — the sort of personal drawings that would have, in another life perhaps, been tattooed onto Kendall's body somewhere.

It's a idea we've come across again and again, from tablecloths embroidered with custom motifs, to the revival of the Roman-age 'unswept floor', to even something like the this project by Studio Duggan, where classic wardrobe cabinets have been adorned with illustrative squiggles, both at once perfectly, delicately painted, yet giving 'absent minded doodling while half listening in a meeting' vibes in the best possible way.

I've not answered the why? yet, but I've got the team working on it.

↑ Going Up — Golf

If you look hard enough, you can find a bar in London with almost any activity to keep you entertained. The latest trend, it appears, is the golf simulator bar — they're popping up all over, allowing you to hit a quick 18 in the city on a Thursday after work (or whenever else you fancy).

Bad news is these bars, so far, seem to be a dirth of design (the best of which is Tempo Bar, if you're looking for the most aesthetic space), but that's not to say golf is, in general.

While imagining what the 'golf bar' could be, I discovered Muni, an indoor golf club created by Montreal-based designers Ivy Studio, pictured above, that brings a heritage color palette to an industrial space, with carpets cleverly designed to feel like the gradients of a golf course. Or, you could take some inspiration from Head Golf, which recently created this indoor putting set-up with Swiss furniture brand USM.

↓ Going Down — Basketweave

Now, it's not that woven textures aren't a big deal right now — they are — it's just that 'basketweave' feels a little country-core of a term to express the contemporary uses of this technique in modern design. However, wellness writer Amiya Baratan introduced me to the Italian phrase intrecciato, meaning woven, recently, which seems to serve it better. It's also, notably, the same name that Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta gives its line of iconic woven leather bags.

Leather (although a vegan alternative is preferred for this editor, please) lends itself well to weaving — a balance of softness and structure that makes for dynamic interior pieces. And it just so happens some of the best examples of it in design today, such as Flexform's Mate series, pictured above, are Italian, too.

↓ Going Down — Rainchecks

July was a tumultuous month, weather-wise, which meant all my best-laid plans for outdoor fun last month were mostly unceremoniously rained off. I did, however, find a rare length of time long enough between heatwaves and rainstorms to comfortably enjoy a trip to the Everyman outdoor cinema, in the grounds of Hertfordshire's The Grove Hotel.

Returning this summer, Everyman this time continued its collaboration with a Livingetc favorite, British designer and color creative Yinka Ilori, on the design of the space, bringing the artist's signature joyful palette and patterns to its screen situated in the hotel's 'Walled Garden'. And, with less volatile weather on the forecast, it's a different way to enjoy a trip to the movies in summer, with a schedule packed with a mix of new and classic films.

↓ Going Down — Hard Forms

Is there anything we haven't 'drenched' in the home yet? Color drenching, pattern drenching, tile drenching — the list goes on. And while we're seeing a slight move away from uniform finishes in interior design trends, there's one last frontier to be conquered: upholstered furniture.

Now, we're seeing dynamic, design-forward ideas that use fabric where, usually, you'd see furniture's 'hard' elements, such as legs and bases, all using the same textile for a mono-material look that feels streamlined, while acting as a dramatic showcase for texture, color, and pattern.

I've seen it a lot in chairs, as demonstrated below, but in Sofa.com's autumn and winter range for 2025, the Ciel console, featured above, brings fabric to the base of a sculptural table in a really interesting way.

↓ Going Down — Bad Holiday Food

I find it interesting that it's through where we holiday that we're most connected to the provenance of our food, questionable all-inclusive buffets aside. It's often down to the nature of the places we tend to visit — coastal European resorts with, often, exceptional seafood, or rural ideal farmstays in the UK, for example — but the growing travel trend for 'agrotourism' goes beyond this natural relationship.

Take, for example, Soho House's recently opened Ibizan Soho Farmhouse set within a nine-acre working olive grove, 20 minutes from the bustle of Ibiza Town. The island isn't unfamiliar to emerging wellness trends, and this Soho Farmhouse is another example that puts produce front and center of its offering. Members can dine in amongst El Huerto, the hotel's own vegetable patch, eating seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.

It might not quite be as grand a concept as something like Ibiza's Atzaró Agrotourism Hotel, which has a three-hectare vegetable garden on its grounds that guests can engage with through curated experiences.

So, that is what is on the table for August this month, but in case July passed you by in the blink of an eye, take a look at our new feature ICYMI, rounding up the biggest and best releases of the month.