It's been a busy month at Livingetc HQ, and not just in terms of my calendar being packed with events. We had our own soft launch this month with Design Lab, a new interior styling service by the team behind Livingetc, so if you haven't already, now's the time to ask our stylists to help you out with your design dilemmas, for free until the end of the year, just by sending them an email, no matter how big or small the request.
What has struck me about the mood in the interiors industry this month is how much we're seeking out experience. We want our design immersive and theatrical; we want to be able to go to stores so that we can touch and feel; we want to talk to people about things — the opposite of the all-artificial digital bubble we seem to be headed towards.
The truth is, there's probably space for both — but this month's Zeitgeist Edit seems to speak more to the art of getting out into the world to find your design inspiration.
↑ Going Up — Suite Living
The designer show apartment is something you’re far more likely to see in Milan or Paris, with each city's richer stock of historic and architecturally interesting apartments. However, in the past month, two designer collaborations have been unveiled in London, bringing immersive style showcases to the design scene.
Okay, the first is technically a hotel suite, designed by Parisian studio Uchronia in collaboration with Pantone at the Oriental Hyde Park during Frieze Week. It was inspired by the color celadon, and brings the typically fantastical designs of designer Julien Sebban to a more traditional setting.
The second saw Irish design phenomenon Róisín Lafferty design an apartment in collaboration with Artemest in the Ambassador Building at Embassy Gardens. It’s a typically minimalist new-build apartment, but brought new character with the designer’s exuberant use of color and fancy for the playful form.
↑ Going Up — Third Spaces
This new gallery cafe in London is a space where you can wile away hours.
We’ve been talking about the idea of ‘third spaces’ in the Livingetc office this month, and what it means for where we spend our time. The concept, if you’re unfamiliar, is that your home is your ‘first space’, your workplace is your ‘second space’, meaning a ‘third space’ is somewhere you spend time beyond those walls. Restaurants, cafes, and shops can all be third spaces, but generally they’re conceptualized to be places where you linger and hang out (not just go to eat, drink, or consume).
It’s an idea that’s informing the likes of London’s independent concept stores and coffee shops, but it’s telling that John Lewis this month launched its Lounge concept, where its ‘members’ can book themselves in time to sort of just relax, have a glass, some nibbles, and more during the busiest shopping months.
If you want a recommendation from me of a third space, I stumbled across the newly opened BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! on London’s Warren Street last month, drawn in by a neon sign in the window. Yes, it’s a wine bar and book shop, where I spent an hour or two flicking through queer art books with a bottle of its house white, but it’s also a community hub for events, too.
↑ Going Up — Dinner and a Show
Interiors are getting theatrical at the moment — in fact, I just wrote about this very idea in length. However, maybe nowhere so much as this recently re-opened New York restaurant that comes with a side of performance. Wild Cherry is part of the restoration of off-Broadway's oldest theater, the Cherry Lane Theatre, spearheaded by production company A24 — the same much-lauded studio behind films including Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Brutalist.
Wild Cherry is being heralded as 'the A24 restaurant' on social media, so we can expect it to be the next cool dinner reservation, especially if you’re looking for a less-touristy hotspot before taking in a show. Think moody, Art Deco, and yes, theatrical interiors, served with a classic seafood and steak menu, and a signature cocktail served in a vintage Murano glass.
↓ Going Down — Traveling on Hand Luggage
The trunk closet, above, is an imagining of Artemest’s collaboration with fashion brand Kiton, tailoring this $180,000 luggage wardrobe in luxury fabrics.
Was it just me, or was there a time when it was just so cool to do the no-thrills, hand-luggage-only sort of traveling that leads to spontaneous adventures and speed-runs through the airport? Maybe it’s my advancing years, but I’ve turned a corner on this kind of travel trend, and it feels like there’s an emerging aesthetic in the design world that agrees with me.
It reflects the trend towards the ‘golden age of travel’ — that luxury sleeper train aesthetic, the first class experience, and the ephemera that goes with it. We’re talking travel trunks — but not just for travel. I saw La Erre’s installation at London Design Festival in September, which put the trunk on show as a functional piece of furniture for a home, while the likes of RIMOWA this month launched a cocktail set packed into one of its luxury suitcases.
↓ Going Down — Online Only
I’m feeling optimistic about our brick-and-mortar interior stores right now. There is, I think, a growing sense that part of the enjoyment of decorating your home is in the process, and this process is far more enjoyable in real life than behind a screen.
Just last week, Bert & May’s new shopping concept ‘The Mix’ opened its doors, housing some of the UK’s most exciting interiors brands under one roof. From the tile brand itself to Farrow & Ball, kitchen brand Pluck to lighting brand Curiousa, it’s like a department store for your renovation, located in London’s Bethnal Green.
From east London to the south west, hardware and lighting designer Matilda Goad also opened up MG&CO last month on Ebury Road, a Wes Anderson-esque hardware store with incredibly charming interiors. It's the sort of shop that makes you want to buy your handles from there, just to spend half an hour browsing its delightfully retro shelves.
MG&CO reimagines the traditional hardware shop for the modern day.
↓ Going Down — Real Flowers and Plants (Well, Sometimes)
Fake It's beautifully styled imagery really sells the idea of its artificial foliage.
I've often struggled with artificial plants in my own home, but I couldn't help but be taken in by an email from Fake It, an artificial plant brand I hadn't really heard of before. Once, just the preserve of bespoke commissions and trade orders, this source for faux foliage has recently opened its orders books to the public, with a brand new website setting the tone. It's a secret sourcebook find — this is where the best interior designers buy artificial plants when they need them for their projects. Think Gunter & Co, Natalia Miyar Atelier and Katharine Pooley to namedrop a few.
And really, sometimes an artificial plant is the answer to your problem. So, if you're going to buy one, make it a good one.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for design in November, but before you look to the month ahead, why not check out our round-up of the biggest and best releases for October, too, in case you missed them.
