MILIEU

I am proud that I have been a part of the design industry for so many years, as both an interior designer and a shelter magazine editor-in-chief. And while I have seen decorating fads come and go, I am excited by what is happening in the industry. The best designers working now are routinely returning to the “older” forms of sourcing. Rather than shopping online and simply “adding to cart,” leading designers are attending antiques fairs and design centers, traveling to different cities to take tours to see historic architecture and iconic designs. They are literally seeing, feeling, and trying out the very furnishings they are using in their projects. Augmenting this change, though, are the advantages of ecommerce, social media, and online merchandising. The reach that interior designers now…

“They could host a party or host a wedding. It’s as beautiful and functional as any barn could possibly be."”—SHANNON BOWERS “Barn Beautiful” p. 98 “The house had to function for a young family in 2025 without losing sight of its history.”—SAM SACKS “Balancing Act” p. 112 “The house feels very historical, but it’s not too overly specific about that. It’s about a house of today.”—MICHAEL AIDUSS “Returning Home” p. 124 “With fewer elements in a room, you have to pay a lot more attention to how important each piece is.”—MICHAEL DEL PIERO “Meeting in the Middle” p. 138 “After decades of neglect, this house needed to breathe again.”—MELISSA VALE “An Island Vibe” p. 150…

There’s an art to the making of trims. The sculpted florets and leaves, the tasseled ropes and delicate laces of trims are the result of designers whose talents lie in fashioning such detailing. And proof that attention to detail adds the biggest effect.…

“I can’t say we needed a potting shed, but after two years of designing our cottage, I wanted to keep creating, and this structure gave me an opportunity to do so,” says owner Kevin Brost. “Apart from storing our tools and keeping our old pots safe from the winter cold, we have tea parties in the shed with our young nieces, Claire and Anna.” During the summers, Brost and Hamilton have a glass of rosé in the shade of the shed—while pondering the idea of doing chores.…

Flora Soames FLORA SOAMES Flora Soames is involved in a constant conversation. “I don’t know what a fad is or what a trend is, but if you’re able, as a designer, to achieve longevity or timelessness, then you’re doing your job well. I think my interiors, my fabrics, and wallpapers reflect my interest in having a conversation between past and present.” The prolific London-based designer continues to look to historical precedents as a way to inform what she makes today. Among the influences that inspire her are Jacobean ones. When developing her products and furnishings, Flora is able to use a fragment of the distant past to create something wholly new. “I love the drama, the theatricality of taking something Jacobean and using it as a fresh element in a…

When old houses are renovated in Sweden, fragments of the past often come to the surface, notably scraps of the original wallpaper. It’s a practice akin to something that might be called domestic archaeology. “These historical patterns we uncover tell the history of the house; it’s as if they’re a greeting from those who lived there before, what they liked, the colors and patterns that mattered to them,” says Sara Lundström, a principal of the Stockholm-based Handtryckta Tapeter Långholmen (which translates from the Swedish as Handpainted Wallpaper Longisland, the latter word referencing their namesake island locale). She humorously and proudly refers to herself and her colleagues, Mats Qwarfordt and Hilding Lindåker, as “wallpaper nerds,” given their collective passion for uncovering vintage wallpapers and recreating them in their studio. “When we…