This week in design, essentially the most extreme holiday home decorators are taking a rest after filling every inch of their home with festive decor. Stay within the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches, events, beneficial reading and more.
Business News
The Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Dangerous Dressers on Youth Act (or STURDY) was officially signed into law, Furniture Today reports, as a part of the $1.7 trillion fiscal 2023 spending bill passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden on December 23. The laws’s passage marks a win for the American Home Furnishings Alliance, which favored STURDY over the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s tip-over standard set to take effect May 24, 2023. (Now, STURDY will supersede this rule.) For certain furniture industry groups and producers, the news is the most recent installment in a yearslong battle over safety standards—read BOH’s deep dive into the problem here.
Greater than a yr after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, ABC Carpet & Home has returned as a digital-first furniture and residential decor brand. As Modern Retail reports, the corporate’s September 2021 takeover by investment fund 888 Capital Ventures has led to a recent business model for the nearly 125-year-old Latest York–based retailer. As a substitute of bringing in a majority of revenue from its flagship Manhattan store, ABC goals to eventually draw half of revenue from its overhauled e-commerce site while using its recently redesigned retail presence as a marketplacelike showroom. Together with a recent digital marketing strategy, ABC can be rolling out buzzy collaborations with Stark Carpet, actress Sienna Miller and the American Ballet Theatre. Up to now, the brand new approach shows promise: The corporate’s relaunched e-commerce channel saw a 157 percent year-over-year increase in sales this past Cyber Monday.
With rates of interest at record highs within the U.S., Americans are capitalizing on the newfound strength of the dollar by taking their seek for second homes abroad—specifically, to Italy’s wine country. In accordance with The Wall Street Journal, real estate agencies within the Piedmont region in Italy are reporting an influx of Americans over the past two years into an area that was previously populated mainly by Northern Europeans and Italians from nearby Milan and Turin.
The Canadian specialty retailer Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. acquired direct-to-consumer sleep brand and fellow Canadian company Silk & Snow in a $24 million deal expected to shut January 1, Furniture Today reports. Following the acquisition, Silk & Snow will proceed to operate as an independent entity led by CEO Albert Chow and COO Kenneth Mo, who will each join Sleep Country’s leadership team. Launched from a Kickstarter campaign in 2017, Silk & Snow has grown from offering a single memory foam mattress to a choice of mattresses, furniture, bed essentials and bath products.
Builder confidence out there for newly constructed single-family homes dropped two points in December, in accordance with the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index—marking the twelfth straight monthly decline in 2022. The metric is at its lowest since mid-2012, apart from the initially low numbers seen on the pandemic’s onset in spring 2020. In accordance with the report, construction costs are up greater than 30 percent since inflation began rising firstly of the yr, making it harder for builders to maintain housing inexpensive for buyers. In accordance with NAHB’s chief economist Robert Dietz, the silver lining to this month’s reading is that it was the smallest decrease over the past six months, indicating a possible slowing out there’s downturn.
Launches & Collaborations
Each lamp within the Bavovna collection is designed to appear like a chunk of cotton.Courtesy of Makhno Studio
Ukrainian design house Makhno Studio introduced a recent lamp collection inspired by the country’s strength and resilience within the face of ongoing conflict. Each lamp within the Bavovna collection is designed to appear like a chunk of cotton (often called a “bavovna”)—a term indicating weakness and utilized by Ukrainians to mock the Russian press’s attempts to diminish attacks in occupied territories. Each bit can be finished with gold and copper detailing, aimed to copy the spark that happens just before an explosion with the goal of empowering Ukrainians and their supporters abroad.
French furniture company Ligne Roset has partnered with biotechnology producer MycoWorks to include the corporate’s trademark mushroom leather right into a recent line of pillows comprised of Reishi, MycoWorks’s flagship fungi material, with more pieces set to roll out in the approaching months.
Really helpful Reading
What do cigarettes, the Galápagos Islands and former President Barack Obama have in common? They will all be present in candle form today—and it seems that consumer demand is driving the trend. Searches for candles on the whole are up 80 percent on Etsy previously 12 months, while sales for candles over $75 rose by 26 percent this yr in comparison with last, which begs the query: Where is the present craze coming from? For The Latest York Times, Anna Kodé delves into the combo of things that contributed to the growing popularity of candles—including an increase within the usage of social media and e-commerce platforms empowering independent makers, and a necessity for solace within the wake of social isolation and loss brought on by the pandemic.
Certain homes featured on film and tv leave an enduring impression on viewers: Carrie Bradshaw’s Sex and the City apartment, the Moulin Rouge! boudoir and the stately Home Alone house, to call a couple of. As a part of promotional efforts for movie remakes and anniversaries, it’s now possible to step inside those iconic spaces (sometimes the unique, sometimes a re-creation)—for those who are lucky enough to nab an exclusive stay offered through Airbnb. For Dwell, Abby Carney peeks backstage of the brand new program promoting these homes, asking guests whether the spaces lived as much as the big-screen hype.
Homepage image: ABC Carpet & Home has returned as a digital-first furniture and residential decor brand. | Courtesy of ABC Carpet & Home
