This week in design, custom pet portraiture is on the rise in the U.S., with some artists charging up to $20,000 to immortalize furry friends. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches, showhouses, recommended reading and more.
Business News
As the Iran war drives up fuel costs—with the average price of gas nationwide climbing more than 30 percent since the conflict began—home brands are beginning to issue related shipping surcharges. Earlier this month, Four Hands shared with customers that it had implemented a temporary freight increase starting March 17, citing “recent disruptions in global oil supply” and the associated rise in fuel and shipping costs. Elsewhere, Canadian furniture importer Sunpan alerted customers of a 3 percent freight surcharge beginning April 1, while Lexington Furniture also added a new Ocean Freight charge on its invoices. “While we held off on implementing a surcharge in the hope that conditions would improve, this decision was ultimately made thoughtfully to help offset ongoing external pressures while maintaining the level of service and reliability our customers expect,” read a statement from Sunpan. Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service has proposed an 8 percent surcharge to offset fuel costs beginning April 26—if approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, it would remain in place until January 17, 2027, CNBC reports.
A new filing from the Court of International Trade broadens the scope of eligible IEEPA tariff refunds for importers, Supply Chain Dive reports. Prior to the court’s decision, “finally liquidated” tariffs (payments that had been fully processed by customs) were ineligible—now, they’re fair game. Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection is still developing its refund processing platform, estimating last week that the system was between 45 percent and 80 percent finished.
Government-sponsored home financing provider Fannie Mae announced last week that it will now accept crypto-backed mortgages, CNBC reports. The program will require borrowers to first take out a traditional mortgage, and then a second loan—backed by crypto assets like bitcoin or USD Coin as collateral—to fund the down payment on the first. While the product isn’t the only token-backed home loan program, it is the first to receive backing from Fannie Mae, which has been under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency since the Great Recession.
As homeownership extends further out of reach for many Americans—the share of first-time buyers in the market is down by 50 percent since 2007—design brands are increasingly targeting the renter demographic, Modern Retail reports. For major retailers like Ikea, the shift has led to an expansion strategy focused on small-format stores in high-density renter markets, like major cities and hubs for colleges and universities. Similarly, Lee Mayer, CEO of the Havenly family of brands, says the company acquired modular furniture brand Burrow in 2024 to better reach the renter demographic, which has become a larger share of the group’s overall customer base. Amid continued economic uncertainty, other retailers are pivoting from big-ticket items like large furniture and appliances and focusing instead on decor and accessories, with one market intelligence firm finding that decor and kitchen were the only home furnishings categories to see positive growth in the fourth quarter.
Several family-owned furniture businesses across the country have closed their doors in recent weeks. In the Dallas area, Weir’s Furniture announced plans to close its four locations after nearly 80 years in business, Furniture Today reports, with the company’s leadership citing market conditions and operational challenges that have made its long-term financial position unsustainable. Elsewhere, Greenville, North Carolina–based Bostic Sugg Furniture—which had been in operation since the 1930s—is closing due to third-generation owner Britt Laughinghouse’s upcoming retirement. Finally, in Lynnwood, Washington, local retailer Josh Underhill’s Family Furniture is shuttering after 80 years in business, citing difficult economic conditions.
Zillow rolled out a new feature earlier this month allowing certain brokerages to display pre-market listings on the platform, The New York Times reports. In contrast to traditional private listings, which are only shared with select members of a brokerage, properties on the Zillow Preview feature will be viewable to anyone visiting the site, giving sellers and brokers the chance to gauge interest and tweak pricing before officially entering the market. Some of the country’s largest brokerages have already signed on—including Keller Williams, Re/Max and HomeServices of America—though the program has sparked some backlash for potentially making it harder for smaller real estate companies to compete, unless they, too, join the feature. Meanwhile, Zillow isn’t the only one to debut premarket listings: Competitors Redfin, Homes.com and Realtor.com all released similar programs in recent weeks.
Launches and Collaborations
West Elm partnered with Emma Chamberlain for a sprawling 150-piece home collection inspired by the influencer’s viral design sensibility—lighthearted, playful and approachable. With an array of furniture and decor suited for every room in the house, the assortment features standouts like a pigeon-shaped pitcher, a stainless-steel coffee set and a lacquer-wrapped nightstand.
Café Appliances debuted a collection with Chasing Paper. The assortment of four new prints—Lilypad, Tide Stripe, Saltwind and Painted Wave—comes in four colorways (Mineral, Terracotta, Twilight and Sand) designed to provide homeowners with an array of options for kitchen-wall customization.
British bathroom fixture brand Drummonds has teamed up with New York–based design firm Pembrooke & Ives to launch the Hudson collection. The new brassware range features a full suite of bathroom and shower fittings, manufactured using a traditional lost-wax casting process.
Showroom Representation
Hartmann&Forbes is expanding its European presence through two new partner showrooms. The brand’s handwoven shades, wallcoverings and textiles will now be available at the Valley & Laurel showroom in London’s Chelsea Harbour design center, as well as at the Ido Diffusion gallery on Paris’s Left Bank.
James Showroom is making its Palm Beach debut with the introduction of a new pop-up at the Casa Branca Atelier. Showcasing 26 James collections—including walls adorned in Meredith Ellis Textiles wallpaper—the West Palm space will remain open through May 15, hosting a series of events and activations along the way.
Recommended Reading
Few high-end furniture pieces have broken through the design milieu to become mainstream icons quite like the Eames lounge chair. In a recent video, The Wall Street Journal offered an up-close look at how each chair is constructed—a multiday process that includes extensive testing and meticulous craftsmanship—along with an overview of how the piece became an enduring status symbol in the years since its 1956 launch.
In 2021, home goods brand Schoolhouse was swept up in the good fortune of Food52, which used a capital infusion from its private equity owner to acquire the Portland, Oregon–based retailer for $48 million. Fast-forward four years, and it was acquired out of bankruptcy for a measly $2.2 million, its valuation slashed by more than 95 percent since it first changed hands. For Inc., Yelena Alpert unravels the story behind the company’s steady rise and rapid decline.
Today, a federal judge ruled in favor of the National Trust for Historic Preservation—which sued President Donald Trump, the National Park Service and others over the White House ballroom project—and ordered the construction be halted until it is approved by Congress. The National Capital Planning Commission will vote on whether to approve the construction, which was set to break ground as soon as this spring on the site of the recently demolished East Wing. For The New York Times, Emily Badger, Junho Lee and Larry Buchanan examine how the $400 million project’s truncated planning process reflects a departure from the traditional channels of approval that new monuments, museums and federal buildings typically undergo.
Cue the Applause
Artemest has announced the launch of Champions of Craft, a new initiative recognizing international interior design studios that prize artisanal excellence in the creative process. The inaugural cohort includes 27 design and architecture firms—including Champalimaud Design, Nicole Fuller, and Charlap Hyman & Herrero—who will appear in a variety of projects and digital features throughout the year. For the full list of honorees, click here.
