This week in design, viewers were on the edge of their seats for the plot-twisting finale of HBO’s The White Lotus—meanwhile, House Beautiful was more excited to assign seat styles to each of the show’s characters. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches, events, recommended reading and more.

Business News
Amid the market chaos following last Wednesday’s Trump administration tariff announcement, share prices for all 27 publicly traded home furnishings companies took a hit, Furniture Today reports. RH saw the most drastic drop, with shares falling more than 40 percent, or about $100 per share, to $149.39; while Wayfair came in second with a 26 percent drop to $25.59 a share. Not far behind were several other popular industry brands—including Williams-Sonoma, down nearly 16 percent; Arhaus, down about 20 percent; and Hooker Furnishings, down around 14 percent. Meanwhile, the Dow fell 1,679 points—its biggest decline since September 2022. Stocks began to regain some ground, with the S&P 500 climbing up around 4 percent in a brief period of calm amid the broader market tumult, but after the White House announced today it would raise tariffs on China to 104 percent starting after midnight, the benchmark fell around 2 percent, according to CNN Business.

RH released a new statement clarifying its sourcing strategy just two days after CEO Gary Friedman reacted with alarm to the company’s dramatic stock decline during a call with analysts. In the statement, the company explained that since the initial round of 25 percent tariffs on goods from China implemented during the last Trump administration, it has shifted much of its operations to Vietnam (“at significantly better than pre-tariff landed China pricing”) and its own factory in North Carolina. On last Wednesday’s call, Friedman had said that by the end of 2025, 14 percent of the brand’s total business will be produced in the U.S.—including nearly half of its upholstered furniture. In the updated statement released on Friday, the company provided additional information about its latest results, including that demand for the brand (which RH defines as the dollar value of orders placed, excluding exchanges and shipping fees) was up 19 percent in January and 20 percent so far this year.

Brooklyn-based home goods brand Minna is closing, according to a statement posted on its website by founder, creative director and CEO Sara Berks. After operating for more than 12 years, Berks said that the company had been hit by the same challenges facing other small businesses in recent years, which would have become exacerbated by the impact of global tariffs. “The unfortunate truth is that I’m no longer sure the current market is built to sustain ethical, relationship-driven businesses like ours,” she wrote. “New systems will need to be created, and it’s more important than ever to lean into relationships and community.” The company will be holding final sales over the coming weeks, until inventory lasts, and will close custom orders after April 15.

Milan-based furnishings, lighting and contract group Dexelance (formerly known as Italian Design Brands) is investing in outdoor furniture brand Roda, Women’s Wear Daily reports. According to the conglomerate, it has signed a letter of intent outlining a plan to acquire a minority stake in Roda’s share capital before initiating a second phase to acquire a majority of the company through “specific buy and sell options.” The price was not disclosed. Since going public on the Milan Stock Exchange in 2023, Dexelance has been on the path to expansion—purchasing a majority share in luxury furniture business Turri, opening its first U.S. flagship in New York, and telling WWD earlier this year that several potential acquisitions may be coming down the line. According to Roda CEO Daniele Pompa, the shifting ownership will drive a new phase of global expansion for the brand.

WWD also reports that another Italian “acquisition machine,” Haworth Lifestyle Group, has announced reorganization plans for its stable of brands. Moving forward, the brands will be grouped into divisions: luxury, led by Poltrona Frau and Ceccotti CEO Nicola Coropulis; design, led by Luca Fuso, CEO of Cassina, Zanotta and Cappellini; industrial, led by former Poltrona Frau CEO Ervino Riccobon; and retail, led by Interni CEO Stefano Cazzaniga. According to the Milan-based group, the new structure will free up the company to pursue potential acquisitions as it approaches a 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) revenue milestone.

The Environmental Protection Agency—led by new Donald Trump appointee Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman who has questioned evidence of climate change and advocated to expand fossil fuel extraction—is seeking to reverse hundreds of U.S. bans on harmful compounds like “forever chemicals.” Known for their durability and resistance to water, dirt and oil, PFAS are man-made substances that have been widely used in consumer goods since the 1940s, including in textiles, nonstick cookware, furniture and carpeting, and have been linked to cancer, birth defects and other serious health issues. As The Guardian reports, the EPA is now aiming to implement a new rule that loosens the guidelines for how chemical risks are evaluated—a move that would prevent individual states from cracking down on such substances, ultimately exposing workers and consumers to a greater accumulation of chemicals through the many products in their homes. Critics of the rule note that it will be time-consuming for the EPA to evaluate chemicals by the new standards, so health and environmental activists will have the opportunity to organize and pass new state laws to act as a protective buffer against the deregulation.

Launches and Collaborations
A new design publication called Shltr has launched in the San Francisco Bay Area, focused on innovators in architecture, interiors, landscape and industrial design in the region and beyond. Led by editor in chief Zahid Sardar, the new title will be available in a monthly newsletter, a bimonthly digital format and an annual print version, exploring everything from AI-driven design projects to profiles of local design voices.

The Museum of Modern Art has inked a new multiyear agreement with IMG Licensing. The partnership will see the museum, along with the MoMA Design Store, expand the licensing program it has established in recent years through collaborations with brands like Danish-Swiss kitchenware manufacturer Bodum, watchmaker Swatch and apparel company Uniqlo.

British heritage brand Savoir has teamed up with multidisciplinary studio Winch Design—which specializes in luxury interiors for homes, yachts and private aviation—to create Tranquility, a bed designed to evoke the opulence of 1930s ocean liners with details like Foglizzo leather, saddle-stiching, and a color palette inspired by sunlit decks.

Recommended Reading
Labor shortages and high material costs have been weighing on the homebuilding industry for years now, and in the coming months, professionals are expecting those problems to snowball. For The New York Times, Ronda Kaysen uses one ground-up home build as a case study for how the costs will rise even higher if the Trump administration’s policies on mass deportation and tariffs continue as planned—affecting the price tag on everything from drywall, siding and plumbing to paint, countertops and appliances.

The worlds of fashion and home design are often compared due to their shared focus on aesthetics, personal expression and production—but instead of undergoing the massive shake-ups and subsequent identity crises that seem to take place when couture brands switch out creative directors, the decor industry has often adopted a more free-flowing, collaborative approach. For Women’s Wear Daily, Sofia Celeste consults top furniture and decor experts on how creative direction differs in the home and fashion house realms.