The seemingly endless stream of micro-trends that storm through social media discourse has spawned the arrival of this season’s “Tacky Christmas,” the home world’s answer to the fashion world’s ugly Christmas sweater trend. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches, events, recommended reading and more.

Business News
While modular housing—a construction method that involves assembling home components in a factory and then transporting them to a property site—has historically been used in the U.S. for low-budget or emergency projects, a new development may signal a change. As The Wall Street Journal reports, this week Greystar Real Estate Partners unveiled one of the largest multifamily modular projects in the country with a six-building apartment complex located outside of Pittsburgh. The modular method is gaining popularity in part due to its affordability: Builders need fewer workers and can purchase materials in bulk at a discount. Some studies suggest the global annual market share of modular construction has more than tripled to 6.6 percent between 2015 and 2023, and that global revenues from the sector could reach as high as $1.1 trillion by 2040, compared with $180 billion in 2022.

The American Society of Interior Designers has released the second part of its research report on climate, building resiliency and human health, conducted in partnership with the Chemical Insights Research Institute. While the first part of the report focused on indoor air quality and climate change–induced natural disasters, the second is centered on the challenges that extreme heat poses to buildings and their occupants. The study uncovered a number of findings—including the fact that extreme temperatures are associated with higher levels of toxic volatile organic compounds (or VOCs)—along with strategies designers can use to minimize the potential impacts of excessive heat, including prioritizing materials, finishes and furnishings that can reduce indoor pollution.

Private equity firm American Industrial Partners has acquired heritage paint company PPG’s architectural coatings division in the U.S. and Canada; the terms of the deal were not disclosed. Following the change in ownership, the company will be rebranded as the Pittsburgh Paints Company, nodding to the original name of the 125-year-old brand. According to Rick Hoffman, a partner at AIP, the firm plans to “chart an aggressive course of transformation and renewal” for the paint producer.

After several years out of operation, retailer Lord & Taylor is relaunching this month as a direct-to-consumer company offering apparel and home decor, Home Textiles Today reports. The news marks a turning point for the retailer, which closed its New York flagship department store in 2019 and subsequently shuttered all remaining stores in 2020, shifting to an e-commerce operation under then-owner Saadia Group. Following an acquisition of Lord & Taylor’s trademarks, brand assets and proprietary designs by Regal Brands Global earlier this year, the company is now rebooting in mid-December with a portfolio that will focus on apparel before expanding into home textiles, furniture and decor in the coming year.

BC Aventura Contemporary Furniture, a Florida-area franchisee of Danish furniture brand BoConcept, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Furniture Today reports. In the filing, the franchisee cited estimated assets of $100,001 to $500,000, along with estimated liabilities of $500,001 to $1 million owed to between one and 49 creditors. As a result, BoConcept’s Florida retail locations in Boca Raton and Hallandale Beach will be closing over the coming months as the company recruits new franchise partners to grow in the state. In the meantime, BC Aventura has committed to fulfilling existing client orders until the end of next month, after which BoConcept’s U.S. branch will take over.

New data from the National Association of Realtors revealed that existing home sales rose 2.9 percent year-over-year in October—the first such increase since July 2021, Home News Now reports. Those gains differed depending on geography, with sales in the Northeast remaining steady year-over-year, while the South, Midwest and West all recorded gains. The latest figures also revealed that single-family home sales increased 4.1 percent from last year, though existing co-up and condominium sales fell 7.3 percent over the same period.

Launches and Collaborations
Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles has changed hands after the magazine’s publisher, Elizabeth Ralls, acquired the publication from Esteem Media through a newly formed Atlanta-based company called Buckhead Crown Media. Ralls brings a combined 13 years of experience working with the publication, having served as its editor in chief for seven years before being named publisher in 2020. Following the purchase, Ralls will remain publisher of the magazine while also stepping into her role as leader of Buckhead Crown Media.

Rugs USA has announced a new partnership with interior designer and author Nate Berkus. The collaboration’s first installment will debut in Fall 2025—showcasing Berkus’ personal style integrated into a new array of rug designs from the brand—with multiple additional collections slated to follow.

New York–based designer Jazmin Valdes-Hamid has launched a homeware and decor brand called Hashi Home. The company’s debut collection draws inspiration from both Japanese and Peruvian design traditions through partnerships with local artisans in each country, resulting in an assortment of products that includes dinner plates, bowls, serving items and coffee sets.

Recommended Reading
In the world of design, many dream of buying a fixer-upper, enjoying both the transformation process and the price cut that comes with purchasing an older home. As Carol Ryan writes for The Wall Street Journal, today’s housing market dynamics may have upended that fantasy: Though new homes typically sell at a higher cost than old homes, that premium has fallen from roughly 16 percent on average since 1968, down to 3 percent this year. As builders opt for more affordable design choices—forgoing marble for less costly materials, for example, or reducing overall floor sizes—brand-new properties are quickly closing the price gap with existing homes.

In 2022, the Laundress made headlines after a harmful bacteria was found in some of its products, triggering a mass recall. For two years, a non-disparagement and noncompete clause rendered the company’s founder, Gwen Whiting, largely powerless—but now, she’s back. For The Cut, Bindu Bansinath sits down with Whiting, who’s ready to spill all about the behind-the-scenes chaos of the company’s 2019 Unilever acquisition while also introducing her new laundry and cleaning brand: The Fill.

Nearly five years after a fire destroyed part of its structure, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has reopened, thanks largely in part to careful restoration and design efforts. For Design Boom, Matthew Burgos offers an overview of the space’s new decor elements—ranging from structural changes to furniture and religious adornments—alongside photos of the reconstructed interior.

Across Chicago, there are a number of buildings that had past lives as liquor stores, groceries and corner shops—and now, they’re being reconfigured as residential spaces. For The Wall Street Journal, Alina Dizik writes about the designers and homeowners who are turning abandoned storefronts into homes, and how the trend follows a shift in the city’s population and living habits that’s been decades in the making.