This week in design, the latest project from filmmaker John Wilson is a movie called The History of Concrete—a documentary on the second-most-used material on earth, and an examination of the cracked facades of some of New York’s most ambitious construction and design projects. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches, recommended reading and more.
Business News
Last week, the Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, targeting a 3.75 to 4 percent range. During a press conference following the meeting, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said the agency’s decision was informed by sustained inflation, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and strong economic and labor market reports. The move could place added strain on the housing market, which has seen the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surpass 7 percent, up roughly 38 basis points since Warsh began hinting at a rate increase last month. Looking ahead, the committee also released updated projections indicating that a majority of officials expect to implement another rate increase later this year.
Ethan Allen has announced a succession plan to replace chief executive Farooq Kathwari upon the conclusion of his current contract in 2027—a move that comes on the heels of activist investor Doug Bergeron’s efforts to launch his own leadership search amid an attempted board takeover. The retailer’s internal Corporate Governance, Nominations and Sustainability Committee says it has engaged an executive search firm to identify leadership candidates to take over as CEO next June. Following that date, Kathwari will remain a member of the company’s board before stepping down at the annual meeting later in 2027. In a release, Bergeron called the move “too little, too late.” Whether Kathwari steps aside as CEO next year voluntarily, or is pushed out by Bergeron, his departure will represent the end of an era—he has led the company as president since 1985 and chairman and CEO since 1988.
F. Schumacher & Co. has acquired the majority of the Vanoutryve mill’s archive—a textile portfolio produced in France and Belgium across a 150-year period during the 19th and 20th centuries. The purchase encompasses more than 75,000 textile samples, along with original fabrics and drawings dating from 1870 to 1960. A purchase price was not disclosed. Founded in 1860 by Felix Vanoutryve in Roubaix, France, the mill played a key role in developing the European textile industry, particularly during the art nouveau and art deco movements. During its years in operation, the venture even had ties to its future owner: Frederic Schumacher served as a textile agent for Vanoutryve before founding his eponymous design house in 1889. The mill remained in the family until 2013, eventually closing in 2019. Through the acquisition, its vast collection—ranging from classic Persian motifs and traditional European florals to early-20th-century French designs—will be conserved and cataloged by Schumacher’s in-house archival staff.
Wholesale marketplace Faire has announced plans for an initial public offering in the next year, The Wall Street Journal reports. Founded in 2017, the San Francisco–based startup made a name for itself as a new destination for mom-and-pop retailers to source inventory, offering an online platform as an alternative to the typical trade show and sales representative routes to purchasing. The site’s portfolio now covers categories ranging from decor to food, beauty, jewelry and apparel. As of last November, Faire had a valuation of $5.2 billion; it is currently on pace for an annualized revenue run rate of over $730 million in the third quarter—a 45 percent increase year over year—and to facilitate more than $4.5 billion in merchandise purchases annually.
Neighborhood Intelligence, formerly known as Bed Bath & Beyond, has inked a strategic partnership with Alliant Credit Union to launch a consumer financial services platform, Home Textiles Today reports. The new venture, Beyond Credit Union, will provide consumers with financial products, education, tools and resources related to purchasing and maintaining a home, with offerings like checking and savings accounts, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, home equity products, and more.
Cohen Brothers Realty has signed seven new leases—amounting to a total of 96,000 square feet—at the Pacific Design Center, The Real Deal reports. The new tenants primarily occupy the PDC’s Red Building, a creative office space covering 400,000 of the campus’s 1.6 million square feet. They include beauty and accessory distributor SuperOrdinary, makeup company Hourglass Cosmetics, Australian fashion retailer Princess Polly, vintage high-fashion boutique Lily et Cie, hair care company Pattern Beauty, British fashion company AllSaints and dating app Grindr. The lease signings run in contrast to broader real estate trends in Los Angeles, where direct office vacancy rates climbed to 16.4 percent in the second quarter—up from 16 percent in the first quarter, and 15.8 percent year over year.
Mall values are up 13 percent over the past year—representing more than double the increase in overall commercial real estate prices and outperforming every other category of commercial real estate, The Wall Street Journal reports. The sector’s apparent turnaround could be driven by stable occupancy and rent growth in the mall category due to lack of new supply, coupled with a boost from investors who have defected from the multifamily and office sectors amid declining returns. For Simon Property Group, the largest mall owner in the U.S., the category’s comeback sent July shares surging past their previous record high for the first time since 2016, with the company’s stock surpassing the S&P 500 over the past 12 months.
Launches and Collaborations
Courtney McLeod, principal of New York–based Right Meets Left Interior Design, has been selected to reimagine the entrance of the Park Avenue Armory in honor of the 15th edition of Salon Art + Design. McLeod’s vision for the space is Impossible Blooms—a surrealist, Alice-in-Wonderland design scheme.
Chasing Paper has teamed up with custom trunk brand Petite Keep on a limited-edition collection. The new collaboration pairs three of Chasing Paper’s signature prints—the Kent Street in Multi, Trio Stripe in Olive, and Field Floral in Mulberry—with Petite Keep’s heirloom keepsake trunks for a fully customizable assortment.
Showhouses
The Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas has announced the 2026 designer lineup, selected to reimagine the estate at 2999 Turtle Creek Boulevard. The full cohort includes Amy Switzer Design, Betsy Wentz Interior Design, Bobbitt & Company, Britt Design Group, City Hill Design, Coco & Dash, Dana Wiseman Design, Fonde Interiors, Helen Bergin Interiors, J. Bienvenu Interiors, Jede Interiors, Kymberlyn Lacy Interiors, Layered Dimensions Interior Design, Lichten Architects, Lumi Interiors, Nuance Interiors, Peters Cates Design, Platinum Gym Design, Rivington Marx Interiors, Rottet Studio, and Stephenson House. The showhouse will be open to the public from November 14 through December 6, with proceeds to benefit the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. For tickets and more information, click here.
Showroom Representation
Nickey Kehoe is now the exclusive U.S. retailer representing London-based designer Beata Heuman. The brand’s Los Angeles and New York shops will now carry Heuman’s textiles, wallcoverings, lighting and bedding—all of which draw from a blend of antiques, folk traditions, decorative arts and the natural world, with a particular embrace of color and detail.
Recommended Reading
For all manner of physical and mental ailments, a therapist can help identify and solve issues that seem difficult to pin down—for a home that’s just not feeling right, why not apply the same logic? For The Washington Post, Jolie Kerr writes about the emergence of “house therapy,” in which an expert is tapped to help suss out a home’s sticking points, finding solutions for everything from disused rooms to chaotic closets and unwelcoming entryways.
Content creator Melissa Crouch sparked online controversy recently when sharing the story of a kitchen remodel that was derailed when she told her designer that she didn’t want her home photographed for marketing materials—which led to her firing the designer rather than paying a $300 exclusion fee. For House Beautiful, Alyssa Khan dives into the debate underlying the debacle, which centers on the friction between client privacy preferences and the need for designers to document—and ultimately disperse—imagery of their work.
Forty-five years ago, a tiny hardware chain cobbled together an initial public offering, desperate for cash after maxing out its lines of credit. Today, that same retailer—Home Depot—is one of Wall Street’s greatest success stories, generating the highest total return of any U.S. stock over the same period. For The Wall Street Journal, the hosts of the Acquired podcast, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, examine how the home renovation company developed a series of business strategies that allowed it to outpace tech giants with booming valuations.
Cue the Applause
TwoPages has announced the winners of the brand’s annual Curtain As Art contest, in which artists, pattern designers and interior enthusiasts are invited to submit their own creations for the chance to see their designs transformed into real patterns sold on the company’s site. This year, the top prize went to Heather Cantrill, whose pattern The Cotswold Way is inspired by the unique villages and homes of the English countryside she hails from. Second place went to Hailey Kiefer, whose pattern Villa Chinoiserie channeled pastoral Tuscan scenes; and taking home third was Gabrielle De Winter, whose Heirloom Studies pattern was inspired by botanical illustrations and antique decorative arts. Their collections are all now available for purchase on the TwoPages site.
During its third annual fundraising gala, the Houston Furniture Bank honored the work of retailer Star Furniture and The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD. The furniture company served as an early financial supporter of the Houston Furniture Bank, later joining the organization’s advisory councils and board of directors with the shared mission of keeping used furniture out of landfills and supporting a second life for gently used products.
In Memoriam
Paul Maitland-Smith—the founder of high-end furniture companies Maitland-Smith Ltd. and Theodore Alexander—passed away last week at the age of 90. As Furniture Today reports, the English-born innovator launched his career in the 1950s as a dealer in 17th and 18th century antique furnishings—expertise that later informed his decision to launch Maitland-Smith Ltd., a producer of reproduction furniture and decorative accessories, in Hong Kong two decades later. The company became a fixture at High Point Market, and was later acquired by Masco furniture group, after which Maitland-Smith founded Theodore Alexander (a name borrowed from his grandfather and great-uncle, both antiques dealers in their own rights) in 1996. The company became one of the largest furniture manufacturers in Southeast Asia; even after stepping down from the helm in 2002, Maitland-Smith remained chairman in the years to follow, serving a key role in spearheading product design and development. In 2019, he secured a place in the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame, which recognized him for a lifetime of expert curatorial and design abilities, combined with trailblazing qualities as an engineer, manufacturer and entrepreneur.
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