This week in design, 83-year-old Martha Stewart is as industrious as ever—in fact, she just published her 101st book: Martha Stewart’s Gardening Handbook: The Essential Guide to Designing, Planting, and Growing. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches, events, recommended reading and more.
Business News
Elle Decor editorial director Stellene Volandes has taken an expanded role at the magazine, leading content and brand strategy across the publication’s print and digital platforms. The newly expanded position builds on Volandes’s longstanding history at Hearst, having served as Elle Decor’s editorial director since 2020 and editor in chief of Town & Country since 2016. According to Hearst, she will soon appoint a head of editorial content for the magazine.
Nearly two years after Klaussner Home Furnishings’ abrupt shutdown, the brand may soon be reentering the market, Designers Today reports. After purchasing the company’s U.S. market trading rights last year, John Garg—the CEO of retailer Jennifer Furniture—began reintroducing the brand last year, debuting Klaussner upholstery at five of his company’s stores in November. Following a positive response, he has announced plans to fully relaunch the brand, with a new production facility in North Carolina set to open in the spring and a flagship showroom to debut in High Point by the fourth quarter of this year. Garg also plans to strengthen the company’s e-commerce presence through a newly revamped website and partnerships with Wayfair, Amazon and Costco, among others.
Following the recent wave of tariff-related price hikes, several more home accents vendors have notified their customers of increases on wholesale goods in the coming weeks, Designers Today reports. D&W Silks, Kavana Decor, Accent Decor, HiEnd Accents, and Napa Home & Garden have all alerted customers of their inability to absorb the cost of tariffs on imported products. Each brand has implemented varying levels of price hikes—D&W Silks, for example, is increasing prices “anywhere between 5 percent and 15 percent” for orders placed after April 4, while Accent Decor has upped prices by an average of 8 percent on products impacted by tariffs.
Archbold, Ohio–based Progressive Furniture—an importer of wooden furniture from Mexico and Asia—has announced it will shut down operations and lay off its entire 30-person workforce by the end of the year, Home News Now reports. Company president Dan Kendrick attributes the closure to Progressive’s main supplier in Mexico shutting down earlier this year, in addition to already challenging business conditions exacerbated by impending tariffs. The company will continue operations through the end of 2025, during which time it will fulfill existing orders and honor warranties.
On April 2, don’t miss your opportunity to connect with bookkeeping guru Jason Masonek on all things numbers related to running an interior design business. Click here to learn more and remember, workshops are free for BOH Insiders.
A group of nearly 200 trade organizations, including the Home Furnishings Association and the American Home Furnishings Alliance, have signed a letter urging the U.S. Trade Representative agency to roll back a new proposal that they say could increase container shipping costs by at least 25 percent, Furniture Today reports. Last month, the USTR announced an initiative aimed at reducing China’s influence in the shipbuilding sector—which the agency says has grown from 5 percent in 1999 to more than 50 percent in 2023—including fees on Chinese-built cargo ships entering U.S. ports. While the trade group cohort supports the USTR’s aims, their letter states that the proposed fees could increase container shipping costs by $600 to more than $800, ultimately leading to higher prices for consumers.
President Donald Trump has specific plans in mind for remaking government architecture during his second term, as evidenced by the “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture” order he issued on his first day back in office. As Bloomberg reports, the memo, which calls for the General Services Administration to develop a new policy for the design of federal buildings in favor of classical architecture, could take shape in the renovation of upcoming projects like the FBI headquarters and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, his refurbishment plans have already started in the White House: The Oval Office has been updated with gold fixtures, figurines and frames, and he has considered constructing a new $100 million ballroom and replacing the Rose Garden with a hard-surface patio.
Launches and Collaborations
Bergdorf Goodman tapped New York–based interior design and architecture firm Dan Fink Studio to design the windows of its men’s store at 745 Fifth Avenue for the annual Men’s Custom Made Event, which features two weeks of programming around bespoke tailoring and clothing advice. On display through mid-April, the art-deco-inspired window display features a mix of modern and vintage furnishings and lighting dating from the 1910s through the 1960s, arranged in closet, study, living area and bar room vignettes.
Alexia Ioannou—founder of lifestyle brand Nou—and chef and culinary curator Sophie Dalah have teamed up to launch a kitchen and tableware collection. Taking inspiration from 1990s Americana kitsch, the collaboration features an array of playful serveware ranging from vegetable-shaped ceramics to embroidered napkins, sculptural glassware, serving dishes and hand-sourced Murano glass.
The MoMA Design Store has announced a new pop-up with Brooklyn-based brand Dusen Dusen. Through the partnership, Dusen Dusen will display an array of new home goods—including towels, home textiles and kitchenware—in addition to debuting its new collaboration with lifestyle brand Fatboy, adding six of its signature bold patterns to the brand’s sofa, hammock, pouf, beanbag, pillow and beach tent.
Showhouses
The 2025 Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Southeastern Designer Showhouse will take place in a newly built residence in Atlanta’s Tuxedo Park neighborhood. The space will be reimaged by a cohort of 23 designers, including Evan Millárd, Honey Collins, Marie Cloud and Melanie Turner. The event is open to the public from April 17 through May 11, and proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Hope Heals.
Recommended Reading
Between flooding, fires and eroding shorelines, homes across the country have succumbed to climate-change-induced disasters more frequently than even in recent years—but that doesn’t mean homeowners are totally powerless when it comes to protecting their abodes. For The New York Times, Ron Lieber and Tara Siegel Bernard compiled an extensive guide to shopping for a home that won’t be upended by climate change, complete with information on vetting a listing for potential risk factors, evaluating a house’s ability to withstand disaster, and obtaining the proper insurance to safeguard your property.
Etsy and eBay rode the pandemic’s e-commerce wave to new heights in the early days of lockdown, but the ensuing years have painted a much different picture for each online marketplace. For Sherwood, Hyunsoo Rim reports on how both platforms have fared in the wake of normalized spending habits, and why each may be well-positioned to withstand tariff turmoil.
In the wake of January’s devastating wildfires, there are still several dozen chimneys left standing amid the rubble—and many contain priceless pieces of design history that community members are now racing to salvage. For The New York Times, Livia Albeck-Ripka writes about the effort to save the chimneys’ historic handmade tiles—many of which date back at least a century—before they’re lost, stolen or demolished.
