This week in design, California real estate agents devised a new strategy for enhancing property listings—employing AI to add larger-than-life graphics (including knights and dragons) to their marketing videos. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches, recommended reading and more.

Business News
The 25 percent tariff on furniture imports—which was scheduled to increase to 50 percent for cabinets and vanities, and 30 percent on upholstered furniture on January 1—will instead remain at its current level for another year, according to a White House fact sheet released last week. The Trump administration says it rolled out the furniture tariffs on October 14 in an attempt to correct the country’s “overreliance on foreign timber, lumber, and their derivative products.”

While the housing market as a whole remained stagnant in 2025, the highest-end listings had a banner year, with each of the top 10 residential deals coming in at above $100 million. As The Wall Street Journal reports, only seven of 2024’s top 10 reached the same heights, while just half did in 2023; even in 2021, when real estate was booming mid-pandemic, the list only included eight properties that sold above $100 million. Real estate experts suggest that the 2025 increase can be attributed to buyers storing their wealth in home purchases to protect against inflation and general economic uncertainty.

Wendover Art Group, a Florida-based brand specializing in art, mirrors, wallcoverings and lighting, has purchased JJ&J Custom Home, a private-label pillow and soft goods supplier, for an undisclosed sum, Home Accents Today reports. The deal marks Wendover’s fourth acquisition over the last three years, adding JJ&J to a portfolio that includes Lowcountry Originals, Kevin O’Brien Studio and Friedman Brothers Mirrors. Following the purchase, JJ&J Home founder JoAnn Albrizio Simon will join Wendover’s product development team in Largo, Florida, while the company will continue to operate its workroom in Connecticut.

Less than two months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Columbus, Ohio–based retailer American Signature will begin liquidating its remaining 89 stores this week unless it receives a bid in a court-supervised auction set to take place on January 8, Furniture Today reports. One casualty of the bankruptcy is Conover, North Carolina–based upholstery manufacturer Kroehler Furniture—whose sole customer was American Signature. It has ceased production, impacting roughly 208 workers, Home News Now reports.

Acton, Massachusetts–based retailer Circle Furniture closed in late December, abruptly shuttering all of its showroom locations across New England and laying off its entire workforce, The Boston Globe reports. In an email sent to employees on December 19, the company stated that it could no longer afford to continue operations, as “circumstance [sic] have gone against the business.” The closure ends the company’s more than 70-year run, ceasing operations at its eight stores and warehouse location and affecting roughly 65 workers.

Launches and Collaborations
Hudson Grace has announced the debut of its second collaboration with actress Diane Keaton. Designed last year before her passing, the 39-piece collection embodies some of the famous design connoisseur’s favorite aesthetic details—including black-and-white accents, natural materials and clean lines.

Lighting brand Gantri has announced its first brick-and-mortar partnership with furniture retailer Room & Board. The collaboration will see four of Gantri’s digitally manufactured, bespoke lighting designs—the Arpeggio table light and sideboard by Studio Elk, the Gallery task light by Andrew Ferrier, and the Kalli wall sconce by Carlos Jimenez Design—made available in all of Room & Board’s 21 stores nationwide, as well as on the retailer’s e-commerce site.

Recommended Reading
Recliners have typically represented the moment when a homeowner definitively chose comfort over style. That may be changing. For The New York Times, Dina Cheney writes about the next generation of motion seating, which offers an array of contemporary styles and high-tech capabilities.

Many designers encounter client disagreements at some point in their careers, but few reach the level of conflict faced by Tallahassee interiors firm Design & More, whose contract dispute transformed into a 17-year saga that one legal expert described as “a grand opera.” Making matters even more absurd, the client at the center of the case is none other than former Trump administration official Pete Marocco—the appointee best known for gutting the U.S. Agency for International Development last year. For The Washington Post, Rachel Kurzius tells the story of the yearslong legal battle, which ultimately left the firm in financial ruin.

Call for Entries
The High Point Market Authority is now accepting applications for its 2026 Design Influencers Tour. The program will host six home influencers at April’s High Point Market, where they will be tasked with identifying and reporting on the latest furnishings trends, receiving a service fee and free travel accommodations for their efforts. To submit an application before the January 23 deadline, click here.

Farrow & Ball is now accepting submissions for the inaugural Iconic Spaces competition. The contest invites interior designers and DIY enthusiasts to submit interior and exterior projects they’ve transformed with the use of Farrow & Ball paint and wallpaper. Winners will be selected in five categories—best outdoor space, best front door, best use of signature palette, best use of an archive color and best use of wallpaper—and one of the honorees will earn the top title of Iconic Space 2026. To make a submission before the February 15 deadline, click here.

In Memoriam
Hall of Fame interior designer Thomas Britt passed away this week, leaving behind a legacy of exuberant style. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Britt learned his craft at Parsons School of Design and settled down in New York to begin his career. As The New York Times reported in 2004, he made a name for himself quickly with the 1964 launch of his namesake firm, establishing a trademark aesthetic composed of “zesty color combinations, graphic sense of order, and atmospheric juggling of major antiques and simple, high-style furniture.” His passing has prompted an outpouring of grief from the design community: Former Elle Decor executive editor Ingrid Abramovitch reminisced about an interview she once conducted with the designer, in which he boldly stated: “Decorating is in your blood. You either have it or you don’t.” Design editor and entrepreneur Mitchell Owens recalled helping Britt with his 2017 monograph Fabulous!, describing the designer as “great and bombastic and terrifying and a person you always wanted to please, just to get that puckish smile.” As Owens concluded: “RIP, Mr. Britt. You were indeed fabulous.”