A thoughtful selection of the latest lifestyle and design news, plus the modular seating goes where you need it to
Photography courtesy of HAY
1. Arcs Trolley by HAY
Designed by Belgian duo Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen, the Arcs Trolley is a nifty piece of furniture that combines industrial craftsmanship with Hay’s trademark playfulness. Made from powder-coated steel, the trolley comes in an array of vibrant colours, such as jade green and auburn red, while its elegant, scalloped edging makes it a distinctive piece.
“For us, a good object is always technical and poetic at the same time,” say the designers, who share a passion for art, architecture and materials. “The curves in this object are not random, they have a function.” The trolley effortlessly adapts to its surroundings; with a choice of two or three tiers and slender legs on castors for ease of movement, it can serve as a display and storage solution in the living room, lend an extra layer of shelving in the kitchen or double as a cabinet in home offices or co-working spaces.
2. Aram at 60, Wassily armchair
Aram, the famed furniture store in London’s Covent Garden, is marking 60 years as a successful family-run design business this year. Launched by the late Zeev Aram in 1964 on the King’s Road, the shop was the first of its kind in the UK, showcasing international modern furniture and lighting. Aram is celebrating its anniversary by opening a new gallery space and introducing a special edition of the Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer, the first design Zeev sold at the original Aram showroom. The Wassily Chair, which was one of Zeev’s favourite pieces, was first conceived in 1925 and soon became a classic of the Bauhaus movement.
“My father sold the chair in 1964 in black leather hide, which is the finish most Wassily chairs have been sold in,” explains Daniel Aram, who now runs the business. “However, Breuer originally created the Wassily using heavy-duty waxed cotton fabric, so we thought it was apt to use black canvas for this special edition, especially as it has not been used before.” Just 24 of the new chairs will be made by Knoll, and each will feature an ‘Aram 60 2024’ stamp to mark the occasion.
3. Puffa System by Kint
The Puffa System is a soft-furniture collection by designer Rostyslav Sorokovyi for Ukrainian brand kint. To date, it is kint’s most popular offering, popping up everywhere from homes to showrooms and restaurants. The collection consists of 16 upholstered modules of different lengths and heights that can be arranged to form sofas, armchairs, benches and poufs, with the possibility to make them deeper or wider as necessary.
Depending on the combinations of colour and texture chosen, the Puffa can look cool and minimalist or fun and playful. “Object design in Ukraine is evolving rapidly, with many interesting and talented designers emerging,” says Max Voytenko, creative director of kint. “We aim to collaborate with them, produce their designs and showcase them on the world design stage.”
4. Social chair by Varier
Lifestyle changes, smaller urban homes and major shifts in the patterns of our working lives call for furniture that can help us happily work, play and socialise all in the same space. But these different activities naturally have different requirements. To cater to our changing demands, Snøhetta has designed the Social chair for Varier, a furniture company based in Oslo. Made from post-consumer recycled polypropylene, this playful chair comes with either a tilting or swivel base.
“While many designs concentrate on individual comfort or static ergonomics, the Social chair offers an active seating solution that promotes and supports shifting postures, facilitating social activity and a dynamic lifestyle,” explains Marius Myking, director of product design at Snøhetta. “Varier’s deep expertise in ergonomic design and our approach to creating spaces that shape social interactions resulted in a perfect synergy.”
5. Percy by NaughtOne
Canadian furniture designer Nicole Marion looked back at the simple and functional aesthetic of 1970s waiting rooms for NaughtOne’s new lounge chair, Percy. Initially developed as a self-initiated project, an early version was awarded Best Prototype at Toronto’s Interior Design Show in 2020. Bold and unfussy, the chair’s rounded steel frame snugly holds invitingly plump cushions.
There are no sharp edges here, and Marion was particularly keen to employ the metal tubing in a continuous path around most of the chair. “So many of these chairs seem to be Bauhaus-inspired, which is a movement that has always resonated with me,” she says. “Using clean lines and simplified forms to create striking yet functional products is always my objective, and this chair typology really aligns with that.”
Marion worked with UK designer and manufacturer NaughtOne to refine the prototype, adjusting the seating to a more relaxed angle and softening the cushions. Sustainability is important to both Marion and NaughtOne, so the chair’s internal frame is made from fast-growing Baltic birch and the steel tubing can be repaired or repainted if needed.
6. Soft collection by Molo Design
Vancouver-based studio Molo’s award-winning and innovative Soft collection, including ultra-flexible room partitions and modular blocks, is the perfect embodiment of its co-founders’ approach to materials and space making. The folding wall partitions, made of paper or textile, were developed by Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen to provide a flexible, sustainable alternative to traditional rigid dividers.
The smart, honeycomb design of the partitions allow them to flex and curve beautifully, while the soft material dampens and absorbs sound. Each section is bound together at the ends by wool felt covers, which fold to create handles. Both the wall partitions and blocks are modular, with elements that connect to magnetic end panels, making it simple to reshape entire environments.
7. Hulsø shelf by Finn Juhl
Finn Juhl was a pioneering Danish designer, whose organic shapes and artistic approach bridged the gap between art and functional design in the 20th century. Since 2001, the House of Finn Juhl has been manufacturing and relaunching the designer’s sculptural pieces.
It was during a review of Juhl’s extensive archive that the organically shaped Hulsø shelf, dating to 1949, was discovered as part of an unrealised interior project. A detailed technical drawing allowed the House of Finn Juhl to recreate the shelf 75 years after it was first designed.
Now brought to life in oil-treated solid oak or walnut, the softly undulating shelf is an artistic element in its own right that can be combined to create a cohesive form. It even features a specially designed wall bracket that allows for adjustment after mounting.
8. Omni by Form Us With Love
While Stockholm-based design studio Form Us With Love was thinking about its latest soft seating collection, it was also working on an explorative future-driven project with Samsung. “This gave us invaluable insights into how technology shapes life at home and, more specifically, how many screens we use on average,” say co-founders Jonas Pettersson and John Löfgren.
“It was clear to us that the traditional sofa did not meet today’s and future needs. The solution was to create a multi-functional experience catering to flexible seating and various behaviours.” To that end, the studio collaborated with South Korea’s Munito on Omni, a collection of soft seating that supports a range of postures, from upright sitting to relaxed reclining. The resulting seats are contemporary, shapely and smart, and would fit comfortably in both domestic and office interiors.
Images by Ollie Tomlinson, Anna Kagitina, NaughtOne, Alanna Paterson, Finn Juhl, Munito
Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here