Living Etc January 2021

Chances are not many of the goals and plans you had for 2020 came to fruition in the end. Instead, this was the year that saw us all looking inward, taking breaks from the news cycle – if we were lucky enough to be able to – and focussing on our immediate surroundings. My fiancé has become a proficient indoor gardener (with over 50 plants at last count), and I invested in the Hepworth armchair we designed as part of Livingetc’s capsule collection for Love Your Home so I could curl up in peace and read the Wolf Hall trilogy at last. These weren’t the aspirations we’d started the year with, but design played a huge part in keeping our spirits buoyant. For me it was the enveloping curves of my…

1 AARON PROBYN After creating tableware for brands including Tom Dixon, Studio Conran and Normann Copenhagen, British designer Aaron Probyn has launched an own-brand collection – expect his signature minimalist curves and luxe material combos (Eclipse candleholders pictured). 2 MARBLING 2.0 What exactly is it about ink floating on water that’s so beguiling? The latest takes on the craft are pushing it to its boundaries – we’re enamoured with Nat Maks’ wallpaper (pictured), made with the Japanese Suminagashi technique. 3 DOOR SCAPING Adapt to limited indoor guests and take the Christmas spirit to the streets. Touch up your paintwork and door furniture then add foliage (Neptune Pepperberry wreath pictured) and festive accoutrements. 4 PARED-BACK POTTERY Ceramics come in calm colours for 2021 – NKDWare’s debut collection focuses on handthrown clay vases (pictured), while new brand Monoware’s tabletop…

the architect Je Ahn is the director at Studio Weave, an award-winning RIBA Chartered Architecture Practice, which places value on happiness, community and the individual. He lives in east London. As a design studio, we start with a central concept: happiness. It sounds simple, but it’s a complex topic and it’s our job to try to design the right conditions for people to feel happy. It’s a good starting point for anyone thinking about how they want to shape their own futures. The main thing we need to do to make our lives better is to integrate more into our community. In the last 50 years, that way of living has reduced so we’re often very solitary. I come from a large, messy family and it was a lot of fun and…

Renowned American glass artist Dale Chihuly has partnered with The Rug Company to translate his exquisite blown creations into woven form. A capsule collection of five designs, limited to 250 pieces each, captures the fluidity and delicacy of Chihuly’s work, with The Rug Company’s master weavers in Kathmandu interpreting the intricate, three-dimensional pieces in wool and silk. Yarns are layered together to create depth and a shimmering, glass-like feel in swirling colours, irregular forms and distorted patterns. Rosette rug, from £3,572 (therugcompany.com)…

It’s not often that a present sack is more exciting than what’s inside it, but that was before House of Hackney’s Saturnalia bag came onto the scene. Created with a patchwork-style velvet made up of hexagons in a mixture of the brand’s designs, the pattern merges colourful plants and flowers in an array of clashing styles – from hyperrealistic tulips, poppies and lilies to William Morris-esque fronds and foliage. Finish with a drawstring rope and you’re Christmas morning-ready for years to come. £85 (houseofhackney.com)…

Deck the halls and other spaces with festive fare, as baubles, berries and boughs break loose from the tree and explore the rest of the house. The starting point for a Christmassy vignette could be a piece of furniture, a door or windowsill, or any overlooked area; why not create a candlelit bar in a dark corner or a sparkling scene on a side table? The key is a mix of heights, a splash of greenery, a wintry scent and a considered edit of decorations. Cocktails: optional. Carlo sideboard, £550; candleholders, from £35 each; Harry penguin cocktail shaker, £35; Judson decanter, £25; baubles, from £8 each (habitat.co.uk)…