The Return of Embellishment

"Over the past few years, independent furniture designers have gravitated toward metal. It's a bit of an about-face in the midst of an era dominated by light woods and textured ceramics. The precision-forged material is not only affordable but also forgiving, a straightforward way to create clean forms. Aesthetically, it's more malleable than one might think; it can read as austere and streamlined in a minimalist collection, but it also has the potential to look baroque and extravagant."

"It's all part of a renewed interest in Art Deco, a more stylized version of high modernism when it first emerged a century ago. No longer allergic to the decorative, interior designers are increasingly turning to moody, saturated color palettes, geometric patterns, and flourishes of detail that include pictorial and even allegorical representation. Those exhibiting at Collectible are responding in kind by layering their otherwise pared-back designs with sculptural finials and inlaid marquetry, floral and historic references and figurative motifs."

Independent furniture designers have gravitated toward metal for its affordability, precision and ability to produce clean forms. Metal's malleability allows work to appear austere or richly ornamental. At Collectible's New York offshoot, metal skewed toward ornamentation, aligning with a renewed interest in Art Deco and a stylized high modernism. Interior designers are favoring moody, saturated palettes, geometric patterns, and pictorial or allegorical detail. Exhibitors layer pared-back silhouettes with sculptural finials, inlaid marquetry, floral and historic references, and figurative motifs to humanize monolithic forms. Llewellyn Chupin's Ritual of Adornment juxtaposes blocky silhouettes with jewel-like flourishes on hand-patinated aluminum furniture. These additions emphasize touch, gesture, and a comforting look to the past while enabling designers to experiment within familiar constraints.

Read at Curbed