Blending Austrian and Italian influences, the Alpine-Mediterranean province of South Tyrol, Italy, is chock-full of all-inclusive resorts touting flashy break-out amenities. But for many visitors to this remote region, the real draw is simpler: slowing down and taking in the striking natural setting. With just 70 south-facing rooms, suites, and private villas catering to a wide range of guests, Hotel Chalet Mirabell focuses on restorative relaxation and exploratory excursions. Its whopping 64,000-square-foot panoramic spa spreads across two levels: one dedicated to families and the other reserved for adults. Outside, its sprawling lawn incorporates a natural swimming pond and various alfresco lounging setups.

Photography courtesy of Hotel Chalet Mirabell

In winter, guests enjoy the loft-style accommodations and intimate eateries of the off-site ski-in and ski-out Chalet Zuegg—positioned near the peak of the adjacent 6,500-foot Meran peak—while in summer and fall, they e-bike and hike with alpacas along rustic trails.

Photography courtesy of Hotel Chalet Mirabell

The destination’s wide-reaching wine selection—held in an authentically informed yet contemporary wood-clad cellar—and main Michelin-recommended dining room tie everything together, uniting families and groups of friends for multi-course meals. Even here, the space is deftly divided to ensure those in search of peace and quiet aren’t disturbed.

Photography courtesy of Hotel Chalet Mirabell

Chalet Mirabell packs all of this into a contemporary architectural style. Though primarily built in locally sourced timber, the buildings eschew folksy tropes in favor of large exposures and recessed overhangs that contain private balconies. The entire facility is cleverly tiered into the location’s slope. That same refined modern alpine aesthetic carries over to Chalet Zuegg.

Photography courtesy of Hotel Chalet Mirabell

“In the summer, the world is big, and people have the possibility of going anywhere,” says Martin Reiterer, the resort’s second-generation owner. “In the winter, it’s more limited. They want to stay closer to home but have a place to ski and perhaps even hike.”

Chalet Mirabell caters to a broad mix of guests—those coming up from Milan or down from Munich for the weekend and those traveling across the Atlantic or even Asia—year-round.

“The idea is to find relaxation and calm when they can look out over wide expanses of space,” Reiterer adds. “That’s the main draw here.” Chalet Mirabell faces the Sarentino and Oetztal Alps, and the Dolomites are an hour’s drive away.

Photography courtesy of Hotel Chalet Mirabell

The panoramic spa makes the most of the alpine views and bucolic, rolling farmland that unfolds just below the hotel. Tucked beneath the lawn, the adults-only section includes everything from Finnish and organic herbal panorama saunas to brine, light, and aromatherapy baths. Also clad in a near-monastic material palette of wood and stone, this enfilade of dedicated spaces incorporates infrared heat. On the floor above, the family section features a heated pool that seamlessly transitions from indoors to outdoors.

Photography courtesy of Hotel Chalet Mirabell

For a resort with such an extensive roster of amenities, Chalet Mirabell ultimately seems most interested in what lies beyond them. Whether framed by a private balcony, a wall of glass in the spa, or the edge of an outdoor pool, the surrounding mountains remain the constant—making Reiterer’s “wide expanses of space” less an added attraction than the organizing principle of the hotel itself.

Nothing has spent years making earbuds you can recognize from across the room. With the new Ear (3a), the London-based tech company is asking what its earbuds can do beyond playing sound. The answer is Audio Snapshot, a feature that essentially treats the earbuds like a screenshot button for audio.

A pinch of both earbuds can capture up to a minute of audio from music, podcasts, lectures, and other media, including up to 30 seconds before the recording starts. The audio snippet is saved directly to 32 MB of onboard storage before syncing with the Nothing X app, where it can be replayed, edited, transcribed, or shared.

Photography courtesy of Nothing

“With our products, we look for experiences and interactions where we can look at our phones less and be more in the moment,” a spokesperson for the Nothing Design Studio tells Design Milk. Whether walking, commuting, or exercising, the team saw an opportunity to capture ideas without interrupting whatever the listener was already doing.

Rather than introducing another screen or interface, Nothing built Audio Snapshot around the same physical pinch gestures used to control playback. The company hopes users might gradually assemble personal libraries of memorable audio much like screenshots accumulate in camera rolls.

Ear (3a) can also record calls and meetings for approximately two hours, with an audible notification alerting participants. Like Audio Snapshots, call recordings sync to Nothing X for editing and transcription.

Photography courtesy of Nothing

The new capability required some rethinking inside the earbuds, without letting the additional hardware dictate the device’s appearance. “Onboard storage for Audio Snapshot is only one part of a bigger puzzle,” the design team explains. “We also have to think about balancing battery sizes and the ergonomics of how the case opens.”

Color offers another point of distinction: The stems are still transparent, while the charging case evolves from the previous Ear (a) with refined contours and a more geometric form. For the case, the team drew inspiration from bubbled pill packaging, shrink-wrapped materials associated with the Finish Fetish art movement, and Josef Albers’ “Homage to the Square.”

The studio also pushed the boundaries with color: Ear (3a) is available in black, white, yellow, and a particularly saturated pink. The team’s reference board ranged widely, including Sanzo Wada, Elsa Schiaparelli, the Strawberry iMac, Milk Makeup packaging, Paris Hilton, James Turrell, and Love Hultén’s synthesizers.

Photography courtesy of Nothing

Alongside the new colors and recording capabilities are more conventional upgrades, including a larger 12 mm dynamic driver, Hi-Res Audio Wireless, Static Spatial Audio, and Wideband Active Noise Cancellation up to 45 dB. Nothing also added an XS ear tip to the existing S, M, and L options, as well as a redesigned nozzle intended to improve fit.

The most interesting update to Ear (3a) isn’t found in its conventional audio upgrades or new colors. By giving a familiar gesture an entirely new job, Nothing is experimenting with an idea that feels surprisingly obvious once it exists: if we’ve spent years saving whatever catches our eye, why shouldn’t we be able to do the same with whatever catches our ear?

Ear (3a) is available from us.nothing.tech for $99.

Editorial Transparency: This article was developed with the assistance of AI tools, which may have been used for research, outlining, editing, or copy refinement. Reporting, fact-checking, and editorial decisions were made by the Design Milk editorial team.

When Nick Sheridan was young, he explored everything from sketching to sewing to channel his creativity—but it was craftsmanship at home that set him on his future path. “My dad was a general contractor, and he shared his love of design with me,” he says. “He was very hands-on, often building custom elements in our yard.”

A California native, Sheridan earned an architecture degree from Cal Poly Pomona, where he gravitated toward modernism and minimalism. Inspired by Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, he incorporated clean lines into his work, which laid the foundation for his later concepts.

In 2009, Sheridan founded Cerno with childhood friends Bret Englander and Daniel Wacholder. The trio grew up together in Laguna Beach, where they rebuilt boats and launched mini-businesses as teens, so starting a company was a natural fit for these entrepreneurs.

The creative culture and natural environment of their hometown (think sand and surf) shaped Cerno’s signature style. The brand’s line of LED lighting includes pendants, wall sconces, and chandeliers. As the director of design, Sheridan favors natural materials like solid wood paired with brushed metal to create a contemporary look.

It’s a special moment for Sheridan when he sees a finished product. “Nothing beats that feeling you get when you bring something new to life,” he notes. “It’s a visceral high when you complete a design and get to experience it.”

Today, Nick Sheridan joins us for Friday Five! Below he shares five things that inspire him and five of his favorite projects.

5 inspirations

Photo courtesy of Nick Sheridan

1. Hollow Surfboard

I built a hollow wooden surfboard in my studio apartment about 10 years ago, and it’s still one of the most rewarding things I’ve made in my spare time. The entire board is constructed much like a boat, with thin pieces of solid wood bent, glued, and clamped into place. The whole process was analog, using a tape measure and hand tools. I shaped the rails with a wood plane by eye. It was a horribly messy project, and honestly, the board doesn’t work very well on a wave, but I built it just for fun. At Cerno, we have always been inspired by the ocean and boats, and this surfboard build keeps me connected to that.

Photo courtesy of Nick Sheridan

2. Morocco

Seeing new places, immersing myself in different cultures, and getting out of my comfort zone keep me fresh as a designer. I traveled to Morocco in 2016, and it expanded my view of culture and aesthetics in new ways. I saw stunning spaces illuminated by intricate perforated metal lanterns with beautiful geometric patterns and walked the streets for hours, taking in all the color, texture, and patina of the architecture. Despite how old some of the buildings are, each felt refreshing with intricate designs and impressive use of materials. This trip eventually inspired our Amicus 21 pendant fixture, which features a geometrically perforated metal shade.

Photo courtesy of Nick Sheridan

3. Laguna Canyon

Cerno’s roots are in Laguna Canyon. We started the company over 17 years ago in a tiny shop surrounded by other artists and craftsmen. There is a long and deep history of makers in Laguna—and that exposed Bret, Dan, and me to different mediums and disciplines in childhood. Growing up here with artists as neighbors inspired us to dream up new ideas and build something new ourselves. Living in the canyon as an adult today feels like it is a retreat into the wilderness. Being nestled in the hills helps me stay centered, grounded, and connected to our roots.

Photography by Ridge BenBen

4. My Volkswagen Beetle

I have an old, beat-up 1968 VW Beetle that I can’t imagine getting rid of (though I am sure my wife would like me to!). I used to drive it to work every day before I had my son. I don’t drive it as much these days, but it always brings a smile to my face. I love the simplicity of it, how well it works, and all the design lessons there are to learn from it.

Photo courtesy of Nick Sheridan

5. Apartment pool

For many years, I lived in a small apartment that had its own swimming pool with a diving board right outside the door. I look back at that time and that little luxury so fondly. Jumping in the water every day at all hours helped me reset and relax; it helped me stay connected to water and all the inspiration I found in it.

5 Cerno Projects

Design by Progressive Design Firm and Louis Ruiz; photography by
Francisco Estrada; courtesy of Cerno

1. Mica

The Mica is simply a cube, which has been carefully deconstructed to a sculptural state. Through the fixture’s orientation and petal material composition, it exudes a certain organic symmetry. The Mica accent pendant acts as a beautiful node, creating a sense of space marked with an ambient glow.

Design by Arlen Macpherson; photography by Jessie Prince; courtesy of Cerno

2. Lenis

Our appreciation for the beauty of a well-designed craft is what initially inspired the Lenis fixture; the form is created by bending wood stringers over a series of bulkheads. The organic, sculptural structure deviates from our mostly rectilinear forms, which introduced many new challenges, yet it also breathed new life into the design process for us. Ultimately, we were searching for that balance between the curved fluidity of its lines and the twisting movement.

Photography by Ridge BenBen; courtesy of Cerno

3. Locus

The Locus chandelier tells a story about our design journey. The wood and glass are in balance, exuding both strength and fragility. Wood is Cerno’s signature material, but the glass is fresh and new, designed and blown by Siemon & Salazar. (Cerno and Siemon & Salazar became one company back in 2022.) This product is a beautiful testament to what the two unique brands can create as design collaborators.

Photography courtesy of Cerno

4. Cura

The intricacy, integrity, and architecture of nests found in the wild are breathtaking and ultimately what inspired the Cura. Nests embody resourcefulness and innovation. Like human homes, nests protect our most precious and sacred creations, our offspring.

Photography courtesy of Cerno

5. Amicus

Traveling through Morocco, I was in awe of the skilled craftspeople and their impressive work. I was most enamored with the detail and intricacy of the perforated metal light fixtures. The artistry, patterns, and old-world techniques inspired me—and the Amicus.

Layers of ultralight MDF, each two inches thick and banded in stained maple veneer, stack into a sinuous mass that runs the length of SKIN1004‘s first U.S. flagship. The Korean skincare brand’s New York store spans nearly 9,900 square feet across two floors on Broadway, with ochre- and umber-toned wood covering almost every surface.

Photography by Sean Davidson; courtesy of LMTLS Architecture

LMTLS Architecture removed the existing second floor of the Soho space to open the entrance into a double-height lounge that can accommodate events as well as everyday visitors. The ceiling then descends toward the point of sale before rising again into a chamber at the rear, so the plan compresses and expands as a visitor moves through it.

Photography by Sean Davidson; courtesy of LMTLS Architecture

The Nature Wall, as LMTLS refers to the milled form, takes on seating, product display, and the sales counter, resolving all three into a single continuous topography rather than breaking them into separate elements.

Photography by Sean Davidson; courtesy of LMTLS Architecture

Conceived as an abstraction of a natural valley, its stepped edges recall eroded sandstone, whose horizontal bands make layers of geological time visible. Gilbert and Adirondack Studios handled the fabrication, cutting each layer to profile before assembly.

Photography by Sean Davidson; courtesy of LMTLS Architecture

Running parallel to the Nature Wall, a reflective plane nine feet high travels uninterrupted from the entrance to the rear of the space. SoHo retail volumes tend to run narrow, and the Mirror Wall returns the millwork to itself at full length, doubling the topography and pushing its apparent depth well past the physical footprint.

Photography by Sean Davidson; courtesy of LMTLS Architecture

Illuminated surfaces from Cooledge are set into the ceiling and the casework throughout, casting a warm, diffuse light that complements the surrounding wood palette. A column sheathed in brushed metal carries the brand mark upward into an amorphous glowing form overhead.

Photography by Sean Davidson; courtesy of LMTLS Architecture

The rear chamber shifts the pace, presenting products more like objects in a gallery than conventional retail displays. A photo booth sits within it, framed by a single-plane mirror twelve feet tall, and an LED wall runs brand films on a continuous loop. A brand built on ingredients drawn from untouched landscapes has housed itself inside a constructed one.

Photography by Sean Davidson; courtesy of LMTLS Architecture

The SKIN1004 flagship is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 470 Broadway in New York, NY.

Mexico City is frenetic and saturated with color, a sprawling metropolis of more than 20 million people and nearly 2,000 neighborhoods. In upscale Las Lomas, Talo Atelier explores what it means to “align yourself” in this uniquely charged context. Align Studio, designed by Talo Atelier and led by Tadeo López Toledano, is a 2,150-square-foot Pilates and yoga sanctuary; the transition from the energy of the city to a calm interior is treated as an exercise in itself—recasting physical movement as a journey inward.

Photography courtesy of Talo Atelier

Here, alignment refers to harmony between body, mind, and spirit—as well as between material, matter, and inhabitable space. From the moment of entry, wood and warm light form a calming, consistent palette throughout the facility.

“Coherence” is another key concept for López Toledano and his firm’s approach to Align Studio. Here, everything fits—but he doesn’t think of the space as “formal uniformity.” Instead, he says he understands it as “fidelity between the idea that gave origin to the commission and what ultimately took shape.”

Photography courtesy of Talo Atelier

A defining architectural element at Align Studio is a spine of oak slats. The vertical profiles wrap across walls, ceilings, and movable panels, establishing a continuous linear rhythm. This fluid “second skin” accompanies visitors as they move from the entrance into the studio. The wood also conceals storage and technical infrastructure, including bi-fold partitions that can be configured to divide or open the space.

In contrast, curved openings—reminiscent of cave dwellings—punctuate the slatted surfaces with softer, more organic forms, housing large mirrors inside the studio.

Photography courtesy of Talo Atelier

The reception area forms part of a continuous circulation path designed to accommodate peak traffic moments when classes begin and end simultaneously. From here, visitors move naturally toward the lockers and training zones. This intuitive flow belies considerable technical complexity: Specialized acoustic treatments isolate sound, while advanced thermal regulation supports high-temperature hot Pilates sessions.

Photography courtesy of Talo Atelier

Light is treated as an active material. Warm, indirect illumination traces floor edges and ceiling junctions, while a large backlit circular mirror and suspended luminaires emphasize shapes and amplify the space’s depth. Chromotherapy (color therapy) further allows individual training rooms to transform as needed.

Photography courtesy of Talo Atelier

By treating design as a tool for orientation and transformation, Talo Atelier makes the promise of “aligning with oneself” tangible—an inhabitable condition shaped through movement, material, light, and atmosphere.

The hardest products to redesign aren’t the ones that don’t work—they’re the ones that already work well. That was the dilemma the Shark Beauty team faced when tackling the FlexStyle IonCurl, a new tool in the growing FlexStyle franchise.

“Our overall approach was to make the tool feel familiar to existing FlexStyle users while introducing meaningful improvements,” explains Shannon
McSweeney, VP of Global Product Development at Shark Beauty. That meant keeping the underlying design that allows the tool to transform from a hair dryer into an air styler. The attachment mechanism, accessory functions, and range of settings also remain intact, while other aspects of the device were pushed forward.

Photography courtesy of Shark

The FlexStyle IonCurl features Ion Smooth Technology, which helps neutralize static, reduce frizz, and smooth flyaways, along with CoandaBoost Technology, which uses enhanced airflow to wrap hair more tightly around the barrel for more defined curls.

“We increased airflow, added ionization to help enhance styling results, and focused heavily on improving the curling experience,” she shares. The improved airflow also speeds up drying and styling.

Balancing increased airflow with ionization, however, presented an engineering challenge.

Photography courtesy of Shark

“Adding an ionizer typically takes up space within the airflow path, which can reduce overall airflow performance,” she explains, adding that the Shark Beauty team wanted to deliver both benefits, but they didn’t want to accept a performance tradeoff. “The team spent a significant amount of
time engineering solutions to offset the impact of the ionizer to not only restore the original airflow, but ultimately exceed the performance of the original product.”

Some of the updates are less technically complex but equally focused on the user experience. Double-clicking the cool-shot button now pauses airflow while curling, a small interaction McSweeney says was designed to make the styling process more intuitive.

Photography courtesy of Shark

The changes weren’t limited to the tool’s internal engineering. While the IonCurl remains visually recognizable as part of the FlexStyle family, Shark also refined its exterior. Available in Lilac and Strawberry Matcha, the new iteration has a more polished finish than the original.

“We invested a lot of effort in refining the product’s finish to create a more elevated look and feel compared to the original FlexStyle,” McSweeney says. “We also spent considerable time developing and testing colors to ensure every detail felt cohesive and premium.”

That iterative approach extends beyond the IonCurl itself. Shark treats FlexStyle as an evolving platform, looking for opportunities to bring new attachments and technologies into the system as styling needs change. In that sense, IonCurl’s design challenge wasn’t to replace what already worked, but to find room within an established system to make it work better.

Photography courtesy of Shark

The Shark FlexStyle IonCurl is available on sharkninja.com for $349.99.

A background in fashion led April Graves to an unlikely material: natural stone. With a bachelor’s degree in Textiles and Interiors from Seattle Pacific University, a master’s degree from Central Saint Martins, and work experience at Burberry and Duchamp London, she developed a fascination with the material through Aria Stone Gallery, where she is now partner and COO.

On her first visit to the Dallas gallery for an event, she was immediately drawn to the monumental slabs in the space—so much so that she later used them as the backdrop for a fashion photo shoot.

“I discovered that natural stone could be appreciated as an art form rather than simply a building material,” she says.

Photography courtesy of Aria Stone Gallery

Graves went on to collaborate with Aria Stone Gallery several times before joining the company in 2014 to help shape the gallery’s identity. Since becoming a partner in 2020, she has helped establish a sourcing philosophy the company calls “buying wild.”

Design Milk caught up with Graves to discuss her eye for stone, where she thinks natural stone design is going, and one material she’s particularly excited about.

DESIGN MILK: How has your background in fashion shaped the way you work with natural stone?
APRIL GRAVES: Working with textiles, leather goods, and product
collections trained me to pay close attention to color, texture, craftsmanship, and how materials contribute to a brand’s identity. I approach natural stone in much the same way—not simply as a surface, but as a design element with its own character, movement, and story.

DM: When you’re walking through quarries and processors, what catches your eye first?
AG: I’m always looking for the slab that immediately stops me in my tracks. No two pieces of natural stone are ever exactly alike, which makes sourcing feel like a constant search for the needle in the haystack. I trust my first impression and look for materials with exceptional movement, character, and originality—stones that have the potential to inspire designers before they ever become the next trend.

Calacatta Vagli Oro Honed from Italy. Photography courtesy of Aria Stone Gallery.

DM: How do you encourage designers to embrace something unexpected?
AG: We encourage designers to experience the stone in person. Seeing the movement, composition, and overall visual balance of a slab firsthand often reveals possibilities that can’t be appreciated through a small sample. At Aria, we seek out exceptional [and select] stones because they challenge expectations rather than follow them. That philosophy naturally
encourages designers to think more creatively.

DM: What’s exciting you most in natural stone right now?
AG: One of the most exciting shifts I’m seeing is the intentional use of offcuts and remnant material. Traditionally, natural stone has been reserved for large applications like countertops, walls, or flooring, but designers are now incorporating those same materials into smaller custom details. It’s a beautiful way to create continuity, allowing the same stone to become a thread that ties the entire space together while celebrating every
part of the slab.

DM: Aria Stone Gallery now offers Rosso Melograno, a burgundy marble from northwestern Italy. What made you want to introduce this material?
AG: Rosso Melograno represents exactly the kind of material we’re always searching for—something distinctive that feels both unexpected and enduring. While its rarity certainly makes it special, what excited me most was its ability to answer where design is heading today. We’re seeing a greater appreciation for warmer palettes and materials with depth and personality.

A slab of Rosso Melograno from Italy. Photography courtesy of Aria Stone Gallery

DM: How do you envision designers interpreting Rosso Melograno in contemporary interiors?
AG: I actually view Rosso Melograno as a warm neutral. Although the
stone carries red undertones, it reads much more as a deep, earthy brown
than a bold red. That subtlety makes it incredibly versatile in contemporary
interiors. I see designers using it as an anchoring material that brings warmth, depth, and richness to a space without overwhelming it.

DM: What do you think is the next chapter for luxury natural stone?
AG: I think luxury is becoming less about excess and more about authenticity. Designers and clients are placing greater value on craftsmanship, provenance, and materials with genuine character. I also see natural stone continuing to expand beyond traditional applications and becoming a more intentional part of the overall design narrative. The conversation is shifting from simply selecting a beautiful material to thoughtfully curating one that brings originality, longevity, and meaning to a space.

Cappadocia Quartzite from Brazil. Photography courtesy of Aria Stone Gallery.

DM: If you could convince every designer to rethink one assumption about natural stone, what would it be?
AG: I’d encourage designers to stop thinking of natural stone as simply a surface material. Every slab is one of a kind, with its own history, movement, and character. When it’s approached as a design feature rather than just another specification, it becomes an opportunity to tell a story and create spaces that feel much more personal and memorable.

At Aria, we’ve always believed natural stone deserves to be viewed as an art
form—something that anchors a space and inspires the design around it,
rather than serving as a finishing touch.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing set flush with the ground does something a conventional window cannot. The floor plane appears to continue past the wall and out into the planting, and the room gives up its identity as a container. This was the brief the owners handed Evoke International Design when they moved back to Vancouver from Calgary and took on a secondary dwelling standing on the grounds of a 1912 Shaughnessy estate.

Photography by Ema Peter

Bringing the glass all the way down to ground level creates the illusion of an almost seamless transition, but achieving that effect required careful construction. Working with builder Linden Construction, Evoke incorporated drainage and a subtly sloped bluestone terrace to direct rainwater away from the threshold. Senior designer Mauricio Marcantonio specified steel rather than aluminum for the frames, accepting its lower thermal performance in exchange for sightlines slim enough that the mullions read more like drawn lines than structural interruptions.

Photography by Ema Peter

Black metal frames also let the addition speak to its neighbor without imitation. Thomas Hooper’s 1912 house for Lieutenant Governor Eric Hamber, built next door in a Tudor and Gothic Revival hybrid with Arts and Crafts influences, carries leaded casements whose dark lines divide the light into a grid and make the structure of the opening visible. The new glazing performs the same operation at a different scale. Divided light, dark lines, an honest grid. The addition can be fully contemporary in its detailing and still register as a relative.

Photography by Ema Peter

The interiors, designed in collaboration between Evoke, James McIntyre Interior Design, and the homeowners, include soft whites, warm grays, oak floors, and Calacatta counters. The neutral palette lets the garden supply the color. A white sculptural staircase, threaded into the existing structure without compromising it, brings a more expressive gesture to the restrained interior. Furniture by Pierre Paulin, Joe Colombo, Vladimir Kagan, and Paul Evans sits against a Serra over the living room fireplace.

Photography by Ema Peter

Tasha Sangha at Paul Sangha Creative designed the exterior half of the composition to be experienced through the glass, with Fossil Landscape Construction executing the landscaping. Sangha and her team retained the mature canopy and layered a pastel understory beneath it, while pleached Portuguese laurels form a green wall against bluestone in the South Courtyard. Wisteria continues to train over the perimeter, and a cast bronze torso by Al Stinson sits within the landscape. Fixtures from Inverlight, Flos, and Bocci cast a low glow across the planting after dark, keeping the glass from turning into a black mirror and allowing the garden to remain part of the interior experience after sunset.

Photography by Ema Peter

Before João Dias and Patrick Carton designed furniture, they were designing machines built to exceed 200 mph. The former McLaren Automotive designers worked on vehicles including the W1 hypercar and Speedtail, where proportion, aerodynamics, and engineering all contribute to a car’s emotional pull. With the Ennua Element 01, they’re applying that same thinking to something decidedly more stationary.

Photography courtesy of Ennua

The Element 01 is not, as you might suspect at first glance, a simple table or mere bench. Dias and Carton describe it as a work of functional art, with sweeping lines and a carbon fiber structure that reveal its automotive roots. Much like a supercar, its form isn’t simply expressive: Every line and material choice has a job to do. 

“The most direct carryover is how we treat proportion,” the duo told Design Milk. “Every line has to justify itself; nothing is added for decoration alone.” 

Photography courtesy of Ennua

At Element 01’s core is its carbon fiber frame, which serves as the primary structural element in much the same way a carbon fiber monocoque does in a supercar. Rather than designing the sculptural form first and engineering it afterward, Dias and Carton developed the two in tandem from the outset. The carbon fiber isn’t a veneer or shell around an underlying frame; it is the frame itself.

Photography courtesy of Ennua

Made entirely in the United Kingdom, the piece layers Bridge of Weir leather over BioPRO, a protein-based foam developed from collagen recovered during the company’s leather-making process. Precision-machined metals range from titanium and aluminum to brass and gold, all integrated with the exacting tolerances Dias and Carton carried over from automotive design.

Photography courtesy of Ennua

Launched in mid-June, Element 01 is limited to just 199 individually numbered pieces, starting at approximately $145,000. Each work is commissioned specifically for its buyer, giving them the chance to work with Dias and Carton on specifying materials, finishes, and colors that best suit the collective vision. Carbon fiber can be left with a natural visible weave, tinted, or fully painted, while leather and metal finishes can likewise be customized.

Photography courtesy of Ennua

According to the founders, Element 01 is the first in a series called “Element by Ennua,” with future pieces taking different forms, sizes, and functions while maintaining the same aesthetic and attention to detail.  

“Each new Element has to earn its place,” the founders explain. “If we can’t make a genuine case for why it needs to exist, we won’t build it.”

Photography courtesy of Ennua

Learn more about Element by Ennua at ennua.com.

With tiny unicorns, rocking horses, shrimp, skulls, lips, and sneakers, Cj Hendry’s newest exhibition is a mélange of roughly a million pastel beads that reference the artist’s visual world. On view at Salon 94 Design on New York’s Upper East Side from August 6-16, the aptly named Pastel invites visitors to interact with the art by reaching (or diving?) into a vast, swimming pool-sized pit of chunky plastic beads.

Photography by Alexis Salas

The impetus for this exhibit was the beading room at Space Club, an indoor children’s play space in Brooklyn, which has a long jewelry-making table with trays of beads. Hendry witnessed children—and adults—throwing themselves into the trays to touch and feel the beads and search for treasures. She decided to make the bead “tray” more accessible by expanding it to approximately 20 by 30 feet and more than two feet deep.

“When I think about it, all of my exhibitions do have a very childlike, play element to them because that’s always where my head goes,” the artist says.

Photography by Alexis Salas

Donning Cj Hendry–branded socks, Pastel visitors can wade through the beads and string together a bracelet or necklace or simply find beads to keep as a souvenir. Beads cost $1 each (or $50 for a canister of 75).

“I bet Salon 94 has never sold art for a dollar,” Hendry quips.

Photography by Alexis Salas

An Instagram sensation with close to a million followers (and counting), Hendry has attracted an alt-audience that might not be the typical gallery-going crowd. “What we’re building with Pastel should not be in Salon 94,” she says. “My world… as an ‘artist’ and Salon 94 as this proper, mega, real gallery colliding is just absurd.” But that’s part of the reason why the renowned gallery struck her as an ideal location for this installation.

Photography by Alexis Salas

“Salon 94 Design understands the importance of experimentation and audience connection,” she says. “This exhibition creates a bridge between the world I’ve built and a more traditional gallery context.”

Beyond the bead pit—Pastel’s centerpiece, occupying the entire first floor of the gallery—visitors can also view Hendry’s signature photorealistic drawings and sculptures upstairs.

Photography by Alexis Salas

Pastel is on view until Aug. 16 at Salon 94 Design, 3 E. 89th St. in New York City. The gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Collectible edition prints featuring the exhibition’s 24 hyper-realistic drawings will be sold on cjhendrystudio.com on Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. ET.

The best-dressed homes rarely feel overdesigned. Instead, they evolve through thoughtful layering—timeless foundations punctuated by moments of personality. It’s the same philosophy Tan France has spent years championing in fashion, and now it’s the starting point for his first furniture collection.

Created with Singapore-based furniture brand Castlery, the 18-piece collection spans seating, dining, lighting, rugs, décor, and accessories, translating the Queer Eye star’s perspective on personal style into objects meant to be lived with for years. Rather than chasing trends, the collection looks to craftsmanship, cultural references, and everyday rituals to create pieces that feel collected instead of prescribed.

The Rava TV console in the Tan France x Castlery collection. Photography courtesy of Castlery.

“I honestly don’t see a huge difference between these two creative spaces,” France tells Design Milk. “So much of what I tell people with clothing is to forget the trends and go for things that seem somewhat classic as your base, and then add pops of play. That’s absolutely possible with my collection for Castlery. It’s not trendy but classic, with lots of items to add that pop of play.”

Developed over 15 months alongside Castlery’s in-house design team in Singapore, the collection draws from France’s upbringing, blending British and South Asian influences into sculptural yet approachable forms. From handblown glass lighting to carved oak furniture, the pieces reference architecture, family rituals, and traditional craftsmanship without becoming literal interpretations.

The Anika Table Lamp in Orange in the Tan France x Castlery collection. Photography courtesy of Castlery.

Among the clearest examples is the handblown Anika Table Lamp, whose stacked silhouette nods to architectural forms and decorative motifs found throughout South Asia. Elsewhere, the modular Kagan Sofa and Anaya Tea Table take cues from the intimate tea rituals that shaped France’s childhood, while subtle carved details reference patterns found throughout South Asian design.

The Rayan floor mirror in the Tan France x Castlery collection. Photography courtesy of Castlery.

“My upbringing inspired every piece,” France says. “Like the turned wood leg on the side table, which is a nod to a classic British turned wood design you’ll find on classic chairs or balusters, or the scalloping detail on the mirrors. The hope is that when people see this collection, the longer they look at it, the more and more they’ll see my cultural touch points.”

The Kagan leather sofa in Moss in the Tan France x Castlery collection. Photography courtesy of Castlery.

That attention to detail also extended to the collection’s most familiar furniture typology. France says the Kagan Sofa ultimately required the most iteration, balancing aesthetics with comfort.

“For me, it was the sofa,” he says. “There was so much testing involved to make sure that not only did it look chic, inviting, and singularly my point of view, but also that it was the most comfy, cozy sofa that doesn’t feel at all stuffy when sat on.”

The Avan dining chair in Cream in the Tan France x Castlery collection. Photography courtesy of Castlery

Although the collection draws heavily from France’s personal experiences, he believes homeowners today are increasingly comfortable creating interiors that reflect their own identities as well.

“Oh yeah, and I’m one of those people,” he says. “I think a huge factor is social media, for offering constant inspiration. Now, we can be inspired by the most niche designs from the most distant corners of the world. I think that inspiration has really encouraged us all to want to make a space truly exciting.”

The Tarin drink table and Rumi accent chair in Rust in the Tan France x Castlery collection. Photography courtesy of Castlery.

The Castlery x Tan France Collection is now available at castlery.com/us and in select Castlery showrooms.

Editorial Transparency: This article was developed with the assistance of AI tools, which may have been used for research, outlining, editing, or copy refinement. Reporting, fact-checking, and editorial decisions were made by the Design Milk editorial team.

Just because La Casa Olive e Capperi is small in size doesn’t mean it is timid in its design language. Immersed in an olive grove at the heart of the Sorrento Peninsula, architect Valentina Autiero reinterpreted the 484-square-foot residence as a refuge dedicated to a slower pace of life, one that is attuned to the beauty of small things and the rhythms of day-to-day living.

Stripped down to its essentials, the home’s visual identity reflects a journey of personal liberation from the superfluous and a deliberate choice to restore value to the space. The residence finds freedom through its unconventional features, creating an environment that feels full of life without becoming overwhelming.

Photography by Carlo Oriente

The project unfolds with deep respect for its original structure, as Autiero transforms preexisting architectural constraints into expressive opportunities.

“The renovation process was complex due to the layout of load-bearing walls and ceilings, as well as the limited square footage,” Autiero says. “Recognizing the true value of the space made it possible to create an authentic environment designed to be lived in, not simply filled up.”

Photography by Carlo Oriente

The 484 square feet of La Casa Olive e Capperi are divided into two main areas, delineated by load-bearing walls—one featuring a vaulted ceiling and the other a single-pitch sloping ceiling. Autiero worked with the existing layout instead of against it, using careful planning to create a new spatial narrative.

At the heart of the home, the various spaces interact freely, with each area dedicated to a different moment of daily life. The entrance opens directly into the living space, which is accented by a panoramic view of the sea. Designed to encourage connection, the compact living room’s sofas and chairs are arranged to inspire intimate conversation.

Photography by Carlo Oriente

In the bedroom, a large restored window opens onto the surrounding garden, and the geometric tiles and stylized flowers of the headboard pay homage to the crocheted blankets of childhood. Each space expresses its own distinct character while remaining part of a cohesive whole.

For Autiero, the interiors were conceived as a series of settings for different moments of everyday life, each shaped by the activities unfolding within it. “Each moment features a dedicated setting that enhances a specific aspect of life,” she says. “Relying solely on shifts in lighting, furnishings, and color, distinct scenic backdrops were created within a single environment.”

Photography by Carlo Oriente

Taking inspiration from the verdant Mediterranean landscape, the color story of the home was carefully chosen to mirror the garden outside. The rich purples, sunlit yellows, and olive green shades imbue the compact retreat with surprising vibrancy, creating a cohesive composition. As sunlight shifts throughout the day, the varying interplay of light and shadow becomes a dynamic tableau, naturally dictating the color and material choices for the interiors.

With sunlight serving as an essential design element, the windows of La Casa Olive e Capperi become the soul of the project. The multicolored round stained glass, three rectangular openings framing the sea, and two symmetrical windows with circular glazing allow the outside world to enter the interior, amplifying the sense of space.

Photography by Carlo Oriente

“The existing openings are left strictly without curtains, resulting in a ‘Swiss Cheese’ effect,” Autiero says. “An anarchic, perfect chaos that allows the space to function like the ever-changing backdrop of a single theatrical performance.”

In sharp contrast to the speckled terrazzo flooring, horizontal black and white lines run along the entire perimeter. This graphic motif accentuates key elements, such as the kitchen’s backsplash, the headboard in the bedroom, and the frame for the bathroom’s basin.

Photography by Carlo Oriente

The carefully curated furniture exemplifies this performance. In the dining area, a circular yellow table is surrounded by translucent violet chairs that shimmer in the natural light. Cabinets finished in the same tone as the speckled flooring recede into the architecture while providing practical storage.

More than a study in small-space living, La Casa Olive e Capperi demonstrates how thoughtful design can transform necessity into delight. As Autiero says, “This home represents the true concept of luxury–not measured in monetary terms but instead tied to the quality of time spent in these surroundings—the luxury of beauty experienced by the inhabitants themselves.”