What's New, Now: Our New York Editor Keith Flanagan on the Most Exciting Decor Launches in December

The arrival of the holidays doesn't mean that the design world is on vacation. In fact, this month has been busier than ever, as I've seen new launches and spoken to designers rushing to get their ideas into the world before 2024 rolls around.

Interior design trends are shifting slightly - you might have notices the Expressive Elegance trend that we've championed here at Livingetc. It heralds a new approach to decor which focusses on rounder shapes, a nod to the Italian masters and a sumptuousness that we've not seen for a while. The result is an approach to interiors that makes you feel good, by being comfortable, or wonderful, or functional or all of the above.

Here are my favorite new launches of the month.

King maker

(Image credit: Austin Leis)

No matter where you look, rising star Colin King seems to be rolling out a new boldfaced collaboration (like Brooklyn’s West Elm and Australia’s Cultiver). But one recent collection, designed for gallery The Future Perfect alongside founder David Alhadeff, is still on my mind. 

Just over a month old but almost three years in the making, ‘Variations’ comprises a handful of items (like a pleated armchair and wooden plinths) with dancer-like forms ‘as though the pieces are dancing with their environment’. But it’s the sculptural room divider that truly strikes a pose – it could easily command a room, instantly creating trendy curved walls out of thin air. 

Double take

(Image credit: RBW)

Sculptural lighting takes many forms, and this edgy new collaboration from American lighting company RBW with Toronto- and New York-based studio Yabu Pushelberg takes it up a notch. Called GLYPH, the singular sconce is inspired by minimalistic art of the 1960s and 1970s, comprising two matching panels (pictured here in emerald) joined at 90 degrees. The graphic unit could easily be a piece of art in and of itself, casting dynamic shadows and softly diffused light from its intersecting planes. The best part? Designed to be oriented horizontally or vertically, this fixture is a bonafide shape shifter. 

Closet Envy

(Image credit: Nicole Franzen. Design by Husband Wife)

Every year, the New York-based online marketplace 1stDibs commissions a survey of top-ranked designers to get a sense of what’s to come, and this year’s results dream big: if they had their way, 57% of polled interior designers say they would recommend a walk-in wardrobe to clients. 

And while built-in wardrobes are perhaps more attainable storage goals, you can’t deny the allure of a separate room for your garb – especially the dressing room-style closets we’re seeing more of, like this darling design by NYC’s Husband Wife studio, complete with a luxe burled wood dresser worthy of any dream house.

Play Time

(Image credit: MoMA Design)

Modern furniture like the Eames Lounge Chair is top of mind when we think of Ray and Charles Eames. But the iconic duo also had a knack for creating and collecting toys, a key facet of their work explored by the The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity’s new virtual ‘Toys & Play’ exhibit. Toys were serious business to the pair (hundreds were stored and displayed in their office) and their whimsical nature helped inform their own design process. It just so happens that Eames’ The Little Toy, a 1952 design created by Eames Office that hasn’t been produced in over half a century, is newly available through MoMA Design Store – an open-ended kit that’s a novelty for creative thinkers, young and old.