2024 was a strong year for design products, with exciting releases in textiles, furniture, lighting, and everything in between. The products that truly defined the aesthetic sensibility of the year were those that managed to embody a sense of simplicity while also being emotionally compelling. In the current era, it isn’t enough for products to look beautiful; they should inflect the atmosphere of the home with a sense of comfort, intimacy, and excitement that helps to raise the room into a genuinely welcoming and enjoyable space.
Below are seven of the most interesting and novel products that helped define the design language of 2024. Some, like the Nyala chair or the TERRA rug series, drew inspiration from the natural world; others, like the Array pendant lamp and the Dialogue ceramics, are subtle forms concerned with channelling delicacy. There are myriad differences between these designers’ philosophies and approaches, but what reigns true for all is that they are products which carry their own strong and distinct emotional reality, and that are anything but boring.
Arkhe Coffee Table, Studio Kali
Studio Kali founder Fulden Topaloğlu, who grew up on the Aegean coast, says that the Arkhe coffee tables are a tribute to the ancient amphitheatres found across the Mediterranean. The tables are carved from blocks of travertine, which give them a feeling of historicity—as though they were excavated from some archeological site bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The Arkhe tables come in four variations that each feature a tabletop with a distinct combination of a ridged, inclined surface and a flat one. Because of its method of construction, each table is unique, carrying slight imperfections that give it a personality and make it a true work of art.
Array Pendant Lamp, Vibia
This collection of conical and cylindrical pendant lamps is an exercise in extreme delicacy. Created by London-based architect, sculptor, and designer Umut Yamac, the Array collection is a series of lightweight hanging fixtures featuring threads pulled taut between two aluminum rings. The threads are spaced in such a way as to create both transparency and volume, while the light is projected downward from an invisible source located in the lower ring. Array is available in different sizes and dimensions for customization, and in intimate shades of beige, green, and red.
Nyala Chair, Jomo Tariku
The namesake of this chair is the mountain nyala, a large antelope species found in Ethiopia. Ethiopian-American artist and industrial designer Jomo Tariku modelled the Nyla chair’s distinctive structure after the majestic horns and strong curved legs of this animal, which is unfortunately now endangered by an ongoing population decline. In recent years, the population local to the Bale Mountain ranges in southern Ethiopia has fallen to only about a thousand. Tariku is capping the quantity of the chair made at a thousand in order to bring awareness to this decline. The chair is available in washed ash, black ash, and natural walnut.
Dialogue Ceramics, éphēlis
Hong Kong-based ceramics artist Kwan Wai Chan’s collections under her studio éphēlis often project an intimate simplicity that makes them resonate emotionally with viewers. Her Dialogue series is no exception. The collection of vase-like ceramics with beautifully fluid forms suggests conversation and relationality: each piece is individual, but they fit together in surprising ways. Each ceramic’s form appears complete and self-sufficient, but when placed next to another Dialogue ceramic, the objects’ delicate wisps and indentations suddenly enter into conversation. The subtle designs of the ceramics are recontextualized through their relationship with the things around them.
Ramp Seating System, Skrivo
The Ramp modular seating system is adaptable to many different spaces—residential or commercial. The bench and couch’s curved seats are seamlessly attached to the slight wooden frame and can be removed, swapped, or shifted directions for full customizability. Ramp was created by Skrivo, a Milan-based design studio founded by Croatian industrial designer Stefan Krivokapic, for the Polish furniture brand MDD. He says that the seating system’s soft, curved forms took centre stage for this project to underlay a more approachable and less technical design language. The form has a playful simplicity to it, perhaps because of how it was created partially as a reference to skateboard ramps.
TERRA Rug Series, Yabu Pushelberg
The TERRA rug series features patterns that seem both abstract and oddly familiar. This is because they were inspired by aerial features of the Earth; the beautiful colours and textures of the rugs echo the diverse landscapes of our planet. The series was created by international design firm Yabu Pushelberg for the textile brand Warp & Weft. The series features five patterns with natural-looking, textured appearances, all of which are made of hand-dyed and hand-knotted wool and silk. The rugs’ earthy colours and simple geometry make them feel comforting and warm, while also emanating an undeniable majesty—much like the Earth itself.
Geo Deco Tile Series, L’Antic Colonial
This gorgeous, eye-catching tile series was created by the celebrated Spanish textile brand L’Antic Colonial as part of the Geo Deco Tile Series, which marks the brand’s twenty-fifth anniversary. The monochromatic geometric patterns resemble simple cave markings, as well as the geometry of natural formations—the series is situated somewhere on the border of the ancient and the contemporary. Available in white, nude, beige, gray, green, and maroon, the tiles are durable, and able to withstand temperature changes and household chemicals, making them suitable for both floors or walls, and bathrooms, kitchens, and everywhere in between.
