5 min readWe took a short summer pause from Design Debrief because, well, it was summer. But now we’re heading into the busiest stretch of the design calendar, with major shows, new collections, and fall launches arriving one after another. September and October are also among the biggest months for design book releases, making this one of the most energizing times of year for anyone who follows interiors.
Even during the quieter months, our team stayed close to the action. At Nantucket by Design, our editorial director hosted panels and dinner parties with designers and some of the industry’s most exciting brands. I spent part of the summer in one of my favorite design destinations, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where I brought along copies of House Beautiful featuring a stunning color-filled project we had recently published in the area.
Here are the home launches I was most excited about this summer—and the ones that hint at what’s ahead. If you missed them the first time around, consider this your catch-up.
Shea McGee’s Kohler Claude Bathroom Collection Makes the Smart Toilet Elegant
I recently caught up with Shea McGee at the opening of Kohler’s first Utah retail store, where we talked about Claude, her new bathroom collection with the brand and Studio McGee. We’ve done fireside chats at the annual Kitchen & Bath Industry Show before, so it was a pleasure to see this collaboration in person, and to discover that my favorite piece is the one I least expected: the smart toilet.
The Claude one-piece smart toilet has all the bells and whistles, but none of the spaceship styling that can make these fixtures feel so visually aggressive. Instead, it has traditional lines, graceful proportions, and a furniture-like silhouette that lets it recede into the room. It doesn’t announce itself; it simply looks right. In fact, it may be the most elegant toilet I’ve ever seen. The rest of the collection follows suit, with a freestanding bath, console and pedestal sinks, vanities, mirrors, and a traditional two-piece toilet shaped by architectural molding, classic proportions, and refined chamfered details.
Kravet’s New Tile Collection Translates Its Archive Into Stone and Porcelain
I kept coming back to Kravet’s move from fabric and wallpaper to tile. In an exclusive partnership with TileBar, the 108-year-old furnishings brand is translating familiar patterns into stone and porcelain, including hand-placed micro-mosaics, carved marble, and digitally printed tile.
The first launch includes six collections and 34 SKUs, with designs ranging from a botanical motif carved into Thassos marble to a bestselling Kravet wallpaper reworked in triple-fired porcelain. What interests me is that the patterns aren’t simply being reproduced. They’re being reinterpreted through scale, texture, and the dimensional qualities of tile. The collection officially launches in late September, but tile is hardly a spur-of-the-moment purchase. Add it to your renovation mood board now.
The Keeping House Brings Society Social’s Cheerful Patterns to Walls and Windows
Full disclosure: Roxy Owens is a friend, a fellow North Carolinian, and a former Whole Home showhouse collaborator, so I was predisposed to like The Keeping House, her new textile and wallcovering sister brand to Society Social. Fortunately, the collection gives me plenty to talk about beyond our shared zip code.
The first of three new sister brands planned for this year, The Keeping House draws from historical sources—including an 18th-century French quilt, Anglo-Indian chintz, and a 17th-century Italian tear sheet—and turns them into florals, checks, stripes, ikats, and squiggles with a distinctly cheerful point of view. I’ve long loved Society Social’s playful, highly livable furniture; The Keeping House carries that same sensibility onto the walls and windows.
Heidi Caillier’s Joon Loloi Collection Is Designed to Look Worn In
The best thing about Heidi Caillier’s new collection for Joon Loloi may be that nothing is trying too hard to look new. Across 37 rugs and 27 pillows, the designer leans into the softly worn-in quality that makes her interiors so appealing: ditsy florals, muted geometrics, lattice patterns, and earthy color combinations that seem to have already lived a good life.
I’d start with Forrest, a hand-tufted wool rug with the look of an heirloom textile; Rothwell, which layers a quiet geometric over a jute-blend base; and Courtland, which mixes lattice and florals with just enough structure. These are the kinds of pieces I want in a room that already has a few stories to tell.
Ken Fulk’s Perennials & Sutherland Collection Brings Golden-Era Glamour Outdoors
I kept thinking about Ken Fulk’s ability to bring Golden Era glamour to the garden. His new collection with Perennials & Sutherland moves between performance fabrics, wallcoverings, rugs, and outdoor furniture, combining tailored menswear references with expressive animal motifs, graphic stripes, trompe l’oeil effects, and Art Deco-inspired silhouettes.
The four color stories—Emerald & Fern, Golden, Rusty, and Lapis—move from lush garden greens to deep twilight blues and sunbaked terracottas. I’m taken with the details, including the Wild Bengal and Monkey Business wallcoverings, the Dazzle Me rug, and sculptural Trellis tables with rounded GFRC tops and teak bases. This is outdoor design with the same personality and polish I want from an interior.
Schoolhouse Returns With Its Most-Loved Lighting, Textiles, and Home Goods
Schoolhouse is back, and I was happy to see one of the design world’s most beloved brands return under the Hudson Valley Lighting Group umbrella. The relaunch begins with limited restocks of familiar favorites like the Stillwater Floral Quilt, Edgecliff Pull, and Ann Occasional Table while inventory builds.
I’m glad the comeback is starting with the pieces people already miss, but I’m even more interested in what comes next. The brand plans to expand again across lighting, textiles, hardware, and home goods while preserving Schoolhouse’s warm, approachable take on modern American design. We were all sad to see it go, so seeing the lights come back on is a welcome development.
The Vault Creative’s First Wallpaper Collection Turns Collected Objects Into Pattern
What caught my eye about The Vault Creative’s first wallpaper collection is where it begins: with the objects you can’t stop bringing home. Each of the nine patterns starts with a found piece, vintage textile, or collected detail from designer Elizabeth’s world, then gets translated into modern, graphic wallpaper printed in Chicago.
Vault Vases turns a group of vessels into an almost abstract arrangement; Fringe, Quilt, Tile, and Tracks play with texture, geometry, and rhythm; and Houndstooth gives the traditional menswear pattern a bolder, more graphic life. The result reads like a cabinet of curiosities edited by someone with a very good eye—layered and referential, but not overly precious.
Flamingo Estate and Beni Rugs Bring California’s Garden Aesthetic Indoors
I was immediately drawn to Flamingo Estate’s latest collaboration with Beni Rugs, which brings the Los Angeles property’s particular brand of garden worship down to floor level. Available exclusively through DWR, the five-piece collection takes cues from the estate’s latticed gardens, brick pathways, sculptural forms, and sunlit stone, translating them into hand-knotted rugs made from lustrous Atlas Mountain wool.
I like that this second collection from the two brands stays elemental rather than overly literal. The rugs are tactile, tonal, and easy to imagine softening a room without taking it over. They’re also the kind of pieces I’d want to see—and touch—in person, which makes the DWR store rollout make perfect sense.
