Simple Touches
Textured surfaces are in, offering a warmth to every environment.
Wiltshire, England–based design studio Fenella Elms casts thousands of porcelain discs, then assembles them like scales onto flat surfaces. Aptly named Flow, the wall-mounted and freestanding works elicit a sweeping sense of movement and “active trance of intention.” $8,000–$30,000; fenellaelms.com
Spirulina-like extrusions encrust the perfectly turned surface of Lone Skov Madsen’s sculpture Blue Organic Vessel. J. Lohmann Gallery represents the Danish ceramist in the United States. $3,800; jlohmanngallery.com
Kohler caters to changeable tastes with the customizable Tailor apron front sink, offering a collection of inserts that slide into the apron front. Some standard inserts are textured, but customers can also create unique looks. $1,295–$1,495 (sink), $345–$1,095 (panels); kohler.com
Placuna Mini, a labor-intensive wall sculpture by English artist Rowan Mersh (repped by Gallery Fumi in the UK), uses thousands of capiz shells to create a surface resembling a landscape that’s at once sharp, delicate and soft. Price upon request; galleryfumi.com
For his Etnastone tables, named after the Sicilian volcano and exhibited at Twenty First Gallery, Emmanuel Babled worked with Italian craftsmen, incorporating lava stone to create highly textured forms finished with over 40 luminous enamel glazes. $9,500–$48,000; 21stgallery.com
Lori Weitzner drew on her knowledge of textile design to create the dimensional Forest and River, two stone tile designs for Artistic Tile. Etched patterns create color and texture contrast between the natural matte stone and polished stone surfaces. $110/square foot; artistictile.com
The Luxe Modern collection of lever sets from Ashley Norton cuts a clean contemporary profile, but knurling and reeding give the designs a textured grip. Made of high-quality brass, they’re available in seven finishes. From $230; ashleynorton.com
For Unity, a group of 10 unique vessels recently unveiled at New York design gallery Les Ateliers Courbet, architect and industrial designer Marc Thorpe brings the glassmakers of Venini together with master weavers from Dakar, Senegal, to create a series of mixed-media vessels that recall both African headrest silhouettes and Memphis design. Prices upon request; ateliercourbet.com
The name Meander, a new rug for Warp & Weft by designers Andrew Kline and Ruoxi Wang of Workshop/APD, refers to the paths that crisscross dunes on Nantucket beaches. Trails of looped hemp add subtle texture to the soft silk and cut-pile wool expanses. Prices upon request; warpandweft.com
Cork wallcovering and upholstery offerings from Wolf-Gordon have a luxurious, suede-like hand and a richly organic countenance. The material—made from the bark of cork trees, which regenerate within 10 years—is durable enough for contract use. $63.50–$122.50/roll (wallcovering), $120–$140/yard (upholstery); wolfgordon.com
The latest addition to the collections at Marie Burgos Design is The Bride lighting collection by Ieva Kaleja for Latvia-based Mammalampa. Two sizes of pendants and a floor and table lamp are made by weaving lengths of crumpled paper by hand into unique shades. $1,580–$2,590; marieburgosdesignthestore.com
The new coordinated collections from Patrice Marraud des Grotte’s French fabric, wallcovering and wallpaper house Élitis encourage mixing and matching weaves with fire-retardant satins, indoor-outdoor textiles, and handcrafted linens and wallcoverings to create lush combinations of textures. To the trade only; elitis.fr
