Staying power: take a look at this month’s exquisite furniture picks

Taking inspiration from the Greek goddess Iris, this collaboration between Mirei Monticelli and Tara Soriano creates an atmospheric pause in any room. Monticelli highlights the usage of banaca textile, weaving it around Soriano’s melted brass to create tension between softness and structure. Creating a translucent and visually captivating mirror, the piece suggests openness rather than illusion. Grounded in poetic pursuits and material honesty, the piece brings out the unexpected fluidity of metal and the commanding presence of fibre, all at once.

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From pre-colonial gold pieces in Iloilo to Spanish colonial alfajor necklaces, Maria Angelica Santos-Bermejo has spent 38 years exploring the heritage and art form that jewellery represents. ALAHAS: Philippine Heritage Jewelry unfolds as both adventure narrative and meticulous historical record, from Turn of the Century diamantès of Manila Carnival exuberance to contemporary Mata Mata collections inspired by Igorot shields and pre-colonial wire accents. As a self-taught designer and dedicated preservationist, Santos-Bermejo revitalises traditional pieces for the modern Filipina. What distinguishes this 290-photograph volume with 22 time-travel illustrations is its intertwining of intimate reflection with scholarly rigour.

Traversing the conventions of outdoor furniture, MuseMart and Orange Tree’s Dastoori daybed translates heritage into contemporary form. With rust-resistant stainless steel and weather-proof upholstery, each material is chosen for its undeniable longevity. The sage green frame meets warm rustic tones, paired with handcrafted medallions and custom-cast bells that echo vintage Indian ironwork. Meanwhile, a modular canopy top creates shifting patterns of light and shadow on slower afternoons. What sets the Dastoori daybed apart is its blend of aesthetic clarity and refined ergonomics, making this the perfect addition for any summertime gathering.

Instead of constructing furniture, Jan Ernst coaxes it into being. This side table from his Cavus Collection feels less assembled than moulded into being, its undulating form sitting at the intersection between Art Nouveau charm and Surrealist theatricality. Shaped by instinct and driven by a South African context, the piece blurs boundaries between structure and artistry. Created from locally sourced clay and bronze, the piece is fired in consolidated cycles to reduce energy consumption. Offcuts are recycled, while the final packaging retains its biodegradable status. At every point in the cycle, Ernst considers the long-term impact of respect for both material and maker.

Innovation bridges the gap between dreams and dynamic reality; Bianca Carague understands that intuitively. She first sculpts worlds that almost feel real, then sets your tablescape with them. Uwu Table Delights translates the Filipino artist’s thoughtful landscapes into porcelain tableware, bringing nature’s bounties a bit off-kilter. Inspired by sand’s soft ripples and coral’s intricate textures, each piece is digitally sculpted before being hand-cast in porcelain, resulting in forms that feel natural yet unexpected. What sets this collection apart is how such functional objects deserve the same imaginative treatment as gallery pieces.

Blending elements of a study table and chest of drawers, Design ni Dukaan’s Gyaan Peeu blends meticulous craft with mechanical precision. For this piece, architect Veeram Shah has orchestrated an interplay of veneer patterns, brass motifs, and vibrant coloured panels that would stand out in any room. Inspired by Sant Kabir’s verses on continuity, the piece reflects a philosophy where ancient techniques endure through the grain of the wood and the punctuation of brass elements. Altogether, Gyaan Peeu’s timeless presence unlocks a refreshing expression of craftsmanship in the modern age.

Turning the design process inside-out, Selena Placino doesn’t begin with aesthetics; she begins with questions. The Filipino industrial designer, trained at De La Salle College of Saint Benilde and apprenticed under Kenneth Cobonpue, approaches furniture through the lens of everyday observation. For this eye-catching Ihawi room divider, she asked: What if grilling logic could inform how light filters through space? Ihawi exemplifies this curiosity-driven philosophy, drawing directly from the Filipino ihawan and the simple act of turning skewered food over flame. Crafted from Hiblatech’s dense non-woven felt that gently absorbs sound, wooden rods allow felt panels to rotate independently. Such a whimsical interaction is rooted in everyday cultural experiences, permitting users to adjust light, shadow and openness with the same intuitive motion as flipping a barbecue.

While experimenting with new designs for Mold, EJ Angeles understood a crucial truth: computation needn’t erase material memory. Instead, it can carry such designs forward. The Caldera Lamp reimagines stone and metal’s elegance through parametric modelling and 3D-printed PETG, its form inspired by molten lava and hammered steel without the quarrying or forging. The double-shell base features custom-generated textures that mimic natural processes, paired with velvet lampshades made with digital precision. Balancing emotional resonance and environmental responsibility, the virgin PETG bases can be remelted and reprinted, paving the way for future editions using recycled plastic bottles. This ushers in a new era of low-impact objects that evoke marble or forged metal’s weight, without the extractive cost.

Creating a seamless connection between the indoors and the outdoors, Patty’s rugs bring the architectural details of Southern France into any home. Each piece is hand-woven in Nepal by skilled artisans using Himalayan wool and Chinese silk on cotton foundations, a process that begins with shearing sheep and ends only after the final washing, every step executed by hand without machinery’s interference. Each rug’s palette celebrates contrast: deep, earthy tones meet the bright phenomena of nature. In this case, mossy green tourmaline is paired with the flame found in lobster mushrooms. With the textural shifts underfoot, each rug ensures longevity whilst the distinctive imagery invites imagination.

When Lulu Harrison encountered the invasive quagga mussel shells in the Thames River, she saw an opportunity for reinvention. Instead of sending the materials to the landfill, she ground them down into powder, combining them with river sands and waste wood ash to create mesmerising blue-green glass carafes. Subverting the expectations for conventional luxury, Harrison produced each piece at The Glass Hub with glassblowers KT Rothe and Sacha Delabre, embodying circular production through staged melting processes and silica-plaster moulds. This unique glassmaking approach honours material provenance, transforming 21st-century waste into vessels that show how creative sustainability and beauty can coincide.

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