RH opens its first London gallery in a Mayfair mansion
RH, the American home brand formerly known as Restoration Hardware, opened RH London, The Gallery on 27 June inside a restored 18th-century Palladian mansion at 7 Burlington Gardens, opposite the Royal Academy of Arts. The building runs to five levels and more than 5,000 square metres, mixing showroom floors with hospitality spaces including a wine bar, a tea salon and restaurants, alongside an interior design studio and a central glass lift by Foster + Partners.
The opening doubles as the debut of RH Estates, a more traditional collection of furniture, lighting and outdoor pieces aimed at the classic end of the market. For London homeowners weighing up how to furnish a period property, the arrival gives another large reference point in the middle of the capital, and it signals how seriously international brands are now treating the London design market.
Source: Elle Decoration
WOW!house 2026 closes at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour
WOW!house, the designer showhouse staged each summer at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, wrapped its fifth edition on 2 July after opening to the public on 2 June. This year the installation filled roughly 600 square metres of the Design Avenue with 22 full-size rooms and outdoor spaces, each created by a leading or emerging designer paired with an international brand. Names on the roster included Francis Sultana on the entrance hall and Russell Sage Studio on an immersive room.
The recurring mood across the rooms was sanctuary: cocooning furniture, moody layered lighting, sculpted pile rugs and a leaning towards privacy over spectacle. It is a useful barometer of where high-end residential taste is heading, and much of it reads directly across to how London homes are being decorated this year.
Source: COVER Magazine
SIT Furniture Design Award names its 2026 winners
The SIT Furniture Design Award announced the results of its 2026 edition, drawing 420 entries from 46 countries. Ignacio Merino took Furniture Design of the Year for the Mezza Chair, a compact three-legged dining chair that reworks an 18th-century Alpine seat and is cantilevered on twin rails. Interior Design of the Year went to A Work of Substance for House of Shinsegae in Seoul, a retail floor built around solid timber, brass and a circadian lighting scheme.
The awards are worth watching because they tend to flag details that filter into mainstream interiors a season or two later, from the return of the honest single-material chair to lighting that shifts with the time of day. Expect both ideas to surface in London projects before long.
Source: D5 Mag