While I’m seemingly invested in coffee culture by aggressively pushing the Java aesthetic agenda, my eternal love is tea. It’s my life source, I wouldn’t be able to get through the day without a fresh brew. So, you can imagine how giddy I was when I heard that New York-based interior designer Augusta Hoffman created a limited edition blend with tea sommelier Catherine Hicks Cosgrove of Forgrave. Marking the brand’s debut designer collaboration, this particular lemon verbena blend is like a nervous system reset in a cup with its “light, fragrant, and restorative” properties that will gently settle you in any state.

“Augusta has always had an extraordinary instinct for how a space should feel, creating beautiful moments within a home to enjoy daily rituals,” Catherine explained. “We’ve been friends for years, and when we started talking about tea, I realized she thinks about it the way I do: not as an afterthought, but as something that belongs to the room, the moment, the feeling you’re trying to create.”

Two subscribers will have the opportunity to win a caddy of 301 Augusta Hoffman tea. Paid subscribers are automatically entered into the giveaway as a reward, but ALL subscribers are invited to participate. After the winners have been randomly selected on Friday, May 29, I’ll be in touch directly to coordinate shipping. Thanks for reading Nobody’s Home! 🫖

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I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for taking so long to run this digest of my short but sweet trip to Milan for Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week. When you’re only in town for a few days it’s impossible to see everything so there were tons of moments that I regrettably missed like Interni Venosta at Osvaldo Borsani’s Palazzo Olivazzi, “L’Appartement” by Antoine Billore for L’Artisan Parfumeur, and Chloé’s tomato chair with Poltronova. (This is probably the only occasion where I’m less interested in the fashion crossovers so I didn’t go out of my way for the in-store demos or installations.) With such a limited window, I skipped the fair at the Fiera Milano, but for those who have never attended I do think it’s worth checking out for the authentic Salone experience.

After spending a solid hour roaming the grounds of the historic Ospedale Militare di Baggio for Alcova, I was torn about skipping the second location at Villa Pestarini but I’m a Taurus and my hanger was persistent. There was an evening where I had not one but two dinners, and then the following day I attended a dînatoire that left me hungry for more. While I didn’t have the energy for nightcaps at Bar Basso, which I was very okay with because a massage chair was waiting in my room at STRAF, I appreciated every impromptu encounter with friends that caused me to spontaneously change course because I simply felt like it. To move through a city with such a lack of urgency was liberating! (I’m actively trying to replicate that mindset as the cycle repeats this week at NYCxDESIGN.)

All pain points aside, what I did manage to see within four days left me in complete awe. It didn’t even have to be part of an exhibition, I was deeply moved by stained glass doorways, marble staircases, and bathrooms with dramatic plumbing as I floated from one preview to the next. While staying at Casa Laveni for my final night in Milan, I couldn’t get over the television disguised as a mirror on the wall. When you’re immersed within such extravagant settings, it’s supposed to be less about the spaces and more about the products that brands have strategically placed inside of them. Not to mention the abundance of miscellaneous items that are shoved into your arms on the way out of the events, an inconvenience for someone like me who refuses to check a bag on the return flight. Unpopular opinion that nobody asked for, the last thing people who will be traveling overseas need is more products to pack. And for the love of G*d, no more totes! Give me a gift card, a digital voucher, or store credit instead.

Seeing how these pieces could live in the walls of residences occupied by real people will always leave a stronger impression than if I were to see the same items displayed in a pavilion booth with a pretty backdrop. Mario Milana and Gabriella Campagna, the couple behind Casa Milana, debuted a new capsule collection with BENI at their dreamy residence in Brea. Instead of a going through the motions of a stuffy presentation, the preview felt more like a housewarming as the co-founders served guests fresh pots of tea and trays of pastries from their actual kitchen. Kelly Wearstler also proved that she understood the assignment through her installation at Palazzo Acerbi. While the 17th-century Baroque palace speaks for itself, sourcing vintage wallpapers, assembling reflective structures, and setting up extravagant floral arrangements allowed every object featured from her forthcoming collaboration with H&M Home to have its own special moment. (The installation featured a curated selection, the full collection is expected to drop on September 3.) This is the whole thesis of NOBODY’S HOME.

Dissecting the material from afar is the easier path to follow; when you’re actually there on the ground it hits different. Instead of spitting out a trend report that will be regurgitated into AI slop for the masses, I’d rather highlight the quieter moments that have stayed with me these past four weeks. If you only attend the parties, it’s quite difficult to see the work; its presence is lost in the chaos of a crowded room. My friends and I were giddy when we arrived at Casa Taller Marmo and had the whole space to ourselves for a half hour—everything that Eny Lee Parker touches is magic, but a huge pleated egg-shape lamp held in a palladium-glazed ceramic base might be her most stunning piece yet.

Milan is a marvel and I appreciated the interactive activations where nature served as the main stage of the event—Laila Gohar and Arket’s carousel with oversized fruit and vegetable seats at Giardino delle Arti actually influenced me to go pick up a few pieces from the collection at the store. Only a few footsteps away, Flamingo Estate and Kohler built a Brutalist bathouse in the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea courtyard that had me yearning for a spa day. When all you want to do is go outside and touch grass, this is about as close as it gets!

For me, the thrill of attending all of these furniture fairs, design exhibitions, and press previews is discovering new talent. It was almost a year ago that I stumbled upon Llewellyn Chupin at Collectible in NYC; crossing paths with her again in Milan was an unexpected delight. It’s also exciting to have the opportunity to meet designers that you admire in real life—I might never have met Kiki Goti if I hadn’t walked up the stairs of Villa Borsani in 2024. On my last day in Milan, I prioritized going to CONVEY and Alcova so I could potentially meet the brilliant minds behind Joshi/Greene, Rooms Studio, and Œuvres sensibles to name a few. In the process, I was struck by the works of MA-MA, Natalia Triantafylli, Andrew Pierce Scott, Jane Wright, Jesse Butterfield, and so many more artists.

Overall, I think we the people of the industry are valid in asking what the point of all this is and who exactly is it for? Unlike so many commercial Fill-In-The-Blank Weeks that feed into celebrity culture by catering to the elite, what I love about MDW is that the everyone is invited to join in on the fun—maybe not the private parties, but at least the installations and exhibitions are open to the public if they’re willing to wait in a queue. (This might be the only occasion where I can say “I’m press” at the door and am let in with no questions asked.) It’s all meant to be a spectacle, but the boundary between fantasy and reality has never been looser. When my time in Milan comes crashing to a halt, I always leave with a cup overflowing with pure inspiration. It’s a privilege to be exhausted by so much beauty on the other side of the world, I’ll never take that for granted.

Before I confirmed that was a Taurus, the signs were clearly there: an impeccable eye for beauty, highly curated tastebuds, and a homebody at heart mentality. If you want cold, hard proof that this checks out, please visit her YKB-themed bathroom that I wrote about for The New York Times. I can’t remember how the subject of birthdays came up in conversation, but the day that Jamie and I learned we were born on the same day pretty much sealed the deal for our friendship. It was literally one of those “Twin, where you have been?” moments. What’s really special to me is that before we were IRL friends, Jamie and I were longtime fans of each other’s work.

To celebrate our special day, and Taurus season as a whole, Jamie and I will be giving away the best party favor of all time: a 5-9 TV Tray Table in the color of your choice! Paid subscribers are automatically entered into the giveaway as a reward, but ALL subscribers are invited to participate. After the winner has been randomly selected on Tuesday, May 5, I’ll be in direct contact to coordinate shipping. For the record, the value of this giveaway ($546) is more than a yearly subscription to this newsletter ($50). Thanks for reading Nobody’s Home! 🥳

As a bonus treat, drop the code GORECORE15 for 15% off at lazyjamie.com.

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Four years ago, I made a strong case for registries for all occasions and every point still stands. It’s straight up ridiculous to me that weddings, engagements, baby showers/sprinkles, and housewarmings are the only conditions in which it is appropriate for us to expect gifts from each other. At the moment, all I seem to have is my birthday and I’ve grown accustomed to not expecting gifts from anyone EVEN THOUGH I’M A TAURUS (!!!) which just goes against my nature. The gesture of gift giving brings me to tears, it’s truly the thought that counts not the item itself. My twenties were usually christened in the back of bars—some no longer exist like Sel Rrose and Ponyboy—or on a Pendleton blanket at Central Park. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve felt overwhelmed by the pressure to plan something “fun” for my birthday.

Truthfully, all I’ve ever wanted is a surprise party thrown by friends, but after all these years of it not happening I’ve fully given up on that fantasy. The last time I threw a birthday party was in 2023 for my golden birthday. I hosted a late night tea party at Salter House with a custom @cakes4sport cake and wore the Sandy Liang dress of my dreams. I haven’t felt inspired to do anything since turning 30, but at the end of 2025 I had this grand idea of celebrating my next birthday out of town. While waiting at the gate to board a flight from São Paulo to Newark, I prematurely texted a few friends to save the date with more details to come. At some point, Simone Rocha’s unraveling ribbon pieces went on sale and I just knew that I had to have them for the special occasion!

As several months proceeded to go by, I still had no idea what I wanted to do. Then out of nowhere an invitation for a trip to Milan landed in my inbox. Given that Salone del Mobile/Milan Design Week fell the week before my birthday, traveling elsewhere felt like an excessive add-on at my own expense. Following a series of unfortunate events that I’ll refrain from dumping here, I decided against making any arrangements at all. I’m just not in a celebratory mood and I don’t anticipate this changing in the next six days! (Can you postpone your birthday and circle back at a later date?) There’s really no purpose for this post other than sharing some of the things sitting on my wish list, but hitting 2,000 subscribers on this newsletter is the greatest gift of all. 🎂

• A massage and/or facial at Hotel Chelsea

• An Apple TV subscription

• An afternoon tea at Kings’ Carriage House

• An evening of wining and dining at Bemelmans Bar

• A stainless steel butter knife from PRADA

• A burl and chrome console table from Crate and Barrel

• A set of Dodie Thayer lettuce ware tea cups from Tory Burch

• A personalized wild boar brush from Officine Universelle Buly

• A set of Broderie anglaise bedding from TEKLA (Anaïs)

• A ‘60s inspired leather jacket from DÔEN

• A pair of sporty airmesh heels from STAUD

• A pair of black Mary Janes from Mansur Gavriel

• A pink pilates halo from Bala

• A ballet bar from Pottery Barn Teen

• A pink tulip lamp from MoMA Design Store

• A stainless steel coffee cup from Christofle

• A purifier pitcher from Aarke

• A toaster from Balmuda

• A utensil basket from Olive Ateliers

• A miniature newspaper box from ONLY NY

Last month, my friend asked me an inquisitive question over text: “Do you know anything re global village coffeehouse aesthetic?” A few weeks prior, we had been chatting about the “Tuscan Mom” aesthetic that has Gen Zers flocking the closest thrift shop to curate a new wardrobe with a flare of Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives. The microtrend reminds me of a viral meme featuring photos of Tuscan kitchens with a caption along the lines of “I wanna engage in underage drinking in this kitchen so bad,” an experience that only millennials understand because you quite literally had to be there.

Growing up in the suburbs, coffee houses were one of the few places that me and my friends could hang out unsupervised in our hometown. We never missed an open mic night because that was the rare occasion where we could stay out past 9 p.m. without our parents worrying about our whereabouts. In a way, it was like our version of bible study in high school. Before this was an appropriate option for a bunch of horny teens, we had Borders which nobody realized how good it was until it was gone. When Starbucks first came to town in the early 2000s it was a big deal—little did we know that it would become the optimal setting for “study dates” with our crushes, especially if you picked one of the locations inside Barnes & Noble. (I will always be loyal to Wawa, but you can’t really hang out there unless you enjoy posting up in a parking lot.) I wish I had photos to preserve these precious memories.

While doing some boots on the ground reporting with a trash picker on the Upper East Side, Liana uncovered a Starbucks shopping bag that a recently deceased woman had preserved; it’s a real time capsule from the era. I salute the few places left standing that are still stuck in this time, even if everyone else thinks it looks tacky. (My loyalty for Jersey Java runs deep in these streets!) Despite living in Manhattan for over a decade, the most reliable option when I want to stay out a bit later is a bar. But 99% of the time, I’d prefer a cup of tea over a glass of wine to end a night out on the town. When I lived in D.C. during undergrad in the mid-2010s my favorite spot was Tryst because it functioned as both a coffeehouse and a bar, and stayed open until 10 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends. The ambience of this beloved Adams Morgan institution is peak “non-aesthetic” as replicated in sitcoms from the ‘90s and 2000s like Seinfeld, Girlfriends, Friends, etc.

While looking into this style further, I found a post from 2024 that unpacks the Global Village Coffeehouse to Corporate Memphis pipeline. In this brilliant analysis, GVC is described as a combination of Memphis Lite and Y2K aesthetics that evokes a “bohemian, eclectic, and cozy” ambience with a seemingly international appeal through a whimsical lens. Unfortunately, this vibrant cornerstone of design has been lost as a new wave of specialty cafes and coffee shops push a superficial sense of calmness through sparse spaces with very limited seating. There are so many declarations on the disappearance of third spaces, but the motive for these newer businesses is driven by capitalism not community.

Inside many of these sterile and uninviting environments, laptops are forbidden, eating is lowkey not encouraged, and talking is frowned upon. Not only do they not want you to sit down and stay awhile (which is probably why the furniture is intentionally uncomfortable), they’re practically pushing you out the door once the transaction is complete—cashless of course. It’s another form of hostile architecture packaged in soulless interiors that channel an artificial coziness through hushed tones (washed out woods, numb concrete, dim lighting, potted trees). Before you write me off, I can’t stand people who (1) treat cafes and coffee shops like their personal office and have the audacity to take phone or video calls from there; (2) whip out a tripod and turn what should be my peaceful coffee break into a set for an unauthorized shoot.

I’ll never forget this one rainy day when I was meeting a friend of a friend at a tea house in Greenpoint. All ten seats at the small communal table were filled with the exception of two stools at the counter that were reserved for private tastings. As everyone in the establishment patiently waited for their orders, an employee loudly shushed us all, expecting complete silence during the tastings. I wondered why there wasn’t a separate room reserved for this type of experience instead, but I found the whole interaction so off-putting that I haven’t returned even though the matcha was slightly above average. (I can already hear someone saying “Shots fired!” through the screen.)

Anu Lingala, the trend maestro behind WHAT’S ANU, believes that this is a micro-manifestation of “a deeper craving for more warmth, tactility, realness, and personality in design—elements that evoke a sense of soulfulness.” She also points out that “the implications of algorithmic flattening, which Kyle Chayka has been tracking since 2016, are now being accelerated by genAI.” (If you’re interested in digging deeper into the “return to soulfness,” her 2026 macrotrend report is required reading.)

“The frustration people have been feeling for a while, about everything looking the same, is now intersecting with an even deeper anxiety, around how to retain our humanness amid the proliferation of AI and the pressures of hyper-optimization,” Anu explains in an email. “We’ve ended up creating a sort of generic average of what society defines as ‘good taste’ in design, which is easily reproducible by AI. Both the ‘java’ and ‘tuscan mom’ aesthetics instead attempt to reclaim ‘cringe’ design elements that may have been previously dismissed as ‘bad taste.’ This reveals a core tension people are feeling right now. Only a human can have ‘bad taste.’”

Take me somewhere a little less polished, a little more whimsical... Instead of a framed portrait of a random stranger on the wall, give me chaotic murals in motion. I’m not waiting in a line out the door that wraps down and around the block for the AI slop shop. (Don’t even get me started on how diet culture and GLP-1 becoming the new Botox is feeding into this too…) For a generation that is so obsessed with taste signifiers, a Java aesthetic revival would be the ultimate palate cleanser. It’s time to go against the grain, conventionality is overrated!

I’ve got a lot to unpack this month so will try to keep this brief. Over the weekend, my landlord informed me that the building I’ve called home for the past 11 years is going to be listed any day now so the wheels in my head are spinning nonstop as I figure out my next moves. I’m sharing this unexpected news because (1) if anyone has good leads for apartments I am very open to receiving them as I explore my options and (2) I’m still in a transitional phase of my life and this feels like yet another plot twist. I’ve admittedly outgrown this apartment, and the desire to change my environment has been brewing for a few years now, so I’m hopeful that this redirect will take me where I’m meant to be. But I’m not going to pretend that I’m cool as a cucumber, I totally crashed out on Sunday night because I felt so overwhelmed! Alright, let’s get down to business…

Kömfi x Ruby Benson: I’ve been waiting on the edge of my seat for this couch cover concept to drop and now that it’s finally here I’m still wondering why more brands aren’t getting their affairs in order. Even though Ruby Benson has been a content creator for years, it was her stunning mid-century modern home in Toronto that put her on my radar in 2024. This limited-edition color is made specifically for Kömfi’s modular sectionals and inspired by some of Ruby’s favorite vintage designs. (The name “Saddle” is also a subtle nod to her equestrian roots which I love.) If you already have the sofa you’re in luck because you can buy the cushion covers separately starting from $240.

Emma Chamberlain x West Elm: I will always argue in favor of people who have fun in their homes through objects that bring out their personality. The vintage-inspired pieces in this collection are playful without leaning too kindercore. Yes, it’s cute as a button, but the muted colors and chic undertones make it feel very age appropriate. This is probably what I would have wanted when I moved into my first apartment out of college a little over a decade ago. What really works for me here is the mini desk, curved platform bed, stacked modular sofa, stainless steel button french press, pigeon bowl, and jewelry boxes/holders. Instant add to cart, meet me at checkout!

MALIN+GOETZ x Brain Dead: This legendary linkup is what my dreams are made of. As a longtime BD fan, any time a new fragrance product drops it’s an instant add to cart for me. Lucky for me that MALIN+GOETZ has conjured three vessels that capture the essence of “muted florals with the elegance of smooth leather while rustic wood notes call to mind the softness of something long loved”: a 0.7 fl oz. perfume oil, a 9 oz. candle, and a 27 oz. supercandle. For any other purchases, use the code GORECORE15 at checkout for an extra 15% off ;-)

Zara Home x Colin King: Fresh off the heels of a collab with Audo Copenhagen, everyone’s favorite interior stylist works his magic once more with a new Zara Home collection. describes the pieces as “quiet company for real life, created to be lived with, to collect small moments of beauty that feel both new and remembered”. Prices range from $37 to $2,800, which does feel like quite a stretch, but you honestly can’t go wrong with brass egg lamps, woven metal baskets, and lacquer nesting tables this season!

Lulu and Georgia x Sarah Sherman Samuel: Brb, checking into Suite de Sarah! Make your home feel like a boutique hotel with this new suite of bed and bath products. Last summer, I wrote about the newfound appeal of making your home feel like a spa and this collection more or less provides the tools in a grounding palette with travertine and tortoise finishes!

HAY x Jasper Morrison: Mentally, I am in the woods somewhere warm with a setup that looks like the catalog for this Outdoor Market collection. With 30+ pieces to choose from, every base is covered from foldable furniture to portable cooking tools. My personal picks are the hammock, folding table, fire pit, BBQ fish grill, floor broom, thermo mug, and steel cups.

Nickey Kehoe x Dumais Made: I love lamp and now there are 28 to choose from in addition to three sconces and one mirror! While I’ve never traveled to Sicily, this collection paints a pretty picture through the sun-washed palette of these sculptural ceramics that bring the island’s essence to life.

MacKenzie-Childs x Goody Wet Brush: Because your haircare products should match everything else that accessorizes your home too. I totally underestimated the power of this collab, it’s almost completely sold out on the MC website! Some items might still be in stock at Target if you want to check their shelves though...

Farm Rio x Anthropologie: Summer feels so far away, but that shouldn’t stop us from preparing for the ultimate season of entertaining. Out of all 51 items in this collection, the chip and dip serving bowl is what has my name written all over it. Now that I’ve actually gone to Brazil, I’m always looking for subtle ways to channel the vibrant energy of the country—this is a sort of a cheat code, but I’ll take it!

Honorable mentions:

• Ancient Future x Lina Sun Park: A jewelry collection inspired by dollhouse furniture is precisely what my dreams are made of.

• Library Science x For Love & Lemons: Looks like book lingerie is here to stay! The Literary It Girls continue to gain aura points in my book. Since we’re already here, I might as well endorse Coach’s book bag charms and the Lisa Says Gah x Seen Library book tees. Wouldn’t you rather be reading?

• “Wuthering Heights”: I lost track of all the merchandise being pumped out for this “reimagining,” but the brands that got my attention were Maude, Art of Tea, and Slip. Someday, we need to talk about how there are too many collabs for movie releases, but not today!

Nothing fills me with more dread than going into a bathroom for the very first time. Am I walking into a repulsive horror show or will it feel like escaping to the spa of my dreams? In 2026, soap is basically a dealbreaker. It’s a status symbol that can make or break you in this town. (Of course, the most heinous crime is when there’s no soap in sight.) But whenever I stay at an Ash Hotel, I’m most excited to see what awaits in the bathroom of my room: Will it be a burl wood vanity like Ulysses or a glass block gallery like The Siren? Since I have zero control over the bathroom design in my apartment, I’ve had to distract myself with amenities that transport me to a better place in my mind. When ASH designed a filtered shower head with Jolie, I sensed that the best was yet to come.

ASH’s soap on a rope is the latest product to become a part of my bathing ritual—the rejuvenating scent of Damask rose, nutmeg, carrot seed, and amber spice resets my nervous system. As of today, one of you dear readers has the chance to win it! Paid subscribers are automatically entered into the giveaway as a reward, but ALL subscribers are invited to participate. After the winner has been randomly selected on Monday, March 30, I’ll be in direct contact to coordinate shipping. Thanks for reading Nobody’s Home!

👩🏾‍🏫 Rules to enter:

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Every Monday, I tune in for the latest episode—some of my favorites are the international editions which include submissions from Germany, Ukraine, Switzerland, Australia, and more. No one can interrupt me when I have this show on, I won’t respond to calls, texts, emails, or carrier pigeons. Ben also co-hosts the comedy podcast “Seeking Derangements” with Hesse Denni and Jacques Gonsoulin, and recently launched a Patreon. (Starting at $5/month, subscribers get access to exclusive bonus content every week.) In his own special way, Ben is bringing back reality shows from the early 2000s with a twist. I’ve binge watched enough episodes of Interior Motives that I now have the desire to judge and be judged on it. Whether or not that opportunity manifests, read this exclusive interview with my new favorite game show host below.

Where did the idea for Interior Motives come from? I love the name by the way!

Ben Mora: I was proud of the name, not to pat myself too much on the back. I didn’t want to do something that was too much of a joke; I wanted it to be a pun, but still be a little more serious because the conceit of the show is so genuinely stupid in some way. We usually are wrong because it is a show entirely based in stereotypes. Some of them end up being true, and most of them are total conjecture and are very based on the guest’s individual experience and my individual experience. I wanted [the name] to be more stylistic to give another dimension to what is maybe not the most concrete foundation they consider.

I’ve been online for 10 years, maybe longer because I’ve been on Twitter for probably half my life at this point, and a lot of being on Twitter is being mean. I’ve been plenty mean on Twitter, and I’m plenty judgey and bitchy and funny. The show is just a container for all of those impulses I have to kind of bully people, not in any serious way, in like ribbing. If I’m being honest, that’s probably the main thing, but also knowing that we are in a place in our culture where we are being thrust back into horrible, horrible right wing politics, and with the end of what people call “woke”—I don’t necessarily think that’s a good or a bad thing, it was kind of inevitable—I think gay people are reconfiguring how to present ourselves in this media landscape and not that this is in any way a reaction to woke, but a door opened to be more honest with who we are and how we talk to each other, and not be so afraid of saying the wrong thing. So it feels right in the moment in that way.

I say plenty of wrong things on the show, but the whole community is represented, and I think everyone understands it’s in good fun, so it feels right for the moment in that way. The real moment it clicked for me was I saw a TikTok of a lesbian—I kind of lifted this from her honest, she was just showing her room, she wasn’t on camera, and was like “Guess if I’m a lesbian or a gay guy.” I was like “Ohhhh, there’s something huge.” I kind of retold the idea and ran with it, so thank you to that lesbian.

This reminded me of the discussions that my team used to have around tentpole events like Pride Month when I worked at AD—the conversation was always like “What can we do that’s not offensive but also fun?” A few years ago, we came up with this idea of how to tell if someone’s room is gay, but it didn’t come to fruition in time. I think they finally did some version of it after I left, but that was always something that stayed with me because I talk to my friends about these things all the time. We’re constantly on the lookout for context clues…

BM: We’re all doing it constantly to each other on the street like it’s happening. I think gay people, or even just minorities of any kind, are raised to really understand how they present and how they’re perceived. And because of that, it makes us sharper at it. I think we understand how stupid this is, but also how funny it is, and how sometimes true it can be. It’s a case by case.

Are you surprised by the willingness of so many viewers worldwide to submit their rooms? I think they’re so brave.

BM: I think it goes back to what I was saying which is that no one’s really actually going to be offended at anything we say because it’s all conjecture. If we’re beating the hell out of someone for being a dirty, non binary person, half the time they just end up being straight or cis. I don’t think a lot of that is cutting so deep because we don’t know who the person is, so there’s that kind of built into it. I’m not surprised because of what people share online. In a more broad sense, I’m trying so hard not to speak in bullshit media platitudes here, but I’m so happy to give the average LGBTQ+ person a platform because I think in vertical formats, shows like mine are chock full of celebrities, and they’re coordinated with PR teams, and they are extremely cynical products.

I’m happy that people submit, but I’m not surprised that people submit because I do get the sense that, especially within a younger audience, there’s a huge fatigue with the celebritization of every single vertical show. It’s the main character of it all. Why should I have to hear some celebrity talk when I want to be the subject of conversation? It shows that people really want to be talking about in this way. It’s not new, call in radio formats are successful for a reason, it’s very similar to that. You submit your room, you might get on, you might not. You call the Breakfast Club, you might get through to Charlamagne tha God. I see it like that, it’s a little analog in that way.

I used to love being part of the group that approved the web home tours for AD. Do you have a criteria for Interior Motives? Are you rejecting rooms? How many submissions have you received so far?

BM: We’re at 1,200. I had them shut off for a bit because the team is really small—it’s me, my production assistant, Natalia, and my graphic designer Santiago. I did just hire a producer so I’m getting some more help now, but it’s a Google Form. I realized with all of the data collection on people, I need to have some software that the DNC is probably using to categorize their voting base because it’s a full census demographic form, but because I can’t see any of the rooms I am a little hamstrung when it comes to production, so I just scroll through thumbnails. The reveals don’t really matter as much because the topic of conversation is about who this person hypothetically is.

Do we reject some? Yes, some do get rejected. There’s one that I think is AI, no else on the team thinks it’s AI, but it is extremely, extremely creepy. It looks like a daycare center. I’m like this person needs their hard drive checked so that room isn’t making it. I deleted it because I got sick of looking at it. There are other rooms that are just boring, lots of bi women submitting all kind of look a lot alike... If there’s a bi woman who submitted who is reading this, sorry. [laughs]

What made you think to include a fridge shot? I think that’s hilarious, I could never do it because my fridge is a boy fridge with mostly liquids and yogurt.

BM: Because we can’t do bathroom, the bathroom gets too gendered. You can immediately see everyone’s products and then it kind of gives it away. The fun of the game is the open conjecture. A lot of times things aren’t necessarily gay or straight so my guests and I feel in a position that we have to make declarative statements on like a stick of butter. It’s funny to see where people will go when they’re on the spot like that. But a fridge is dietary which in some ways is more intimate than a bedroom, and with peoples media intake you get spun off into crazy worlds when it comes to fad diets, peptides, ozempic… It can say a lot about someone’s daily life. Part two of the submissions has now changed to choosing one of three things: a photo of their car, a picture at the workplace, or a screenshot of their Instagram Explore page.

I think we need to be more openly judgey in 2026.

BM: It’s like how people do celebrations of life instead of a funeral because you want to hear what everyone says about you when you’re dead, but you’re dead so you can’t. It’s like what does the general public think about my vibe? And then you get to sit in on it. I think there’s a perverse curiosity that people are really able to get scratched… Some of the rooms that have gotten the most negative, visceral reactions from guests have been rooms that are staged because people do clearly clean their rooms. Honesty is being sought after I think by everyone.

How would you describe your own interior design aesthetic?

BM: Steven Phillip-Horst, who’s been on the show before, came over and was like “Why is there a doormat on your wall?” It kind of looks like a lesbian who was in the Peace Corps like Latin American folk art, Catholic art, and big, old wooden pieces of furniture. It’s a lot of thrift store pieces of furniture, no bed frame—I’ve always hated bed frames. People are telling me I’m gonna get mold.

What are you hoping to manifest for the next phase of the show?

BM: I like being independent creator, not that anyone’s offered me any deals. I’ve had talent agencies come sniffing around, but I’ve said no to all of them. I like doing things the way I want to do it. I can be difficult to work with, and I really hate having anyone give me notes if they’re above me, so I want to remain independent for now. I mean, who knows money’s money. I’m starting a Patreon which I’m very excited for because I’ll still be doing the standard episodes on YouTube and then there will be more behind a paywall. I am maybe going to do live streams where select patrons can play along against each other. I want normal people, anyone really, to play the game.

The number one request I get is “How do I play this game?” I don’t know how to build an app or integrate a play along feature so I’m like “Why don’t I just do live streams where people can play against each other?” I’m really excited to meet the audience and have them play, I want to do live shows. I’d have figure this all out with a venue and producers, but ideally ticket holders would submit their rooms if they want to have their room on a giant screen, and then we guess, it lights up, walk around the audience to try to find the person that matches the room. I’m looking forward to Patreon, a live show, and just continuing to see the show grow.

I think we need some Interior Motives merch.

BM: I know, I’ve been trying to think about what to do for merch. But there isn’t a standout phrase of the show. I mean, there’s a show tagline, but what do people actually want to wear? I feel like good merch is merch that doesn’t scream “I’m a fan.” It’s just a shirt you could you actually forget is merch.

No more tote bags, everyone needs to stop with the totes.

BM: Unless I could do something like “This is not a gay guy’s tote.” That would be funny because how could I play with merch objects and what the merch object would say about the person? I need to incorporate that into a graphic design, there’s something there. Totes are categorically kind of gay.

Whenever Mitski drops a new album, it feels like a special corner of the Internet comes alive again. In the weeks leading up to the release of Nothing’s About to Happen to Me, I watched the intensity build as fans dove deep into threads, collecting clues to decipher what every piece means like a group project. (Respectfully, the FBI should consider recruiting in fandom chats.) From the first moment I listened to the album, the concept of self-imposed isolation and domestication deeply resonated with me. As an only child, I’ve always felt like the ability to be comfortable in solitude is my super power. When the outside world gets too hostile, home is a sanctuary to retreat for peace and quiet. But sometimes, living alone can make you feel like a bit of a recluse and not to be dramatic, but a house can feel like a prison by your own design. After reading the Rivers Solomon novel Model Home last year, I haven’t been able to shake the idea of our childhood homes as a metaphor for generational trauma.

Many people believe the state of your home reflects your inner world—Margaret H. Harmon loosely touches on this in Psycho-decorating: What Homes Reveal about People, a book published in 1977 about the relationship between a person’s psyche and their interior design choices. (I know I’m on the edge of a breakdown when I can’t see the floor because it’s covered in too many piles, but no matter the state I always look forward to returning home at the end of the day.) Mitski’s songwriting really shines on this record as she narrates an immersive story about a reclusive woman in an unkept house. Nothing’s About to Happen to Me hits me where it hurts now as a 32-year-old woman yearning for a slower, softer life in the same way that Puberty 2 felt so poignant to me as a 22-year-old struggling to make sense of the person I was becoming in the Big Apple. A decade later, the dogs are still sniffing around and tracking our scent and we continue to be haunted by ghosts from the not-so-distant past, but we recognize that vulnerability seems really, really scary if the overhead lighting is harsh. At the moment, this verse on “Rules” lives in my head rent free:

Beyond the music itself, what excited me most about this album was the packaging for the deluxe edition vinyl which includes a furniture pop out diorama along with a suite of stationery pages scribbled with song lyrics. (The handwriting might be reminiscent of Sylvia Plath’s journals depending on who you ask.) Although Tansy House isn’t a real place—the fictional address is Harbinger Place, Portent 453-1916 which is supposed to be somewhere in New England—Mitski has been bringing her exploration of domestic horror to life this week in an exhibition for her residency at The Shed. Obviously, this was the element I hyperfixated on so I speed emailed Mitski’s publicist, an old contact from my days as a music editor, to inquire about speaking directly with the source of this creative genius. She kindly put me in touch with Mary Banas, a designer and creative director who has been working with Mitski since her Be the Cowboy era.

So much attention to detail went into the packaging for Nothing’s About to Happen to Me and I was eager to cover as much ground as I could without giving everything away because we must leave the door open for interpretation! The album cover was painted by Marc Burckhardt and the gatefold was illustrated by Conor Nolan. At first glance, the cover appears to depict an odd-eyed white cat minding its business on a purple rug, but shift your eyes to the left and there’s an orange cat transfixed in a fight-or-flight state. Before you read my conversation with Mary below, I’ll leave you with the quotes that I was advised to keep in mind before pressing play:

“You get very independent when you live alone. You get to be a real individual.”– Big Edie, Grey Gardens

“I could live there all alone, she thought, slowing the car to look down the winding garden path to the small blue front door with, perfectly, a white cat on the step. No one would ever find me there, either, behind all those roses, and just to make sure I would plant oleanders by the road. I will light a fire in the cool evenings and toast apples at my own hearth. I will raise white cats and sew white curtains for the windows and sometimes come out of my door to go to the store to buy cinnamon and tea and thread. People will come to me to have their fortunes told, and I will brew love potions for sad maidens; I will have a robin...” ― Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

What’s the story behind the artwork for Nothing’s About to Happen to Me?

Mary Banas: There’s something about the animals [Marc Burckhard] portrays where they feel like they know something and that felt right—it’s a little uncanny, it’s a little weird. His work also has overt symbols in it where you’re like “This is supposed to mean something, but I don’t know what it means.” He’s inspired by folklore—I don’t remember what, you’d have to talk to Marc to know—and influences of his include Flemish painters, religious icons, and American folk art. We tried putting language on the cover, but intentionally left it off because once we were invested in that painting we didn’t want to put anything on it. The record comes shrink wrapped with information so if you’re in the bins you know it’s Mitski. Otherwise, once you unwrap it, it’s just the pure art.

We gave Marc a description of the room and then he made the painting. He made a sketch like a low fidelity painting and then from there he really dialed everything in. We talked about different things for the wallpaper and how distressed should it be and the rug went through some different iterations of color. He then paints it by hand and digitizes it to give it to me to put into the art. The gatefold is the house and then the record protective sleeve is the floor, so one side of the floor has the stationery all over it and that’s the credits. The stickers in the deluxe are actually repositionable so if you’re playing with your dollhouse and wanted to change the way that they were you could conceivably which is good. People might feel like, “I’m putting this somewhere else, actually it should be centered above the fireplace more.”

I love the attention to detail that went into the dollhouse diorama.

MB: This was actually an extremely arduous process with the way that we got this produced. Part of the reason why is because they had to dye, cut it, and then ship it to me, and then I would assemble it. When I was testing these, Conor’s drawings weren’t yet on there, they were just white but it made it harder to assemble… So you get a full furniture set up, your little chairs and everything, it fits really nice in the room. He created the illustrations from our descriptions and visual references, we gave him photos of real furniture and paper doll furniture. He works by hand as well so once it’s approved he inks it up with a brush and then he scans it and gives me hi-res art. He made me a Photoshop file of the gatefold with each piece movable so the file was a dollhouse too.

The stationery comes with a belly band, it has the same wallpaper pattern as the inside of the house, and that was drawn by Conor. Some of them have coffee and tea stains on them. My vision is there’s this woman who used to be wealthy, she lives somewhere in New England, she’s alone in her house, and when she wants to write a journal entry or take a note she has a bunch of this leftover from when she used to have parties. This is the social correspondence from the house that you would send someone a note. But beyond that, she just has this stuff left so she uses it to write on. The top piece says “nothing is about to happen to me” and then the rest of them are song lyrics in no particular order.

Tell me more about the world of Tansy House. What were some of the references?

MB: One of the first references that Mitski had was Shirley Jackson. She was like, “Have you read The Haunting of Hill House or We Have Always Lived in the Castle?” I was like, “No, but I read The Lottery in high school.” The thing that she does with domestic horror is you’re in an ordinary situation and then something terrible happens and it surprises you. Also, the house as a metaphor for a psychological space. A lot of the decisions were made intuitively, and a lot of it is Mitski will give me a story, or some pieces of a recipe, and then I’m “Yes and”-ing on it and giving her stuff back. A lot of it is making visual what she’s talking about and then she’ll be confirming that this is correct.

We did a lot of research to find a house to shoot the photos in because it has to be the kind of property where they’ll let you do a photo shoot. Usually, it’s not going to be somebody’s private home, so that’s a constraint. But in terms of finding a place that felt right and didn’t feel too put together, or that would be able to be made into something that wasn’t too put together, that took a while. We knew that it was supposed to feel like it was in New England and a Victorian house, [and] that this person inherited this house and a bunch of the stuff. There’s objects from across decades all mixed together. It’s supposed to be current times, but a lot of the stuff in the house is from previous decades. We were interested in the idea of inheritance and what gets passed down both as a physical thing and a conceptual thing.

Grey Gardens was mentioned at the beginning as well. For aesthetic reference, old money in decline. Cash strapped, but with impeccable inherited taste. Inventive outfits assembled from formerly stylish clothing and household items. Vivienne Westwood’s late ‘80s to ‘90s collections were heavily pulled from for the styling as a direct reference because she does a good job of combining ideas of ordered society with chaos and mess through layering and combining things. We looked at Todd Selby’s photographs of Iris and Carl Apfel in their New York apartment; it’s fantastic and full of interesting objects. That was a reference in terms of thinking about how a bunch of stuff in the space become an autobiography of the person.

Were there specific houses that you pulled inspiration from?

MB: There were a lot of houses in the mood board. The house is a character in a way. It was over a year ago that we started working on this, but on the mood board there’s a glass house at the RISD Museum, Untitled (Glass House) by Thurman Statom, it’s really compelling. The Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago, each one of those rooms is like a little study of a period of design. I saw them, probably two or three years ago for the first time, and I was like, “Wow, I’m really moved.” It’s a scale shift, it’s kind of like a dollhouse, but it’s so moving. The first house Mitski referenced on the project is the house in Practical Magic. That was the ideal in our minds, beautiful Victorian architecture against an unkempt or wild yard. Gothic, romantic, and somehow, a little lonely… But also that home was a character that held secrets and knowledge.

The northeast region has such a strong reputation within the horror genre which I find fascinating—another recent example is Eva Victor’s excellent film Sorry, Baby which takes place in Massachusetts. What makes New England an ideal setting for horror?

MB: Much of New England was built on trauma: colonization, violence, disease, struggle, the slave trade—and the past and the present co-exist here. It is a storied place. The history and lore are made visible in the everyday: streets named after people, plaques on houses naming the person who built it and the year (1700s, 1800s)—there is a monument and plaque on the street corner in my neighborhood for the birthplace of horror/science fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft. In Providence, where I live, there are graves under Benefit Street that we drive and walk on everyday—it was customary for people to bury their dead in their yards or in the church yard, and these graves pre-dated the widening of the street for cars. At the same time, America is a young country compared to the rest of the world—we are only 250 years old (this July). The horrors of the past are still the horrors of the present.

I’m also intrigued by this shade of purple that appears on all the album materials. What was the motive behind that color choice?

MB: Ever since Laurel Hell where we learned what a laurel hell is, which are those bushes that are so dense that an animal could get stuck in it and die, we’re both interested in nature as a wild force. It seems like a Victorian era thing of naming flowers and giving them meaning like if you have a bouquet, red roses are love and yellow roses are friendship. These are contemporary ones, but in Victorian times it might be like this one’s for if you slighted your lover, you’re gonna send them violets and bluebells or whatever.

Lilac was decided upon from the cover in color theory with the orange cat—purple is a good compliment for orange and we got to this rug based on just trying to make this guy pop. The lilac (flower) meaning in the Victorian language of flowers is “first love.” And you know that song “First Love/Late Spring,” so I was like “We must.” No other reason for the purple, it just came out and became part of the palette.

Tansy is seen as a weed, it’s used as an insect repellent. It was a charm for infertility and also made into a drinkable tea for abortions in the 1800s. It was a popular way to do that, but it was really toxic. It’s poison. I think there’s that relationship between nature being wild and then man trying to tame or control it... It’s like the ocean doesn’t really have a border guys, but go ahead and draw that on.

Are there other references to Mitski’s past work hidden in the artwork?

MB: One of the stickers is a portrait of Mitski by photographer Ebru Yildiz, which fans will know from the cover of Laurel Hell. I asked Conor to include an oil lamp because it felt like the right mix of eras in the house and also because of the song “That’s Our Lamp”.... There are more that I will let fans find, I don’t want to ruin all the fun!

Any final words for the fans about the album art?

MB: That it is art—meant to be savored, contemplated, and enjoyed. Spend some time with it, we created it with the intention to delight you!

As we close out Black History Month, this week marks the first anniversary of Nobody’s Home! I can’t believe that 365 days have gone by since I launched this newsletter and my mom isn’t the only person reading it. I wanted to do something special to celebrate this milestone so when Fellow reached out it felt like a gift from my guides. I’ve been singing the praises of the Stagg EKG Electric Kettle for almost a decade now so to be able to offer up one of my favorite devices of all time is a dream come true.

Paid subscribers are automatically entered into the giveaway as a reward, but ALL subscribers are invited to participate. After the winner has been randomly selected on Monday, March 2, I’ll be in direct contact to coordinate shipping. I haven’t even shared the best part yet—the winner can choose any color! FYI, the value of this giveaway ($179.95-$199.95) is more than a yearly subscription to this newsletter ($50). Thanks for reading Nobody’s Home, your support of my work is the greatest reward!

👩🏾‍🏫 Rules to enter:

1. Subscribe to Nobody’s Home. (Follows will not count!)

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Like most good things in New York City, my formal introduction to was at a party. I had been invited to a media dinner for Etsy ahead of the rollout for the 2025 Holiday Trend Edit. As she personally walked me through all the trends for the Fall/Winter season, I couldn’t stop thinking about how being the resident trend expert was such a cool job. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be compensated for having their finger on the pulse of the cultural zeitgeist?! For most of us, that’s a dream come true. I wanted to know more about Dayna’s career path, and what led to working at Etsy for the past nine years, so we hopped on a call so I could get all the details. We covered everything from her humble beginnings in Virginia to getting her footing in the NYC fashion scene and eventually making a big name for herself at Etsy. I’m also excited to announce that this Q&A is part of a new series on Nobody’s Home called Guest Room, where you’ll get a front-row seat to candid conversations with some of my favorite industry insiders.

When did you start to figure out what you thought you wanted to do for your career?

Dayna Isom Johnson: I had a dual version of life so I only applied to two schools, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Johnson & Wales University. I either wanted to work in fashion or become a pastry chef. I decided to go the FIT route, but didn’t have the knowledge outside of “If you work in fashion, you’re either a buyer or a designer.” That’s the only thing I knew because that’s what I was exposed to. My major was fashion merchandising management, thinking I was going to become a buyer because I wasn’t talented enough in illustrating to become a designer. What I love about FIT is that you start in your major immediately unlike traditional universities where you pop around, so the moment I realized, “Oh, girl, being a buyer means spreadsheets; it doesn’t lead with creativity,” I quickly decided that’s not for me. I knew I needed something with creativity and communication because I’ve always been really good at talking to people, learning people’s stories, and taking a lens at it from there.

I started taking the route of showroom sales so I could be involved with the product and deliver the message of why people needed to buy this thing and what it meant. I did that for a couple of years and then I discovered I like the narrative bit of it and I can tell the story through a PR lens. That’s when I switched and started working for White House Black Market and Chico’s FAS brands in marketing and PR. I liked it, but also thought maybe I want to work in the bridal space—I would help my sister with planning people’s weddings at home in Virginia and that would allow my creativity to fly freely—then the internet started becoming a thing and I heard about this brand called Etsy. I had purchased a wedding gift for some friend of mine and said “This is cool, I could go apply and work on their PR and marketing team.”

I went for the interview and it was like nothing I’d ever walked into. Of course, I was still young, but I was used to the fashion industry where people are not nice and not inviting fresh ideas unless it came from the creative director or the brand president—you were meant to stay in your lane. But the moment I walked through the Etsy doors, it was like a flash of creative warmth. Even in the interview process, it was wrapped in creativity and encouraging you to share your ideas and expand beyond what was expected of you. It was very exciting to me.

What was the role that you were interviewing for at the time?

DIJ: Public Relations Manager. I was in that role for a couple of years and then I was getting very involved in learning more about our sellers, their stories, where they came from, and where their creativity stemmed from. Keep in mind, this is very early startup days. I am hire 135 and today we are over 2,000; I was there when we went public, changed buildings, and all of this. So as we were growing, I was growing along with the brand, and we had locked in our very first television segment on Good Morning America. I was training someone to go live as the typical PR person does— I’d written all of the messaging and done all of the narratives—and this person just wasn’t able to go on. Obviously, as the PR person, you’re like “We don’t give up national broadcast opportunities.” The agency that we were working with at the time was like “Dayna, it’s all right. Relax, we have somebody.” And I was like “We have somebody in 24 hours? Who do we have? “And they said, “We have you.”

I had never been on television before, I had never done that, but I knew all of the information. I went on GMA the next day and I’ll never forget it, I stepped off that stage and I was like “This is what I was born to do.” I still get chills saying it out loud. So that next day, I went to my bosses and I said “Hey, I want to make this into a job. I want to be able to talk about our seller community, what people are purchasing, what’s exciting, new, and fresh. I know I can bring the energy, the focus, and the love to this. Just allow me to do it.” And they said “Well, if you can make this successful, why not give it a go.” So that was the start of my trend expert role.

In having that conversation, did you come prepared? Did you have a presentation or was it just straight off adrenaline?

DIJ: Straight adrenaline and passion because I was so assured that I was great at what I had just delivered and I knew that I could continue to do that. I knew that it would be an asset so I didn’t even feel like I needed to prove myself. It’s one of the moments in my life, and I think a lot of people have these moments where it’s like you think too much into something; you overthink the thing. But this was one of those so assured in myself, I didn’t eat the fluff.

Coming from working in corporate, you’re often told that you have to prep for those types of conversations, and there’s almost always an excuse for why you have to wait for a promotion. Did you immediately know what you wanted your title to be?

DIJ: That was definitely a conversation that was had between myself and my boss. Once they agreed to the 10 foot pole idea we needed to really carve out “What does this really mean?” We were able to talk together and decide on what it would mean, what my responsibilities would be, and how the public would view me and view my thoughts, and hopefully become a thought leader within the space.

Do you have a team now or is it just you?

DIJ: It’s just me, but I work alongside so many different teams. I technically still sit on the consumer communications team, but I work across our social team and analytics team. I also work with our seller team because I do so much work with educating our sellers. So, it’s very much a solo position, but a cross functional partner.

What else does your job entail?

DIJ: Doing interviews as they come up and preparing for those, but also really paying attention to the cultural zeitgeist of everyday living. What are popular shows that have come out? What are what are things that have been said? What’s happening in the world? Is there space travel? What’s happening with AI? All of these things that are rapidly changing greatly affect how consumers interact with their shopping habits, right? It’s my job to identify those things and bring it back to several of my counterparts.

I’m recording videos for our seller community and saying “Hey guys, we just saw that emerald green searches are up three times. Have you considered putting this colorway into your your product offerings? Customers are really into this right now.” What I really love is that I’ve been able to discover what creativity can mean to me. I think sometimes creativity can have this very linear focus, but my job has allowed me to explore new ways of creativity within me.

What advice would you give someone who’s interested what you’re doing, but doesn’t really know where to start? The type of role that you have isn’t something that you usually find on a job board.

DIJ: I think that wherever you can just try something that you’re not fully sure of—I had heard about it [Etsy], but I wasn’t a full on customer. I purchased one thing, but it was something that was intriguing to me because of where we were with the state of the world. I knew that in retail, online shopping was becoming a thing and people’s mindsets were starting to shift on the quality of items that they wanted. So when I found out about this little place called Etsy, I was like “I think they are really aligned to my values and what I stand for, maybe I should just give it a go.” Without that mindset, I wouldn’t have gotten to my dream job. So I think sometimes removing the “I’m dead set on this,” and instead taking a step back and being like “How does this job align with with me as a person?” Be open to the thing that you’re unsure of, you may love it.

Can you talk me through the process of putting Etsy’s trend reports together? How much time do you typically spend on it?

DIJ: It is a collaborative effort, but the process begins with massive brainstorming. We are bringing to the table as a collective what are some third party trend forecasting agencies saying and then what’s happening culturally. Where are we moving? What is the state of the world? What is happening in the entertainment world? And then what is top priority number one, what are people searching for? In real time, we are melding all these things together in the pot and seeing how these things are aligning. Is the cultural zeitgeist, and the years ahead trend forecasting, aligning with what our customers are shopping for in real time? That is what we are serving up in a pretty little platter with a bow on it. So are there elements of predictions? Yes, but at the end of the day, what is packaged, sealed, and delivered to someone wonderful like you is what’s rooted in our data.

It’s been interesting with 2025 in particular because I’m not really seeing a lot of trends popping off. I think everyone is overwhelmed and doesn’t really know what’s going on. We see certain things around holiday time which makes sense, but I feel like people are in this state of, I don’t want to call it confusion, but questioning what is going on. I think we need to reset the algorithm!

DIJ: For sure, but what you’re saying right now is exactly why some of these things are trending. When you think about your feelings, something like “Nonna Holiday” makes total sense. You’re rooted in nostalgia and feel comfort because you feel a little lost, so you’re like “What brings me joy and comfort? My grandmother’s kitchen, let me make this beautiful dinner…” Then you’ve got “PlayHaus” which is like “I need a dopamine fix because of what’s happening, I want some cartoonist themed ceramics.”

What’s really interesting about “Gothmas” is that it’s introducing a bit of darkness, but also that slice of magic because you have those celestial tidbits and elements to it. It’s like “OK, I’m dealing with all of this, but where’s my magic?” There’s so many shows on right now that have a Victorian element, so again you’ve got the merging of what’s happening in the outside world, what’s happening in our feelings as consumers, and what are we watching. It’s all melted.

Have you ever met someone and thought, “Where have you been all my life?” That’s exactly how I felt when I was introduced to . Somehow, our paths had never crossed until last fall when hosted a meetup at Sundays/Hetta. After an appropriate amount of small talk, I realized she was the curator behind LES Collection, a creative sanctuary for whimsical minds that I’d been hearing murmurings about for years. Lauren’s eye for design is quite literally out of this world—her family’s ethereal lake house truly speaks for itself—so when I saw an announcement for an upcoming moving sale at the showroom I knew that I needed to be there. LES Collection will be moving from Park Slope to Industry City so in the spirit of starting a new chapter, Lauren is parting with a bulk of inventory from her past.

I was lucky enough to preview the selection before the sale opens to the public this weekend and if you have time to spare I strongly encourage you to make the trip. The pieces included are samples, seconds, furniture, decor, art, and vintage with prices ranging from $5 to $4,000. (Some of the LES Collection exclusives will be discontinued so this is your last chance to get them!) A few of my favorite things that I spotted were a vintage pair of Quinta chairs by Mario Botta for Alias, a set of pewter & wood salt and pepper mills by MATCH, marble/travertine trays and boxes by Anastasio Home, and various plates from the Ribbon collection. I scored the most stunning pair of sculptural candlestick holders by Michael Aram from Lauren’s personal collection for $60. I’m trying to resist the temptation to go back tomorrow, my only warning is to go in ready to spend because it will be very hard to walk out empty-handed!

LES Collection’s moving sale is on February 6 & 7 from 10am-2pm at 124 9th Street, Suite 236, Brooklyn, NY 11215

BREAKING: There will not be one but three winners for this giveaway! I was introduced to Lee Lenox about a year ago before he catapult launched Circus into the world. When he was explaining the concept behind his luxury candle brand to me on the call, I was instantly sold on the idea of a dressed up vessel. Why shouldn’t my candle and I have matching leather jackets? Lee describes it as being wrapped in a “sculptural textile skin,” an element that he strongly believes will enhance the olfactory experience by igniting our sense of touch and sight. Are you also wondering why nobody else ever thought of this?! Fashion is everywhere for those with the eyes to see…

Paid subscribers are automatically entered into the giveaway as a reward, but ALL subscribers are invited to participate. After the winners have been randomly selected on Tuesday, February 3, I’ll be in direct contact to coordinate shipping. The prize is a candle in the color of your choice: Bound (bold, smoky, seductive), Crystal Fetish (luminous, alluring, lush), and Fuzzed (airy, warm, soft)). In this house, everyone is a winner, so Nobody’s Home subscribers now get a special discount at Circus with the code NOBODYSHOME. Thanks for reading Nobody’s Home!

👩🏾‍🏫 Rules to enter:

1. Subscribe to Nobody’s Home. (Follows will not count!)

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New year, new collabs! I’m committed to spending significantly less in 2026, but my budgeting should never get in the way of anyone else’s session of retail therapy. (Speaking of newness, is anyone else streaming the new Arctic Monkeys, Snail Mail, and Mitski singles on loop?) It’s become my duty to ensure my readers are informed about the latest and greatest drops hitting the market. While I have your attention, friendly reminder that the national shutdown will be taking place tomorrow—no school, no work, and no shopping. Lastly, please consider supporting the fundraisers on this Minneapolis mutual aid list. Any commissions made from affiliate links in today’s post will be donated.

Seletti x BIC: Hitting a 75th anniversary is a huge milestone and I appreciate that BIC’s team decided to think outside the box with this pendant/sconce/floor lamp version of the infamous Cristal pen at a 12:1 scale. For those interested in cultivating a fun atmosphere throughout their space, the €299 price tag isn’t too bad either. All three colors sold out, but maybe there will be a restock someday?

Sézane x Sea New York: Come for the clothes, stay for the bedding! Over the holidays I snagged the most beautiful puffer I’ve ever seen from SEA and every time I wear it I feel like a doll that turned into a human—sort of like Tyra Banks in Life-Size. I’m really precious about my family quilt so this patchwork bedspread from the latest Sézane x Sea collection was the perfect purchase. Third time’s the charm!

Lulu and Georgia x Heidi Caillier: Still feeling influenced by Kendall Jenner’s “mountain” house? Look no further than her interior designer’s latest collection with Lulu and Georgia. My top five picks from this line are the Chestnut Platform Bed ($2,598-$3,498), Paley Accent Chair ($1,398-$1,698), Witt Floor Mirror ($798), Isabelle Dining Chair ($498), and Mayla Grasscloth Wallpaper ($498). Maybe this is a step out of bounds, but I also dig the horse art… THIS IS OUR YEAR. 🐎

DWR x Devin Wilde Ceramics: Possibly controversial for me to say out loud, but it’s cool to see major retailers support independent artists and designers with these types of collabs. Devin Wilde is a Brooklyn-based ceramicist known for “usable art” that blends classic form with postmodern humor. His exclusive collection for DWR features a variety of tables and vessels ranging from $1,050 to $6,000.

Aplós x IKO IKO: Because every bottle needs a veil! This limited edition accessory created by one of my favorite designers in Los Angeles can be yours with the purchase of a bottle of Calme. This would be a fabulous gift for someone, especially if they’ve been participating in Dry January since it’s almost over.

ICYMI, I wrote about the rise of the Literary It Girl (a.k.a. “Lit” Girls) for Coveteur about a month ago. In the process of tying up loose ends in 2025, looks like I forgot to drop my last reading list so here are all the books I consumed in the fourth quarter:

[1] The Motherload: Episodes from the Brink of Motherhood by Sarah Hoover, I enjoyed this more than I initially thought I would. [2] Desert Valley by Melissa Broder, I love her writing so much and by the end this book had me in tears. [3] Stag Dance by Torrey Peters, I had no idea what to expect and that is honestly the best way to go into this experience. [4] The Longest Way to Eat a Melon by Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross, I might have to re-read this because it’s a blur to me now. [5] Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors, I really struggled to finish this and felt nothing but sweet relief when the story finally came to an end.

[6] Big Swiss by Jen Beagin, a thrilling tale with delicious Hudson Valley lore. [7] Early Thirties by Josh DuBoff, I almost lost my spot in line to borrow this book from NYPL so once that got sorted out I cracked it wide open and devoured it whole! [8] Flesh by David Szalay, I went into this book blind with a glowing endorsement from Jia Tolentino so I didn’t know it was psychological fiction, but it was a real page turner. [9] A Movement in Every Direction: A Great Migration Critical Reader by Jessica Bell Brown, I picked this up from the library as part of my research for a story about Black millennial women moving to the countryside.

[10] The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis, this might be my favorite book that I read in 2025. [11] When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter, a bit overhyped but I’ll never pass on an opportunity to learn about how far the mighty media empires have fallen. [12] Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu, I feel like this could have spared me from a lot of toxic friendships in my life if it had come out 15 years ago instead. [13] Model Home by Rivers Solomon, the haunted house story setup is a reminder that nothing is scarier than unaddressed generational trauma.

The first book that I started and finished reading in 2026 is… The Waterbearers: A Memoir of Mothers and Daughters by Sasha Bonét; I can’t recommend this book enough, I gave a copy to my grandmother for her birthday and look forward to comparing notes soon. Next up on my list is Dead and Alive: Essays by Zadie Smith, The Wedding by Dorothy West, Ruth by Kate Reilly, and Discontent by Beatriz Serrano.

As the affected parties brace themselves for the winter storm this weekend, you can find me enjoying every minute of solitude in the Great Indoors. Before anyone starts to feel bad for me, please don’t! Need I remind you that I’m an only child? I won’t downplay how much I thrive during hibernation season. I relish the opportunity to nest in a manner that only a Taurus knows. As the chosen homebodies of the zodiac, we were destined for a life of domesticity (non-derogatory). The broth is boiling, the candles are lit, and the music is bumping so hard that the Richter scale can’t handle it. I went to a pilates class this morning and will be using the remainder of this allotted time to plow through a stack of books and catch up on writing. While cleaning my inbox, I got sucked into the new arrivals section of one of my fave vintage furniture stores so I thought I’d share a backlog of listings that recently caught my eye. Stay warm, y’all!

Vintage Portuguese Green Majolica Cabbage Leaf Wall Pocket, Circa 1940s, $468 at Portmanteau

Chrome Egg Warmers, $55 at Earl Grey Studio

Butter Curler Silver Petite, $150 at Savoir Chic

Eugen Montelin Teapot, $65 at Wilma

Antique Swan Motif Bedside Table, $625 at Fig & Oak

Italian Cocoon Pendant in the Style of Achille Castiglioni, $2,900 at Past Lives Studio

Geometric Metal Vessel, $120 at Oggetti Shop

Table Lamp France, 1970’s, inquire at Seventh House Gallery

Pedestal Storage Trolley by Fritz Haller for USM Haller, $894 at Le Centerpiece

Checkered Sideboard Credenza, $2,699 at Lichen

Green and cream hand woven wool coverlet/rug/tapestry, $1,200 at Good Behavior

Antique Oak Writing Box - Portable Desk - English Late 19th Century, $845 at Everthine Antiques & Stationery

Vintage Lucite Envelope Letter Holder Desk Organizer, $55 at The Swan’s House

New year, new giveaway! To start this month off on the right note, I’m offering a Votive Rosalitos by Onora Casa from K’ab Juun. Ilana Goldberg and Dafna Puszkar launched K’ab Juun as “a living conversation between Mexico’s rich design legacy and its bold creative future.” Their goal with the store and gallery is to bring an evolving collection of one-of-a-kind works spanning art, objects, and furniture from Mexico to New York. Get the IRL experience at 38 Little W 12th St, New York, NY 10014.

“What moves us the most about the Votive Rosalitos is the intimacy of its making, each tiny bud shaped through the slow, deliberate rhythm of pastillaje, carrying the lineage of San José de García, Michoacan, in every detail. To us, it’s not just a votive but a small monument to devotion and the quiet beauty that emerges when tradition meets the hand of a master. And though small in size, it holds profound significance for K’ab Juun, embodying the values and vision we celebrate in every piece we curate.”

Paid subscribers are automatically entered into the giveaway as a reward, but ALL subscribers are invited to participate. After the winners have been randomly selected on Monday, January 26, I’ll be in direct contact to coordinate shipping. Thanks for reading Nobody’s Home!

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In my humble opinion, lamps are the best entry point into design. I could probably write a whole book about my love for lighting, but it’s arguably the most important feature in a room and should never be overlooked. Most of the time, lighting is the first thing I notice when I walk into a space. At the moment, the overhead lighting in my apartment is causing me a great deal of suffering—I’ve shielded as many boob lights as I can with Tulip shades, but the ceiling fans with lights are a challenge that I simply do not have the energy to tackle with my landlord at this time. But nobody dims my light!

It’s always worth investing in a good lamp because mood lighting is essential. (FKA twigs was right about everything...) There are so many lighting fixtures to choose from at a variety of price points whether you lean vintage, contemporary, or something that defies categorization entirely. You can definitely find budget-friendly lighting at mainstream retailers, but I highly recommend expanding your search to eBay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, and 1stDibs. Thrifting at estate sales, flea markets, and antique shows is always a good idea too. Behold, a running log of all the lamps that are currently in my possession.

Scoop Lamp by Analuisa Corrigan for Wooj, $120

Back in 2022, I wrote a profile on Analuisa Corrigan for Clever (RIP). That conversation led to us becoming friends IRL. Since then, I’ve felt nothing but pride watching her star status rise in the design world from a solo exhibition at Picture Room and commissions for Night Palm and Jeremiah Brent to collaborations with Sandy Liang and Wooj. I have this lamp placed on a window sill where it casts the most delicious glow every evening. For those who can’t afford to splurge on Ana’s other masterpieces, this is your best option!

Bentwood Saucer Table Lamp, $205

Hallie Gould put me on to this vintage treasure that she got from Le Centerpiece back in 2021. It was probably for the best that I missed out on Chrome Jelly selling it too, but eventually I got lucky after digging deep into the void that is a late night eBay hole. Unfortunately, my order didn’t arrive in the best condition and the lamp desperately needed to be repaired and rewired. I’ve been thinking about replacing the cracked shade with something completely different, open to suggestions if anyone has ideas.

Terrene Table Lamp by Élan Byrd for Lulu and Georgia, $248

I’ve been a fan of Élan Byrd for awhile, perhaps some of you remember when I interviewed her for my fringe trend report in 2024. There’s something about rattan that is so irresistible to me, I don’t need to know the underlying factors at play here. This lamp is temporarily part of the desk setup in my computer room, but I have bigger things in mind for it so expect to see more of it in the not-so-distant future.

Tiny Table Light by Yowie for Gantri, $248

Whatever the homie is selling I am always buying, but she was kind enough to gift me this orb when it debuted way back in 2021. My favorite feature is the dimmer which really comes in handy depending on how you want to set the mood in your space. Extremely ideal for a bedroom so you can really set the m00d.

Mocha Check Farmhouse Writer’s Table Lamp by MacKenzie-Childs, $337 $799.95

I didn’t know that I wanted this lamp, but when I saw it in the clearance section with an extra 25% off I entered a flow state and when I returned to consciousness the order had been placed. Where will it go? That’s between me and G*d.

Panthella Portable Lamp by Louis Poulsen, $355

I’ve yapped about mushrooms on more than one occasion, but I’ll never get sick of them! That said, I’ve made a point to not go overboard with decor that resembles my favorite fungi. Louis Poulsen recently launched a portable version of Verner Panton’s iconic Panthella lamp in new colors and finishes—my personal pick is chrome because what could be sexier on a surface?!

Lucha Lamp by FISCH, $420

This Australian design icon lamp was a pandemic purchase that I have zero regrets about. I still have to get it rewired, but it was soooo worth the $260 spent. (Shoutouts to Home Union for putting me on, sorry that I didn’t have the appropriate funds to buy it from y’all in 2021.) Some people might find this lamp off-putting because it sort of resembles the colon and intestines, but as an IBS girl that doesn’t bother me one bit. My homies at Lichen carry it now so run, don’t walk if it’s been on your list!

Helmi Pendant Light by Sarah Sherman Samuel for Lulu and Georgia, $498

I’m always thinking about the bigger picture so I’m saving this pendant for wherever I live next. It’s going to look so dramatic dangling from the ceiling of my next living room… I’m also planning to install the matching flush mount light ($298) in my bedroom for a subtle dose of whimsy. I refuse to resist the feminine urge, let the girls yearn!

Vetri Venini Murano Glass Mushroom Lamp, $570

I got this vintage Murano glass lamp for a steal from Le Centerpiece in 2021 at the peak of mushroom mania. (Unlike one too many of the vintage Vetri Venini lamps that have arrived completely shattered in the box on my doorstep, they packaged this so professionally.) I have another table lamp similar to this that I bought from a New Jersey-based dealer years ago, along with a pendant that I found at Dobbins St. Co-op last summer. I love dressing them up with my Iko Iko cord covers!

Table Lamp 01 by J. Hannah, $880

From the moment that Jess Hannah debuted this chrome masterpiece, I knew that it had to be mine. Once I finally saw the lamp in-person at BOMI, one of my favorite design stores in the city, I activated the power of manifestation. After months of wishful thinking, Jess made my dreams come true by gifting it to me.

Rabbit Warren Ceramic Table Lamp by MacKenzie-Childs, $1,000

OG readers already know that rabbits are a BIG part of the Gore lore. I’ll save the story of how I got the original vintage floor lamp for another day, but the 2024 table lamp was one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. When MacKenzie-Childs brought this back it sold out instantly, but a few can be found in stock at retailers like Neiman Marcus.

Timberline Floor Lamp by Gubi, $1,295

Pleated lamps were really having a moment on Instagram during the pandemic, but Home Union was the original source of influence for me. I snagged this reproduction of the Danish classic through DWR in exchange for moderating a panel a few years ago :-) Even though it’s been duped to death, Mads Caprani never goes out of style!

Curtain Lamp by Analuisa Corrigan, $2,350-$2,650

If you’ve ever been a regular at the various Gem establishments, you’re probably acquainted with this lamp that outfitted the wood tables. I love Ana’s entire body of work, but the Curtain Lamp remains my favorite and I’m over the moon to be living with it now. You know you’ve created something special when it gets duped… I won’t link out to any of the copy cats, but all you need to know is that nothing compares to the original. (For the record, Ana is a self-taught lighting designer so she throws clay on wheel to make the sculptural base, sources the vintage linen fabrics, and wires all the lamps in her LA studio!) When I miss my friends, nothing lights me up inside like having pieces of their work around at home... I cherish it.

Here is my ongoing wish list of lamps:

• Sconce 3 by Alvaro Ucha Rodriguez for Lichen, $149

• Cubey Linen Table Lamp by Brigette Romanek for Crate and Barrel, $229.99 $299

• Cross Pinhole Sconce by James Cherry, $315

• Bonbon Shade by Ana Kraš for HAY, $396 $495

• Farmhouse Floor Lamp by MacKenzie-Childs, $999.95

• Barragán Lamp (Patina Chrome) by Casa Veronica, $1,500

• At Home Pendant 01 by Eny Lee Parker, $1,620

• Brass Calla/Gemma Table Lamp by Sophie Lou Jacobsen, $1,650

• Florence Curtain Sconce by Liyang Zhang, $2,800

• Chainmail Floor/Table Lamp by Wretched Flowers, price available upon request

• Double Pendant by Trueing, price available upon request

• Ava Table Lamp by Ana Kraš for HAY, coming soon

On another note, last year I matched with a guy on a dating app that shall not be named. He claimed that his greatest strength was “picking out cool lamps for people.” I was intrigued by what he could possibly choose based on knowing virtually nothing about me so I challenged him to make a selection. He picked the AJ Floor Lamp from Louis Poulsen’s roster, but I think anyone who really knows me would tell you that I’m obviously a Panthella Girl. At least he didn’t suggest a Flowerpot VP9 or Noguchi Akari though, that would have immediately given me the ick. Do you think this was a red or green flag? Sound off in the comments!

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The first time I set foot in Aurora, New York was on June 17, 2021. I was barely a month into working at AD, but my boss at the time was already pushing press trips on my desk that he evidently had no interest in. When he passed along an invitation for a VIP preview of The Spa at the Inns of Aurora, I blinked twice to make sure it was real. For years, I had been hearing all about this village in the Finger Lakes from my mother—she and her most devoted friends would drive up for the annual MacKenzie-Childs Barn Sale with thousands of other fanatics. (I was never invited, but to be fair I had zero interest in the brand until the pandemic.) For those who are unfamiliar, MacKenzie-Childs is a home decor company founded by creative couple Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs in 1983. If you haven’t seen one of the brand’s signature check kettles before, you might recognize some of their other items from celebrity kitchens.

My most valuable takeaway from this press trip was connecting the dots between how the village of Aurora influenced my childhood without my awareness. As a millennial, I am the byproduct of a generation that grew up on American Girl—I have all of the original dolls from the Historical Character collection and became obsessed with the AG Mini*s line when it was time to age out. American Girl was founded by Pleasant Rowland in 1986, an alum of Wells College, a private liberal arts college in Aurora that shuttered in 2024. After selling Pleasant Company to Mattel Inc. for $700 million, she pivoted to redeveloping historic buildings in Aurora, a passion project that evolved into the Inns of Aurora, and then purchased MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. in 2001. (There’s A LOT of legal drama about these acquisitions, but that’s not my tea to spill...)

Over the years, MacKenzie-Childs has been adopted by the matriarchs of my family. All of us have even claimed our own check—Courtly Check for my mother and grandmother, Parchment Check for my aunt, Royal Check for my cousin, and yours truly alternates between Rosy Check and Mocha Check. Three months ago, we all spent a weekend in Aurora and it was probably the most fun we’ve ever had together on a trip—I truly can’t recommend the Inns enough, the staff took such good care of us from the moment we arrived. Even though I’d been to the MacKenzie-Childs headquarters twice, I had never toured the 1800s farmhouse on the grounds. (In a past life, it operated as a 65-acre dairy farm.) There are no words to accurately describe the experience of this home tour. When my cousin and I stepped through the front doors for the very first time, our eyes instantly filled with tears.

As we walked through the space, we couldn’t believe how much it felt like a dollhouse brought to life. Truth be told, I could not live in a house decorated exactly like this without going a little insane, but it filled my head with so many design ideas that I hope to execute in the not-so-distant future when I live somewhere else. For my next visit, I need to get access to the estate in King Ferry where the founders resided until 2013—if anyone has a contact to the new homeowner please connect me! (Victoria and Richard have been living on a ferry docked at Staten Island since then.) What I’ve uploaded below is only a fraction of the magic channeled throughout this place, but it would be selfish of me to not share some of it. Disney Adults have their amusement parks, I have the whimsical wonderland that is the MacKenzie-Childs farmhouse.

*Editor’s note: If you’re not reading this on mobile, desktop, or the Substack app then the post will get cut off.

The mirrors

Believe it or not, a good frame can change your entire POV. There’s so much emphasis on finding the right floor mirror, but there are so many other shapes and sizes worth considering to cover your walls. (Why so serious???) I love all the embellishments on the mirrors that decorate the farmhouse, when you gaze at your reflection you feel like a piece of the art. It has the opposite effect of a funhouse mirror.

The walls

If you can’t afford marble or burl wood wall paneling, why not paint it? Even if you’re on the verge of chromophobia, this house demonstrates the power of a paint brush. Rebecca Proctor, brand officer and creative director of MacKenzie-Childs, previously told me that the white seen in the signature check patterns is not an optic white, but a warm, creamy white that is dragged with other hues. This concept is most clear in the Courtly Check covered bedroom dubbed “Pure Sunshine.”

Who cares about the color of the year when you have a hand-painted mural of the surrounding landscape in your hallway! Commissioning a mural is my ultimate fantasy for a home. I love the idea of doing something personal like Rebecca Atwood’s mural of Hampton Park in her dining room or going the Ludwig Bemelmans route. Lastly, I don’t know what’s been stopping me from mounting plates on a wall.

The tiles

After seeing this how could anyone be OK with doing the landlord special? These tiles are so beautiful it makes me sick to look at them. The one place in a home that I own where my freak flag would be flying highhhh is the bathroom. This is where I would go all out with patterns, motifs, the whole shebang. Marble on marble makes my eyes glaze over, talk about dulling the senses! While I’m on the subject, it’s really in everyone’s best interest that I have a claw foot tub in there too. Yes, I’m still drooling on the floor.

The lighting

I have zero self-control in the presence of good lighting, so I could barely contain myself when I encountered so many of my favorite sconces, table lamps, pendants, and chandeliers from the earliest era of MacKenzie-Childs. I’ve successfully sourced a few of them, but my wish list remains unfulfilled at this time. Bedside lamps are tired, I want to read under the glow of a little lamp wired into my headboard. My feelings for fringe have only grown stronger since being here, it really turns up the heat on a lampshade.

The bedrooms

We’re not dreaming big enough when it comes to bedroom design. Where is the drama?! Whether you want to be low on the ground or high up in a canopy, the bed should be the anchor in a sea of dreams come true. The term “fantasy suite” was soiled by the The Bachelor franchise in the early 2000s, but I do believe that the bedroom should feel like an escape from reality. Forget a room with a view, I want a vanity corner to romanticize my life for a few minutes.

The armoires

I sincerely apologize because I didn’t take enough photos of all the hand-painted armoires in the house, but chances are you’ve never seen anything like this. Sometime between the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, MacKenzie-Childs created the “Kitchen in a Cupboard” with a working sink, microwave oven, mini fridge, and plenty of storage for all of your dining delicacies. For me, this would be a dream setup for a tea room. MacKenzie-Childs went on to make regular desk and wardrobe armoires with built-in shelving, but those products are now retired.

I’ve spotted the Chicken Palace Jewelry Armoire on auction a few times—it sold for $18,000 last year—so I was delighted to see it up close. (The top part has been listed separately for as much as $3,300.) There’s also a taller version that looks more like a traditional dollhouse. I envy anyone who owns any of these and if I can ever afford to buy one of them I won’t hesitate. Maybe someday I’ll challenge myself to recreate my own version of it though… Nobody is making masterpieces like this in the studio anymore! The level of craftsmanship applied here is unparalleled.

The attention to detail

Every corner of this house is a DIY lesson that we should all be taking notes on. You don’t have to be a professional artist to paint something beautiful over an ugly eye sores like outlets, vents, and doors. Expressing your distinct point of view is as easy as swapping out the knobs on a cabinet, or customizing the inside of a dresser. A fish sink would would make every trip to the bathroom more enjoyable. For me, the MacKenzie-Childs farmhouse contains an overwhelming amount of inspiration; I can’t wait to come back and do it all over again soon.

In 1999, Pantone Color Institute ushered in a new cultural phenomenon with its Color of the Year program. Cerulean was the inaugural hue to mark the new millennium with a pastel-tinted sense of calmness. Described as a gleaming, cold, and vibrant pastel blue, it symbolized stability and inner calm during a time of uncertainty. Two decades years later, the predictions have cross-pollinated with other industries that are eager to capitalize on the moment. Every year, I wake up to my inbox is flooded with product pairings before I’ve had a chance to read the official announcement. (This year, Pantone leveled up with a dancer and a composer for the campaign, and teamed up with Spotify to curate a COTY playlist.) Here’s a roll call for the 2026 colors of the year:

• PANTONE: Cloud Dancer, “a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity”

• BENJAMIN MOORE: Silhouette, “reminiscent of tailored suiting, this elegant color weaves rich espresso hues with refined notes of charcoal”

• SHERWIN-WILLIAMS: Universal Khaki, “the easygoing neutral that makes every room feel pulled together”

• BEHR: Hidden Gem, “a smoky jade with an air of mystery and sophistication that creates spaces that feel both grounded and alive”

• GRAHAM & BROWN: Divine Damson, “a rich, jewel-toned hue that evokes sophistication while anchoring whimsical designs with an elegant, contemporary edge”

• LITTLE GREENE: Adventurer, “a timeless plum aubergine that is regal and reassuring”

• GLIDDEN: Warm Mahogany, “a rich, grounded red that’s bold enough to draw immediate attention and reserved enough to make a timeless statement”

• VALSPAR: Warm Eucalyptus, “a serene, grounding green with warm undertones that that encourages restoration and resilience”

• DUNN-EDWARDS: Midnight Garden, “a deep, muted green with earthy undertones that capture the quiet elegance of nature”

• KRYLON: Matte Coffee Bean, “an unpretentious shade that brings timeless luxury and modern sophistication to everything it touches”

• C2 PAINT: Epernay, “a refined, earthy soft ochre with hushed mineral undertones”

• DUTCH BOY PAINTS: Melodious Ivory, “a soft, creamy beige that embodies timeless warmth and grounded calmness”

From my POV, Cloud Dancer could represent the cultural reset that many of us seek during these troubled times. While some people might be disappointed by another shade of white, I wonder if it’s a challenge to dream bigger than the white picket fenced fantasies that trapped many of our parents. (Dare I call this the color of Millennial Optimism???) Reader, to be completely transparent with you, I don’t care about any of this. I’m not anti-COTY, but it has no real meaning in my personal life. I’m a single woman in my thirties, I’m not going to drastically change the colors of my walls (or wardrobe) based on a hue that has been nominated by the paint industry.

Also, this is not the sort of thing that keeps me up at night; my anxiety is fueled by much more important things like the thin thread of democracy loosely holding this country together unraveling with each passing day. Following Pantone’s long-awaited announcement, I hopped on a call with Natalie Ebel, co-founder of Backdrop, for an unfiltered conversation about the power of color and how it influences our lives.

Since launching in 2018, Backdrop has never participated in the Color of the Year trend. Why is that?

Natalie Ebel: Ultimately, it’s a way to fast track in making colors feel dated. The first time I did this interview was 2020 and I was like “Who wants to permanently timestamp their home or a color and be like ‘Oh, that was 2020.’ No one is looking to do that. I’ve always separated Pantone from the paint companies because the paint companies really rode [their] coattails. Pantone has always been this color authority, so I’ve always kept them out of the conversation. It’s 2025, the notion of color of the year seems tired. It seems antiquated. It seems like a tradition of almost this repeat of ground constant like why are we still doing it? It’s always been a marketing campaign that they’ve had on their calendar and no one wants to kill it.

If you think about when [Pantone] started [Color of the Year], it was the turn of the millennium in 2000 and that’s when trends were very different; they were coming from the top down. Today, everything is really shaped by micro communities from the bottom up. We’re all getting stuff in different ways and declaring one group of people to rule all feels a little dated in a world that’s a bit more nuanced in 2025. All of these brands take themselves so seriously and make these huge campaigns about it. I understand why they do it because it is a super successful PR and marketing phenomenon around one shade which is incredible if they can do it.

In 2022, Backdrop and Coming Soon teamed up on “COLOR OF THE YEAR.” What was the motivation behind that collaboration?

NE: We named it after a yellow, orange Bottega rubber band color. To get really fun with it, I made a fake website called nationalcolorcommittee.org deeming it the best color in the whole wide world and every color is canceled. I took it one step further, Sydney, and emailed every paint brand CEO from the Color Committee telling them Color the Year was canceled because Backdrop won. I think you have to have some self-awareness that there’s ways to evolve with color… I’m the same with you, no one is deciding what they wear, what they paint, and however else color is involved. Maybe you’ll paint your nails that color for fun, but that’s as far as I would go.

Obviously, we’ve seen these breakout moments for colors in recent years like butter yellow. There are colors that have these moments, but a lot of the time they’re not predicted by trend forecasters or nominated by the industry… Maybe there are some people out there who are strongly influenced by this, but I personally don’t know any of them.

NE: You nailed it. Community observed colors and palettes like butter yellow that no one named color of the year, it just shows how a design led community and these micro communities are the real trendsetters, not these 10 people that sit in a board room and are on the color committee. Can you imagine if your job is to sit in a board meeting like “I’m on the color committee determining what everyone is doing this year.” Some of these companies need to evolve the way that they think about this.

Looking ahead at 2026, I’ve been seeing so much cobalt blue and soft baby blues. So in my mind, I really think shades of blue are going to be of the moment for 2026. That’s just my opinion though.

NE: What I want right now is some more maximalism. Something that brings you joy, something that’s bright, something that’s loud. Something that’s not trying to be—I hate the word “quiet luxury,” that’s pretty dated in itself like no one was trying to do that. But the thing that shocked me as I was reading some of the comments on articles of Pantone selecting white as color of the year, and they were shocked that people related that back to cultural things happening. I was like, “You’re the whole color committee and no one ran that through a filter?” That’s kind of bonkers to me and feels a bit tone deaf.

Pantone spends a lot of time and money to make this decision about what that color is going to be, what it means, and what it represents. In regards to the criticism, maybe that’s the point you know? It seems very complicated even though it’s just a color. I was having a conversation with someone about this the other day, and I was like “Could it represent millennial optimism?” There are a lot of ways that we could read into it, and I think that’s intentional on their part. They want people to talk about it and leave it open to interpretation.

NE: But I think they played it too safe with that, they should have went all the way. Even looking at what Pantone did with some of their Instagram launches, all the artists that they did interview, they were thoughtful in who they spoke to. You can’t do it halfway, you have to have a point of view and you have to go there. I think all these big companies play it way too safe and are trying to make everyone happy, so I think they tried to play both sides with us.

Yeah, it’s like “Neutrals, again?!” I would have liked something a bit more maximalist like you.

NE: There’s a lot of other marketing campaigns and money that you could spend doing really cool things with color rather than this annual declaration that really fell flat in the launch this year. The other thing that’s so disappointing is Cloud Dancer sounds really cool. I love dance, I love movement, and I thought the way they showed it was really fun, but it still didn’t hit in the way that I think they probably intended it to… We’re on the same page though. Maybe some people love color of the year, but it just feels like this very dated marketing campaign that needs a refresh.

I think it’s more fun when you make your own predictions—I do feel affirmed when the industry is in agreement with me. In this case, I definitely did not have white on the bingo card for 2026. Compared to the other colors of the year, there were a lot of grounding green tones. A few brands picked darker plum tones that were a mixture of red and purple, and then there were some beigey yellows. Weirdly, a lot of companies stayed in the same wheelhouse.

NE: I mean, this is what happened back in 2021 too. I have notes from all this over the years, but it was like in 2021 everyone chose a calming green… There’s nothing groundbreaking about that. Of course, people want calming colors. It seems like when there’s a lot going on in the world, all these brands try to communicate that but in a very soft way that never really hits it on the head.

I’m curious for you, what are your personal colors for 2026?

NE: I’ll be honest with you, I think color is deeply personal and I don’t think one person should be the authority to say what’s happening. Color should extend beyond a single shade and be more of a palette. Color evolves in arcs and highlighting a palette, a mood, or a feeling is how I think about color. Color makes you feel something and I think that’s what was disappointing for me about white, although I always joke to the color of the year for paint brands should be white because it’s everyone’s bestselling color. But when you’re talking about a global company like Pantone, it doesn’t make as much sense. There’s a lot that goes into color—there’s texture, there’s feeling, there’s movement—and I would say palettes should be more of that. Maybe that’s where they should go, maybe they’ll read your Substack and be like “Oh, my God.”

Maybe that’s the next phase like “Here’s the palette. This is the mood for the year to come.”

NE: You hit it on the head. Instead of one color maybe it’s palettes tied to mood, region, architecture, people, humans. I think that’s what makes colors more interesting. How do you use it? How does it look different in these migrant communities? That makes it richer and more dimensional… Color is so personal and it’s a reflection of how you want to feel in your space. Paint brand color of the year should have never existed, it was just a bad copycat. Everyone should stop right now.

It’s funny because I didn’t get any emails from Pantone when they announced the Color of the Year, I was getting PR blasts from all these other brands like “Here are all our products that can match the color of the year!” What are we doing?

NE: Color doesn’t have to be so serious. If you aren’t having a little bit of fun and being cheeky, what’s the point? It’s really like that do or die of color of the year, the most important color in the whole wide world. That’s where I ran with [COLOR OF THE YEAR], I think it was the most fun I’ve ever had doing a campaign. It was so fun to do this with Fabi and Helena because they’re equally as crazy as I am and we just kept rolling with it… Maybe I’ll have some fun and email everyone again and tell them it was canceled in 2022 and the color was denied.