This week in design, if you’ve ever been inspired by a piece of furniture or clothing you’ve seen on-screen, in real life or in a photo, you’re in luck—New York Times reporters will now help track it down for you, thanks to a new series by T magazine. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches, events, recommended reading and more.
Business News
Compass has agreed to acquire competitor Anywhere Real Estate in a $1.6 billion all-stock deal—one of the largest transactions ever in the residential brokerage sector, The Wall Street Journal reports. Anywhere Real Estate, which was the second-biggest brokerage by volume in 2024 behind Compass, serves as parent company to a number of top real estate brands, including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran and Sotheby’s International Realty. Together, the combined companies will create an entity valued at roughly $10 billion, including debt. The acquisition comes amid a broader consolidation spree in the real estate realm, with mortgage giant Rocket scooping up brokerage Redfin earlier this year, before announcing plans to buy fellow loan servicer Mr. Cooper Group.
Pintar Investment Company, a real estate investment firm, is under contract to buy the Laguna Design Center in Orange County, California, from Dallas-based Dunhill Partners, The Real Deal reports. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The 240,000-square-foot design center is currently home to 40 showrooms, including Thomas Lavin, The Shade Store, Baker-McGuire and Interiors Fine Flooring. Following the acquisition, which will be completed in May 2026, Pintar aims to redevelop the space to offer “a more connected, experience-driven environment for the broader public,” with new dining options and additional retailers.
Saks Global is in talks to sell a 49 percent stake—worth roughly $1 billion—in Bergdorf Goodman, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to inside sources, the department store owner is looking to ease its debt load after last year’s $2.65 billion purchase of Neiman Marcus and in the face of slowed sales throughout the luxury sector.
Cosulich Interiors & Antiques, a family-owned company specializing in 20th century Italian design, is closing its showroom in the New York Design Center, Home Accents Today reports. Following the end of its lease in January, it will transition to an online-only model in the U.S., which it will operate out of its headquarters in Italy—a move that managing director Fabienne Cosulich says will make logistics easier for the business. Until then, the company is holding a sale on everything in its 200 Lex showroom, which will run until the end of the year.
Easy Way Products, a Cincinnati-based outdoor cushion manufacturer, has acquired fellow outdoor soft accessories maker Casual Cushion Corp., Casual News Now reports. Following the purchase, Casual Cushion vice president Jason Siesel will join Easy Way as vice president of strategic growth. Along with driving growth among the company’s legacy customers, Siesel will focus on expanding Easy Way’s accounts in the North American market.
New York–based firm The Designers Group has acquired Los Angeles design firm Interior Images. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 1990 by Cheryl Sanders, Interior Images specializes in health care and senior living environments. Following the purchase, Sanders will join TDG, serving as senior vice president of health care and furthering the firm’s mission to bring lifestyle-focused design to its nationwide portfolio of senior living, health care and hospitality projects.
Launches and Collaborations
Design duo Chris Loves Julia teamed up with York Wallcoverings to debut an assortment of traditional wallpaper designs. The Storied collection features an array of patterns—botanicals, damasks and textural accents such as a trompe l’oeil wood paneling design—inspired by the couple’s exploration of historic houses, ranging from the Biltmore in North Carolina to stately London homes.
Luxury tableware brand Christofle partnered with jewelry designer Charlotte Chesnais for the introduction of Carrousel, a new collection of flatware pieces, each incorporating a unique teardrop-shaped silhouette. The debut includes a 24-piece silver-plated set (available in classic and gold-gilded finishes) presented in an upright sculptural case with rotating door.
Recommended Reading
After the Department of Energy’s 2023 ban on the sale of most incandescent lightbulbs, the market for buying the classic bulbs has become far more complicated—but at least one New York shop owner has consumers covered. For Curbed, Clio Chang spotlights a long-running family-owned store that seems to sell every type of lightbulb imaginable (tiny bulbs for microscopes, tubular bulbs for overheads, colored bulbs, smart bulbs, pretzel-shaped bulbs) with the kind of vast inventory that has some customers traveling halfway across the world for a simple bulb.
This summer marked several major leaps in the world of cryptocurrency—including the debut of Christie’s International Real Estate’s first division dedicated to digital currency payments. For Financial Times, Lisa Freedman explores how the ability to purchase homes with crypto is gaining traction in a number of cities across the globe (even while the overall rate of these transactions remains quite low).
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