No intro, let’s just do this.
Drumroll, please…dududuudududududuuduuudddudududddhhhhh…
Announcing Schmatta’s First Annual “Best Design Things” Awards!
When I think back on this awful, awful year, I realize that so much of my joy came through discoveries and furniture/rooms/decor I connected with on an emotional level. So here we go: my 10 favorite design things of 2025. (But seriously, still fuck you, 2025.)
Most Innovative Furniture Company
Sawkille, a small furniture brand based in Kingston, New York, blew me away this year with their tables, cabinets, and credenzas adorned with intimate inlays made of shells, mother of pearl, or brass. Is there a German word for when a piece of furniture makes you feel warm inside and more connected to everything? Because that’s how I felt about this table, this “witch’s hutch,” and this cabinet. Sawkille makes objects that are undeniably poetic.
Best New Product
Congrats to Lazy Jamie founder Jamie McKillop for capturing the design world’s attention with her reinvention of the TV tray. It was an area ripe for redevelopment, and I like that the Lazy Jamie TV Tray Table ($546) isn’t a direct interpretation of the fold-out variety.
Best New Kids’ Product
Let me tell you something: Finding good kids’ toy/junk storage is a challenge. Sourcing something great is unheard of. Most toy chests out there are cheesy and cheap (seriously, we have a plastic-y one from Amazon) or they are expensive without offering enough storage. One of my favorite kids’ furniture brands, NYC-based Oeuf, nailed it this year with its Camel Storage Bench ($620). It’s spacious, and while pricey, is meant to last. And honestly, once your kids are grown, why not paint it, make a custom cushion cover, and put it in your mud room (if you are a fancy New Englander).
Best New Cleaning Product
Alter:Bio reached out to me earlier in the year to ask me to test its new products. Here’s the skinny: Alter:Bio is the first U.S. cleaning brand that meets European standards (and you know they do things better over there). The products work off of synbiotics, which combine pro- and prebiotics to eliminate bacteria. But actually, what I love most was this design tidbit: The bottles are skinny enough to sit on the tiny sink-adjacent countertops of sad New York City apartments. I tried both the spray ($16) and the Active Dish Soap ($19) — both great.
Best New Furniture Brand
Brought to you by the same people behind Sundays, Hetta is an offshoot that offers more traditional-leaning aesthetics. There were two pieces that really stood out to me. First, the Hillside Dining Chair ($990), which is comically oversized, but in an Alice in Wonderland-type brilliance. The second is the Saddle 4-Piece Modular Sectional ($5,200), which features a performance fabric (so great if you have children) that really doesn’t come off at ALL as “performance fabric.” This will definitely be our next couch.
Best Towels for People Who Hate “Trendy” or Boring Towels
2025 was the year Autumn Sonata entered the chat (even though the company was founded in 2022). They make table linens and loungewear, but the towels are the standouts, which immediately struck me as “black sheep”-ish…not adhering to the trends of the day like stripes and checkerboard motifs. My favorites? The Alma collection, followed by the Agnes, and okay, fine, I also love the Hanna.
Best Home Tour
Go figure: My favorite home tour of the year was NOT designed by a designer. It’s the Brooklyn apartment of Diet Prada founder Tony Liu, which was featured in World of Interiors. Liu did have some help on color consultation, however, in the form of Patrick O’Donnell, international brand ambassador for Farrow & Ball. (BTW, I love whenever Patrick shows up on F&B’s IG.) The result is a space that feels entirely cohesive, but doesn’t quite have that “over-designed” feeling. It’s a home that’s all about the absolute perfect color combinations and will definitely be in my permanent inspiration folder.
Best Collab
Look, I will say that the West Elm x Pierce & Ward line was by far the splashiest of the year, and was definitely very, very good as far as mass market collabs goes. But the one I loved the most was with HAY (gotta love them Danes) and Ana Kraš. I had no idea who she was but learned that she created the HAY Bonbon light fixtures that are part of HAY’s permanent collection. The collab she did this year is much more reserved, and almost severe, but kind of perfect in its simple geometry. Of course, it’s basically sold out everywhere except for here and here.
Emerging Talent
I don’t know exactly how I came to L.A.-based furniture and interior designer Addison Byrd but I knew I liked his style immediately. Why? Because the spaces he’s made actually feel like real, attainable homes. There’s a lot of restraint in his work. His talent lies in finding a handful of standout pieces and knowing how to put them together in a way that feels incredibly smart. His most recent project was for singer Lizzy McAlpine. See the brilliance here. (He also has a very happenin’ TikTok.)
Maker to Watch
Ben Tuna runs Glass Visions Studio, a California glassworks business founded by his father over 40 years ago. Ben has been making a name for himself under the moniker “Glass Cowboy” and his Instagram tells me that his creativity is off the charts. (Check out this Porsche that was burned out from the Eaton Fires, which he turned into an art piece, replacing all the windows with cobbled-together scrap glass from stained windows of churches.) I am certain you will be hearing his name more in 2026.
And there you have it! Next week, we will follow suit of many other Substackers and tell you, based on my own data and analytics, what you liked the best in design.
xxoo and happy christmas,
Leo
feels so nice to be seen & mentioned, thank you 🫂
this is an INSANE honor