RH Estates Brings The Language Of The Archive Into Modern Living

RH Estates arrives with a collection that treats history as a source of possibility. Drawing together celebrated designers, historic archives and artisans from across Europe and beyond, the launch brings together work by Michael Taylor, Formations, Anouska Hempel, Dmitriy & Co, Fortuny and The Van Thiels. Across furniture, lighting, textiles and décor, centuries of decorative arts are reinterpreted through a contemporary RH lens, connecting architectural traditions and time-honoured techniques with the way interiors are being imagined today.

The collection moves across eras and geographies with a strong interest in the details that have survived them. Formations' Paloma revisits the architectural language of an 18th-century Portuguese antique, while Hugo by The Van Thiels takes cues from the curved lines of 1920s French ironwork. Elsewhere, Valencia draws from the ornate Moorish patterns of 17th-century Spanish architecture, while Baldacchino looks towards 17th-century Italy through its spiralled posts and brass detailing. These references give the pieces a sense of history without turning the collection into a recreation of the past.

Michael Taylor's archive adds another important layer. Known for defining what became recognised as the California look, Taylor brought together grand proportions and a more relaxed approach to luxury. RH's acquisition of Michael Taylor Designs has allowed the house to return to his original moulds and reintroduce some of his defining pieces, including the Jennifer Chair, originally designed for actress Jennifer Jones in the 1970s, and the Diamond Table. Their return demonstrates how an archive can be revisited decades later and still offer ideas for contemporary interiors. Fortuny's Scheherazade chandelier takes the collection into another realm, handcrafted in Venice and drawing on the romance of A Thousand and One Nights. Its presence sits alongside pieces such as the Barrosa, where walnut construction and hand-rubbed finishes meet geometric Moorish-inspired relief. Throughout RH Estates, material becomes a way of connecting different periods of design, with carving, metalwork, finishing and traditional construction techniques remaining visible in the final pieces.

That attention to process is central to the collection. RH Estates places considerable emphasis on the work of master artisans, with pieces individually crafted and finished through techniques that have been passed between generations. Hand-applied finishes, carved surfaces and traditional methods introduce variation from one piece to the next, giving the furniture an individuality that mass production often removes.

The collection also gives designers greater control over how these historical references enter a contemporary space. RH Bespoke Furniture allows architects and interior designers to specify dimensions for pieces including dining tables, dressers, sideboards and cabinets, adapting them to the proportions of a particular interior. RH Couture Upholsteryextends that custom approach to sofas, sectionals, chairs, ottomans and beds, allowing clients to specify both sizing and their own materials.

The inaugural RH Estates Sourcebook brings together more than 165 collections spanning furniture, lighting, rugs, textiles, décor and outdoor living. The launch is arriving across RH Design Galleries in North America, Europe and the UK, including RH London and RH Milan, with further standalone Galleries planned for Greenwich and West Hollywood. Following our visit to RH's Madrid location, the collection offers another view into the brand's expanding design world, where historical references, contemporary living and international craftsmanship intersect.

RH Estates ultimately presents the archive as something active. Its pieces carry references to Portuguese antiques, Venetian interiors, French ironwork, Spanish architecture, Italian furniture and the Californian design movement, but they are made for rooms being lived in now. It is this movement between history and the present that gives the collection its character: the past provides the vocabulary, while contemporary life gives it somewhere new to speak.