From sculptural furniture and statement tableware to bespoke storage pieces, jewelry designers are translating their expertise into a new world of interiors.
Jewelry design and home décor may seem like separate disciplines, but a growing number of creatives are finding that the two share more similarities than expected. Designers known for crafting intricate pieces for the body are now applying their skills to furniture, lighting, tableware and decorative objects—bringing a fresh perspective to the world of interiors.
Left to right: Anna Karlin’s blown-glass and aluminum Triplet lamp; Karlin’s monolithic ceramic bar cabinet.Johnny Miller
Among them is Lara Bohinc, whose career in jewelry included collaborations with major luxury names such as Cartier, Gucci and Montblanc. After graduating from London’s Royal College of Art, Bohinc quickly established herself in the industry. But after more than a decade working with jewelry, she began looking for greater creative freedom.
“I felt really limited by jewelry,” she explains, pointing to the restrictions around materials, colour, weight and form.
In 2016, she launched Bohinc Studio, shifting her attention to furniture and home accessories. Her designs reflect the same sculptural sensibility that defined her jewelry work, but with more room to experiment.
Her early Planetaria collection featured intricate lamps inspired by miniature planets and rounded seating that evoked futuristic thrones. Since then, she has explored a wide range of materials and shapes. The Anima collection, for example, features rounded upholstered seats resembling whimsical creatures, while her Betsy tables take inspiration from birds, with layered leather details reminiscent of feathers.
Jewelry and Interiors Share a Design Language
Bohinc is part of a wider group of jewelry designers moving into the home-design market. Their work demonstrates how the principles behind creating jewelry—attention to proportion, texture, movement and comfort—can translate naturally into furniture and decorative objects.
Jeweler Jessica McCormack sees a clear connection between the two disciplines. She explains that designing jewelry requires careful consideration of how an object sits, moves and feels against the body. Similar thinking, she says, applies when creating pieces intended for everyday use in the home.
In September, McCormack introduced her first home collection in collaboration with design and fragrance brand L’Objet. The range includes shell-inspired bowls and a caviar dish, drawing on memories of growing up in New Zealand, where the ocean played a significant role in her life.
That coastal influence has also appeared throughout her jewelry collections, including the Hello Sailor and Beaches lines.
Bernard James and USM Reimagine the Jewelry Box
For designer Bernard James, the move into home accessories began with a practical frustration: he wanted a jewelry box that he simply could not find.
Looking for a partner to bring the idea to life, he approached Swiss furniture company USM. The relationship had an established foundation. Early in his career, when his studio operated out of his Williamsburg apartment, James used USM furniture to display his work.
Their first collaboration introduced a collection of smaller objects, including the jewelry box, an incense holder and valet trays. Although these pieces represented a departure from USM’s traditional furniture offerings, they retained the company’s recognizable metal-frame design language.
The partnership has since expanded beyond accessories. This fall, James transformed USM’s New York flagship showroom into a temporary home for his work and atelier while his Greenpoint store undergoes renovations.
The project also gave him an opportunity to create another piece of furniture: the Makers’ Desk. Inspired by the need for an attractive and functional jewelry workbench, James designed a piece he says will find a permanent place in his own studio, and possibly his home.
Jessica McCormack’s tableware collaboration with L’Objet.Courtesy of L’Objet
Anna Karlin Moves From Furniture Into Jewelry
While Bohinc, McCormack and James have brought jewelry influences into home design, Anna Karlin has followed the opposite path.
Karlin began her career in furniture and later added jewelry to her creative practice. The transition was a natural one, reflecting a longstanding interest in jewelry and her frequent visits to New York’s Diamond District to source castings for furniture projects.
She eventually extended her signature blend of classic and contemporary design into jewelry, while continuing to produce one-off accessories.
For Karlin, the distinction between the two fields is not particularly significant. She views both as forms of functional sculpture—objects that combine artistic expression with practical use.
“I sort of see it, essentially, as kind of one and the same,” she says. “It’s usable sculpture.”
As more designers move between jewelry and interiors, their work is showing how creativity can travel across disciplines. Whether expressed through a ring, a sculptural chair, a decorative bowl or a custom desk, the shared focus remains on craftsmanship, form and the relationship people have with the objects around them.
