H&M Home.
Dusty 17th-century floorboards and ochre Baroque palazzo walls might seem an unlikely home for a high-street giant, yet Milan has a way of making contradictions feel incredibly natural. Palazzo Acerbi’s ancient rooms, once famous for the wild parties of a 17th-century Marquess, now house the much-anticipated collaboration between H&M Home and Kelly Wearstler. Marking a double debut for both the brand and the designer at Salone del Mobile, the installation offers a look at 29 pieces of furniture, lighting and decorative objects, showcasing a departure from the small-scale accessories that defined the brand since 2009. Schön! walked through the space guided by Evelina Kravaev-Söderberg, the creative lead at H&M Home, for a first look at the collaboration.
Modern silhouettes sit against a backdrop of historic frescoes, creating a friction that Kravaev-Söderberg found irresistible. “We wanted to showcase our very contemporary products in this older environment because we’ve talked a lot about the interesting connection between the past and the present,” she says.
H&M Home.
Out of the 29 items that make up the full range, nine hero pieces lead the narrative in Milan. Emera table lamps appear in reimagined, floor-scale proportions to lead visitors toward the dining room, where Noxen chairs sit atop silver mirrored plinths. Reflections dance across raw, historic walls, creating a conversation between the ornate permanence of the palazzo and the contemporary shapes of the furniture. Mirrors work to destabilise the space, making the heavy solid wood feel as though it might be floating. Here, custom music fill the rooms, ensuring visitors experience the collection through every sense as they move through the historic space.
Two shutter box cabanas house the Aurex lamp, an object defined by its silhouette and framed like a piece of art within a vitrine. Light projections move through the shutters to animate the walls while custom music fills the air, ensuring every sense is engaged. Moving into the lounge, the Soluna lounge chair and Poma accent chair are stacked and layered against striped wallpaper. “My approach to design is always the same. It’s more intricate, of course, to do the furniture; it needs to hold a human body. There are different purposes but a similar passion put into every object,” she explains.
H&M Home.
Patterns deepen in the floral room, where the softly contoured Curva vase takes a position of prominence. Vintage floral wallpapers and bronze mirrors reflect a space filled with live flowers and a plush carpet, creating a warm, enveloping atmosphere. Solid wood chairs with geometrical silhouettes take over the dining room, designed to function as both seating and standalone art. Vintage wallpapers, selected by Wearstler herself and blown up to a larger scale, line the walls to give the illusion that the installation has always existed within the historic building.
The final room introduces the Mona clothing rack, finished in a high-gloss red that stands out against pink and green walls. Printed garment bags suggest a narrative that extends beyond the room, while a custom scent by Side Hustle – heavy with notes of orange flower, jasmine, and Palo Santo – drifts through every corner.
H&M Home.
Modularity defines the larger items, particularly the Avern armchairs and the circular Ortra sofa table that can be configured to fit various living spaces. Creative solutions emerged from the practicalities of a global retailer, ensuring items can be transported easily. “Modularity is the main theme here in Salone [del Mobile]. We have restrictions at H&M when it comes to sizing and weight, so we had to figure all that out,” Kravaev-Söderberg says.
Working with Kelly Wearstler meant navigating a year of renderings and development to ensure the quality met the designer’s high standards. Wearstler, renowned for her West Coast maximalism and her work on luxury Proper Hotels, brings a Californian soul to the Swedish brand. Wearstler’s Californian aesthetic finds a partner in a neutral colour palette that feels timeless and accessible.
H&M Home.
A three-day session in Stockholm served as the catalyst for the partnership, where screens were abandoned in favour of material samples and printed references. Kravaev-Söderberg still recalls the energy of their sessions. “[Wearstler] She’s inspired us a lot with raising the bar and just never being satisfied,” she says. “We actually printed out things and talked about colours sitting on the floor.”
Backgrounds and heritage inform every choice Kravaev-Söderberg makes, from her roots in Sofia, Bulgaria, to her studies in Paris and life in Stockholm. A multicultural perspective helps her design for an international audience with varied tastes. “Bulgaria and Sweden are completely different, but I think also that’s why I love to work for an international company,” she says.
Such a balanced outlook ensures the assortment can offer both minimalist geometry and more decorative ornamentation without losing its identity. “In a way, we are all the same and in many other ways we’re not, so it’s easy to find this balance and diversity also within our assortment,” Kravaev-Söderberg says. “H&M Home is not about one style; we try to make one assortment for different tastes and different aesthetics.”
H&M Home.
Balancing beauty and utility remains the priority for H&M, ensuring every object answers a purpose which can shape how people live. “I hope that they [the consumers] will understand the concept of modularity and that they will have a feeling to play around in their home, because that’s what you actually can do with a modular assortment.”
The ultimate goal for the design team is to create items that hold emotional value. “The home, I think, is the most personal thing around you,” says Kravaev-Söderberg. “It’s a space where you really can be yourself and relax. To me, the home is my sanctuary still.”
Visitors to Milan can view the collection until the end of April, before the official launch in stores on September 3rd. Discover more here.
photography. courtesy of H&M Home
words. Gennaro Costanzo
