A NEW YEAR IS OFTEN FRAMED AS AN INVITATION TO ERASE. TO CLEAR, PURGE, RESET. THE LANGUAGE OF JANUARY IS FULL OF ABSOLUTES: CLEAN SLATE, FRESH START, OUT WITH THE OLD. BUT A NEW YEAR DOES NOT REQUIRE AMNESIA. IT DOES NOT DEMAND THAT WE GET RID OF WHAT HAS COME BEFORE IN ORDER TO MAKE ROOM FOR WHAT FOLLOWS—CERTAINLY NOT IN DESIGN.
IN FACT, MUCH OF WHAT IS HANDCRAFTED IMPROVES WITH AGE. WOOD DEEPENS IN TONE, LEATHER SOFTENS, STONE RECORDS USE. PATINA IS NOT AN ACCIDENT; IT IS THE VISIBLE RECORD OF TIME AND CARE. IN DESIGN HISTORY, LONGEVITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MARKER OF QUALITY. OBJECTS THAT LAST WERE NOT DESIGNED TO FOLLOW A CYCLE, BUT TO EXIST BEYOND ONE.
OF COURSE, A NEW YEAR DOES MARK THE END OF A CYCLE AND THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER. ASTROLOGERS WILL DESCRIBE IT AS A MOMENT RIPE FOR REFLECTION AND RENEWAL. EVEN OUTSIDE ASTROLOGY, THE CALENDAR ITSELF INVITES REASSESSMENT. WE TAKE STOCK, RECONSIDER HABITS, MAKE PLANS. BUT REFLECTION DOES NOT REQUIRE REPLACEMENT. RENEWAL DOES NOT HAVE TO MEAN REMOVAL.
DESIGN, BY NATURE, IS ITERATIVE. IT IS A PROCESS OF CONTINUAL ADJUSTMENT RATHER THAN ABRUPT TRANSFORMATION. HOMES EVOLVE SLOWLY. KITCHENS ARE NOT REPLACED ANNUALLY; THEY ARE UPDATED PERHAPS ONCE EVERY DECADE. BATHROOMS LAST EVEN LONGER. SOFAS, TABLES, AND STORAGE PIECES OFTEN STAY WITH US THROUGH MULTIPLE CHAPTERS OF LIFE. THESE OBJECTS HAVE THEIR OWN TIMELINES, INDEPENDENT OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
INTERIORS ACCUMULATE MEANING OVER TIME. A DINING TABLE CARRIES THE MEMORY OF DAILY MEALS AND OCCASIONAL GATHERINGS. A CHAIR REVEALS WHERE HANDS REST AND BODIES SETTLE. TO EXPECT A HOME TO RESET ITSELF EVERY JANUARY IS NOT ONLY IMPRACTICAL, IT MISUNDERSTANDS WHAT DOMESTIC SPACE IS FOR. HOMES ARE LIVED IN, NOT VERSIONED.
FURNITURE, IN THIS WAY, IS CLOSER TO CLOTHING THAN WE OFTEN ADMIT. WHEN YOU INVEST IN WELL-MADE GARMENTS, THEY STOP BEING SEASONAL AND START BECOMING PART OF A WARDROBE. A WOOL COAT PURCHASED TEN OR FIFTEEN YEARS AGO MAY NOT BE WORN EVERY WINTER, BUT IT REMAINS RELEVANT. ITS VALUE LIES NOT IN NOVELTY, BUT IN RELIABILITY AND FIT. IT EARNS ITS PLACE.
I WAS REMINDED OF THIS RECENTLY IN A SMALL, ALMOST UNREMARKABLE MOMENT. THIS MORNING, AT THE GYM, I PULLED ON AN OLD JIL SANDER T-SHIRT FROM THE EARLY 2000S. IT STILL FITS. THE FABRIC STILL HOLDS. THERE WAS NO FUNCTIONAL OR AESTHETIC REASON TO REPLACE IT. ITS CONTINUED USEFULNESS WAS QUIET PROOF THAT GOOD DESIGN RESISTS EXPIRATION.
THE SAME LOGIC APPLIES TO INTERIORS. WHEN PIECES ARE CHOSEN FOR THEIR MATERIAL INTEGRITY, CONSTRUCTION, AND PROPORTION, THEY DO NOT AGE OUT. THEY SETTLE IN. THEY BECOME PART OF THE BACKGROUND OF DAILY LIFE, WHICH IS PRECISELY WHERE THE BEST DESIGN BELONGS.
SO FOR 2026, MY INTENTIONS ARE NOT ABOUT CLEARING AWAY, BUT ABOUT CHOOSING CAREFULLY. IF THERE IS A NEED TO ACQUIRE SOMETHING NEW—A DESK I HAVE BEEN EYEING, A COFFEE TABLE TO ANCHOR A SPACE—IT WILL BE SOMETHING MADE WITH SKILL, FROM EXCELLENT MATERIALS, AND WITH THE EXPECTATION OF TIME. NOT BECAUSE IT IS NEW, BUT BECAUSE IT DESERVES TO GROW OLD.
A NEW YEAR DOES NOT ASK US TO ERASE WHAT WORKS. IT ASKS US TO LOOK AGAIN, MEASURE WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE, AND DECIDE—DELIBERATELY—WHAT IS WORTH ADDING. THAT, TO ME, IS RENEWAL ENOUGH.