6 Design-Driven Products for a Desert Aesthetic at Home

Home + Design, Shopping

The duality of these designs warrants a double take.

by | Jun 6, 2025

PHOTO COURTESY ALICE GAO, STYLED BY LINDEN ELSTRAN, COURTESY MUD AUSTRALIA

Listen to this story:

BEAUTY + UTILITY

Hard-working tableware by Mud Australia at Phylum

Bowls, platters, and trays are part of a full collection that holds a secret identity. Designed for everyday use, Mud Australia’s beautiful porcelain dinnerware and serving pieces transition from the oven or microwave to the table or buffet, then straight into the dishwasher. Available in 19 signature colors, they’re handcrafted by artisans in Sydney who know the pieces will go on to entertain with ease across the globe.

COURTESY DESIGN WITHIN REACH

SCULPTURE + SEATING

The deliciously fun Fortune Chair at Design Within Reach

Indoors or out, may this chair bring good fortune to all who relax in its supportive form. Six colors suit any setting, while its cookie-inspired shape ensures it’s the sweetest seat in any room or by the pool. JUMBO founders Monling Lee and Justin Donnelly designed the novel Fortune Chair for Heller, and now it’s available exclusively at DWR. The chair incorporates a drainage hole and a hidden grip for easy mobility and is made in the U.S.A. from recycled and recyclable plastic.

COURTESY SANTA BARBARA DESIGNS

COURTESY SANTA BARBARA DESIGNS

UMBRELLA + DESIGNER FABRIC

Bespoke outdoor umbrellas by Santa Barbara Designs 

Designers know, but did you? Any umbrella by Santa Barbara Designs can be lined with your choice of fabric. We asked two desert style icons, Martyn Lawrence Bullard and Trina Turk, to pair their signature fabrics with one of these shades. “The fun and playful nature of my Performance Fabrics always has an exotic twist,” Bullard says, “which is the perfect pairing to these chic umbrellas, making them as unique as they are beautiful.” His Kabba Kabba print appears inside a Regency Double Decker Umbrella. “The Trina Turk for Schumacher Indoor/Outdoor fabric collection was inspired by the Palm Springs cocktails-by-the-pool lifestyle, so the prints are a natural fit for adding an extra bit of zest to a custom Santa Barbara Designs umbrella,” Turk says. “The reveal of pattern is a vibrant surprise.” Her Sunbeam print in Horizon Blue appears in a Paseo Umbrella with a PS Modern Valance.

INDUSTRIAL + ARTISANAL

XL Wood Chain Links at Super Simple 

These oversized links, each a foot long, swap the cold rigidity of metal for the warmth of whitewashed wood. Hand-carved and assembled in configurations of three or five, they’re designed purely to be admired, whether stretched out as a dining table centerpiece, coiled on a console, or hung as a conversation piece. Created in collaboration with author and interior designer Hilary Robertson, each one-of-a-kind chain highlights the strength of unity, particularly in unexpected forms.

PHOTO COURTESY SUPER SIMPLE

PHOTO BY ELISE APFEL, COURTESY RŌAM

CERAMIC + FIBER 

Vases by Karen Gayle Tinney at Rōam

“When I first saw her vases, I was captivated by their beauty and simplicity,” Rōam owner Romina Gil de Matos says of the Vermont-based artist’s work. “In studying them, I realized the intricacy of the workmanship isn’t simple at all. The ceramic and fiber rely on each other for structure and completeness.” Gil de Matos loves how Tinney’s “intriguing” work resonates with those who roam her space at The Shops at Thirteen Forty Five in Palm Springs. “Each vase symbolizes broader themes of connection, completion, and harmony of contrasting materials to form a unified whole.” 

TIDELLI + MISSONI

Limited-edition collaboration pieces at  Tidelli Outdoor Living

The Pentagramma Collection pairs Tidelli’s chairs, benches, and stools with an expressive palette by Francesco Maccapani Missoni, a descendant of Italy’s legendary Missoni family. The charismatic partnership bridges Italian design heritage and Brazilian craftsmanship while channeling Francesco’s own creative voice. Color, in his view, is like music: a language that stirs emotion. With 12 exclusive patterns, more than 20 rope colors, and wood frames in three finishes, these limited-edition designs elevate furniture into rhythmic compositions, drawing inspiration from the interplay of musical notes to produce a visual symphony of pattern, texture, and tone.

Courtesy  TIDELLI OUTDOOR LIVING

SHARE THIS STORY