The Comm Sheet

Skip to content In case you haven’t heard yet, there’s a noise epidemic indoors, and it’s making people sick. Did you know that excessive sound can cause stress, sleep issues, and even cardiovascular disease? So acoustical (aka wellness) products, like Alfonso Verduzcoa’s new collection for WVH, are trending. Debuting at NeoCon in June, the Alfonso Verduzcoa x WVH ALMA Collection attracted lots of attention.

Skip to content “I wouldn’t have started a furniture company,” says Natalie Hartkopf, chair and co-owner of furniture manufacturer Hightower. "I fell into this." More like her father threw her into it! Some 20 years ago, he asked her to bring a chair to a design firm for review. Simple enough, right? Oh, no, it was not.

Skip to content By Murrye Bernard | Photos by Owen Raggett Some restaurants seem to want to impress you the second you walk through the door. Spago, the newest restaurant at The St. Regis on the Bund, Shanghai, has other plans. Designed by Hong King–based AB Concept, the space unfolds more like a good movie than a flashy reveal. You catch glimpses of what's ahead, wander into another room, discover something unexpected, and before you know it, dinner has turned into an adventure.

By Catherine DiPersico | Photos by Frank Frances Studio For decades, Alfredo Paredes was the wizard behind the curtain. As the creative force shaping Ralph Lauren's legendary retail environments, he built worlds that transported shoppers somewhere else entirely. Now, he's stepped out from behind the curtain to create an Emerald City of his own. The designer's first brick-and-mortar store has opened in Hudson, New York, and it's exactly what you'd hope: less showroom, more beautifully layered home.

Workplace designers have a heavy lift. Balancing everyone’s needs and getting them excited about coming to the office takes superpowers. Has hybrid work made the job easier (because the office is the social place to be)? Or is competing with all the comforts of home still a huge challenge? It depends on who you ask. But one thing’s for sure: Office accessories tap into human needs and help pull a project together, so start talking about them early in the process.

Skip to content Some people just have creativity in their bones. John Sorensen-Jolink is one of them. A decade ago, the formally trained contemporary dancer and choreographer switched gears to pursue his lifelong love of design. For his second act, John turned to lighting- and furniture-making and launched Coil + Drift in the Catskill Mountains of New York. From this 3,000-square-foot showroom, office, and production facility, John and his team design and manufacture all products.

Cape Verde made us all believe in the David and Goliath story, This tiny African nation (which qualified for the World Cup for the first time this year) forced extra time against Argentina on July 3 before the defending champs ultimately won. Sidny Lopes Cabral (above) celebrates his goal to tie it 2 to 2. Photo by Nathan Ray Seebeck I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been obsessed with the 2026 World Cup.

Skip to content In an era once dominated by glass-and-steel buildings, adaptive reuse is on the rise, and we’re laying out the red carpet. From preserving embodied energy and lowering carbon footprints to embracing authenticity and historic character over the newest shiny fad, it’s tapping into the cultural zeitgeist. Stradom House, a five-star hotel located in Kraków, Poland’s historic center, perfectly exemplifies the allure.

Skip to content By Nicole Haddad | Photos by Oscar Hernández Sometimes, the hotels that stick with you the longest are the ones that offer pure escape. Other times, we measure these hospitality spaces by how beautifully they reflect their surroundings. In the case of the Laiva San Jose, a boutique hotel set in the historic center of San Josè del Cabo, Mexico, it does both.

Skip to content By Catherine DiPersico | Photos by Stevie Campbell White tablecloths? Sure. White-knuckling over which fork to use? Nope, not here. Tucked inside West London's cultural hub for art, design, and performance, Pollini at Ladbroke Hall occupies the soaring arched entrance of what was once the Sunbeam Talbot Motor Company's 1903 automobile factory. Somehow, that's not the coolest thing about it.