Helena Clunies-Ross Introduces Her Calma Furniture Collection

Helena Clunies-Ross, founder of an eponymous design studio based in New York and London, has introduced her debut furniture line, Calma. Composed of six sculptural pieces—a sofa, daybed, console, coffee table, dining table, and dining chair—the collection coalesces Clunies-Ross’ background in fine arts with her tenure as design director at Anouska Hempel Design, as well as the expertise forged by and reflected in her studio’s repertoire of high-end residential design projects.

Calma foregrounds clean lines, organic shapes, and natural materials. This is evidenced by the gently curving daybed, which gives the visual illusion of flotation, and sets tailored linen upholstery upon an ebonized walnut, smoky walnut, bleached white oak, or honey white oak base. The same could be said of the stately dining table, where one detail—a vertical seam lined with antique brass—acts as an elegant exclamation point. It’s the sleek sofa, with its rounded timber screens enveloping the piece, that distills the vision behind the name Calma and the stillness it evokes.

“Each piece celebrates the marriage and juxtaposition of natural materials, interplayed in a way that enhances the natural flow of light and space,” Clunies-Ross tells Surface. “The beauty of the collection lies in its simplicity—and its purity of line creates a quiet foundation upon which any design language can be layered. These pieces act as the architectural bones of a space, allowing other textures and forms to find balance around them.”

Coinciding with the debut of the Calma collection, Brooklyn-based ceramicist Ilona Golovina designed a series of hand-coiled vessels for Helena Clunies-Ross Design. These limited-edition pieces—which draw inspiration from ancient silhouettes—embrace the imperfections born of human hands. They work in concert with the architecture of Clunies-Ross’ Calma creations.