With callbacks to subtle Art Deco flourishes all the rage in contemporary furniture design these past few years, age-old artisanal techniques like marquetry have cropped up in cleverly interpretive and narrative-driven applications. This approach introduces complementary, sometimes contrasting, materials into the surfaces of what are normally monolithic forms. These meticulously introduced details break up the monotony of rigid modernist designs while inlaying them into their resolutely uniform profiles. They imbue these otherwise nondescript objects with emotional resonance, as well as visually and viscerally enticing complexity.
Taking the revived marquetry trend a step further is the new Eva Collection, just released by New York-based luxury furniture brand Maiden Home. This fresh, limited-run offering sees adornment lightly rise above the surface of expertly crafted casework furnishings — oak and walnut armoires and sideboards. It takes the unexpected form of perfectly encased ceramic tiles, a finish usually found cladding bathrooms and kitchens, but rarely anything else.
Though there are a handful of companies that have elevated tile to the status of statement-piece novelty — promoting quality bespoke production, introducing striking colorways, and developing bold patterns — few have taken it out of its primary architectural application.
In the Eva Collection—Maiden Home’s second collective commission series—the carefully considered configuration of the geometric plates is not just decorative but also functional. They help indicate where otherwise seamlessly flush cabinet doors can be opened. It is a subtle nod to the virtues of honest assembly espoused by the late 19th-century Arts and Crafts movement. There is a sculptural logic behind the hand-cast tile meeting the wooden surface, perfectly anchored into place—almost like puzzle pieces—by gentle yet resolute framing.
“It’s not overly referential or reverential, however,” says Nidhi Kapur, Maiden Home founder. “Eva has a timeless quality but perhaps we need to find a better word to describe that quality. It’s not here, it’s not there. It stands on its own.”
“[All of] our work begins with material and the hands that shape it,” she adds. “These commission projects stem from our obsession with a particular material and craft. Eva grows out of ceramic, which has a real directness. Each tile is made by hand; you can see it. The geometric language of this collection came from pairing these elements against the precision of the wooden frames. Material against material; each one shaping the other.”
Released during NYCxDesign 2026, the Eva Collection was unveiled in a specially staged setting befitting the weight and refinement of its making. The moody, golden-hued installation played up the warmth of the seemingly disparate yet actually symbiotic materials incorporated.
To shop this and other furnishings from the brand, visit maidenhome.com.
Photography provided by Maiden Home.
