Athena Calderone Unveils a Swoonworthy Collection for Crate & Barrel
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Entertaining expert-turned-interior designer Athena Calderone has a devoted online following—and they're partially to thank for her newest collection. This week, the founder of Eyeswoon unveiled a new collection with Crate & Barrel, her largest furniture collaboration yet, and much of her inspiration came from conversations with her online community.
“I always get asked about this coffee table,” she says, gesturing to a white, three-legged antique number in her Amagansett home (which she’s filled with pieces from the new collection). Now, inquiring minds can shop a similar table and other items inspired by Calderone’s most beloved pieces, all reimagined with Calderone's signature devotion to neutral hues, rich textures, and postmodern silhouettes.
While the Crate x Athena collection's neutral palette allows for versatility, it was important to Calderons that each piece tell its own story. “I didn’t want anything to feel one-note,” she says. She took cues for pieces like the Rodin Chair from 1940s French wrought ironwork, which serves as a uniting through line along with fluffy shearling, stripped woods, travertine, and structural ridging. “Neutral on neutral with texture on texture can actually be quite rich and layered,” she notes.
The collection spans every room in the home, from creamy stone dinnerware to large statement pieces like the Le Panneau Storage Cabinet. While certain pieces, like the Le Tuco chair (named after the Calderone family dog), came quickly to the designer, other design decisions required measured reflection. “The sofas really forced me to define my design point of view," she says of the Sinuous collection. "I’m happy I got both sides of my personality out with this sofa–elegant, but soft and relaxed enough to sink into.”
The art-deco inspired etched glassware, meanwhile, was a more instantaneous choice. “I’m pretty obsessive about vintage glassware," says Calderone. "I have so many singular, mismatched pieces I’ve collected over the years.” Her favorite? “The coupe glass! I took inspiration from etched vintage glass, and started with the coupe. The texture of the glass gives it such beautiful shadows.”
Though she's become beloved for the impeccable design of her own spaces, the tastemaker is most excited to see the pieces styled in other people's homes. “I really do love collaboration to my core,” she says. “I can’t wait to see how my community makes these pieces their own.”
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