In 2022, we saw a lot of interesting developments in the furniture industry. Some of it was expected. Sustainability continued to drive innovation — no surprise there — and reissues of vintage classics remain hot. But one thing we weren’t expecting was the abundance of brands crossing into new territory. Herman Miller designing its first original gaming chair? Parachute making sofas and coffee tables? Ian Callum designing a…modernized Eames Lounge Chair?
To learn about these products and more, here are our picks for the best furniture releases of 2022.
Additional reporting by Tyler Chin
Thuma The Dresser
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Thuma already makes one of the best bed frames on the market, thanks to its solid wood composition and tool-free Japanese joinery assembly. Now, the brand is bringing those same principles to another essential piece of bedroom furniture: the dresser.
Like the Thuma Bed, the Thuma Dresser is made from 100% upcycled solid wood and features no veneers or MDF. It also, like the bed frame, requires zero tools to assemble thanks to the now-familiar Japanese joinery system. The Dresser is made up of independent, modular, soft-close drawers that arrive assembled, you simply stack them on top of one another or side by side to build the dresser to fit your space. Legs are also available if you need more height.
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Burrow Vesper Lounge Chair
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If you buy one of Burrow’s new lounge chairs, called the Vesper, you might never want to get up again. Burrow may have started making sofas but every furniture launch since then has been a winner. The Vesper, which comes as a standalone chair or with a complementary ottoman, is an armless reclined chair, made with a molded plywood body (very mid-century modern like everything else Burrow does). The chair, as the brand says, is reclined to the perfect position to avoid putting too much pressure on any one part of your body, and the ottoman follows suit so that your knees don’t bend too much. The chair ships in a single box and comes together in, quite literally, no time.
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Avocado Zero Waste Collection
Avocado
From mattresses to pillows, Avocado is making excellent eco-friendly products. It now has a Zero Waste collection of furniture, which is handmade only with upcycled wood. The beechwood line includes almost everything you need for the home from a coffee table to a stool. Avocado is attempting to be one of the most sustainable companies on earth, and this is just another step to reaching that goal.
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Herman Miller Vantum Gaming Chair
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Gaming chairs are almost always ugly and, often, wholly unnecessary. So Herman Miller, which had already conquered the office chair space, set out to change that in 2022 with the Vantum. The chair is HM’s first crack at building a gaming chair from the ground up, and they knocked it out of the park. Conceived in collaboration with Logitech G, the Vantum was designed with gaming ergonomics in mind and is built to offer gamers the optimal amount of support during all stages of play, whether they’re in the middle of intense competition or taking a break between sessions. Oh, and it doesn’t look too shabby, either.
Floyd Acton Slat Bench
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By 2022, we thought we knew what to expect from Detroit-based DTC furniture brand Floyd: clever modular designs, sustainable materials and attractive mid-century modern designs. But this took us completely by surprise. Working with the estate of the late designer Hugh Acton, Floyd reissued Acton’s Slat Bench — a design the Michigan native had cooked up in 1954 while a student at the state’s legendary Cranbrook Academy of Art. The original benches are few in number and high in price on the secondhand market, but Floyd’s reissue — which like the OG are made in Michigan — is considerably more attainable.
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Outer White Aluminum Outdoor Furniture
Zeph Colombatto
Outer is already making some of the best outdoor furniture in the game, but now it’s released its coolest thing yet. Outer took its already-great patio furniture and gave it a white aluminum frame. While aluminum is already anti-overheating, this new white powder coating contains reflective pigments that deflect infrared light, which Outer says stays 20 percent cooler to the touch. And like the other pieces in its lineup, the furniture is weather-resistant, and it’s guaranteed to last for over 10 years.
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Houseplant Strut Lamp
Bodega
Houseplant, Seth Rogen’s weed and weed accessories brand, can’t lose. Its new Strut lamp is exactly that — a lamp. But, it’s also a freakin’ ashtray. Sitting atop a marble base, the lamp has a dimmable LED light that’s operated through a touch-sensitive button. It’s also worth noting that Houseplant is now available at Bodega, one of the few retailers of the brand, making their products easier to buy than ever.
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Levity Life-Proof Tables
Levity
Say goodbye to water rings once and for all. Levity, the sister brand of Ruggable, has expanded their line of stain-resistant furniture with their new Life-Proof Tables. The mid-century modern-inspired pieces include the Round Dining Table, Rectangular Dining Table, Round Scandinavian Coffee Table and Round Scandinavian Side Table.
All four come in walnut or white oak finishes and are protected by Levity’s Life-Proof Coating that guards against heat, liquids and scratches. The dining tables are priced at $799 and $899, respectively, while the coffee table sells for $349 and the side table is just $159.
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Callum Lounge Chair
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Last year, Ian Callum and his eponymous design house unveiled the concept for a Callum Lounge Chair. Meant to be a sleek and contemporary update to the classic mid-century Eames Lounge from Herman Miller, the Callum Lounge features a carbon fiber spine, a smoked eucalyptus veneer on its molded plywood shell and premium leather trim.
Originally intended only as a concept, the famed auto designer — whose portfolio includes the jaw-dropping Aston Martin Vanquish and Jaguar C-X75 concept — is now making his striking lounge chair available for purchase, though it’s limited to just 50 examples worldwide.
Hay Bruno Rey Collection
Hay
One of the hottest chairs on the vintage market in recent years has been the Rey Chair, which Swiss designer Bruno Rey created for Dietiker in 1971. Fast-forward five decades and new Rey Chairs (along with the matching Rey Dining Table) are once again being produced thanks to a collaboration between Danish brand Hay and the original manufacturer. The reissued Rey Chair and Table still feature Dietiker’s unique patented screwless wood-to-metal connection system and are available in the series’ original colors — along with some new shades selected by the design experts over at Hay.
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Branch Verve Chair
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Branch had already wowed us with their Task Chair, Ergonomic Chair and Daily Chair, so they certainly didn’t need to come out with any new office chairs in 2022. But that’s exactly what they did, and we couldn’t be happier. Aimed at hardcore WFHers, the Verve is Branch’s most premium, best-looking and most expensive offering yet. With six points of adjustment, a 3D-knit back and a statement-making silhouette, Branch’s Verve brings a lot to the table, err, desk, while still costing less than half as much as some of its competitors.
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Parachute Living Room Collection
Parachute
No longer content to remain confined to the bedroom, home goods favorite Parachute expanded into the living room in 2022 with gorgeous results. The brand’s initial offering for the center of every home includes standouts like the cloud-like Pillow Chair and Pillow Sofa, the convenient Loop Coffee Table and an attractive series of lamps that mix materials like stone, marble and brass. The L.A.-based company describes the collection as a “distinctly California take on mid-century Danish design,” and if you think that sounds just incredibly casual and crowd-pleasing, you’d be correct.
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