Colin King makes his furniture debut with a bookcase that steps away from the sidelines

Over the past decade, Colin King has become one of the most recognisable names in design circles. A ballet dancer-turned-stylist, Ohio-born, New York-based King is known for his meditative compositions – minimal yet tactile – that helped define the restrained mood of early-2020s interiors, often framed by the design media as ‘warm minimalism’ or ‘quiet luxury’. In 2023, he added author to his list of titles with the publication of Arranging Things (Rizzoli), further cementing his role as a tastemaker. This month, he makes his first foray into furniture design with the launch of a curved freestanding shelving design for Danish brand Audo.

'Shelving felt like a gentle place to start,' says King, whose collaboration with Audo began with a collection of home objects, launched in 2022 (the same year the brand was acquired by Flos B&B Italia Group).

'A shelf is humble and intimate. It holds the quiet artefacts of a life: books with softened corners, objects gathered over time. It felt honest to begin with something that serves before it speaks. Not a grand gesture, just something steady and useful.'

Displaying all the hallmarks of King's style, ‘Crescent’ is realised in lacquered oak with a gentle crescent-shaped profile designed to look good from every angle. 'We tend to push storage to the edges, as if it should apologise,' explains King. 'I wanted to challenge that instinct. If a piece is proportioned carefully and resolved from every angle, it can participate in the room rather than retreat from it. For a shelf to earn the centre, it has to offer rhythm and presence. It must feel complete in the round. It needs to feel comfortable being seen.'

Its curved design – flat at the front and gently curved at the back – is available in two sizes. The smaller version lends itself to use as a console behind a sofa, while the taller version is better for use as a room divider in larger spaces. Adjustable feet allow it to be levelled, while rounded corners add a softness. 'I kept drawing straight lines and they felt resolved too quickly. The curve allowed the piece to feel more generous. There’s something about a crescent that suggests movement and embrace,’ adds King, of the form that subtly echoes his training as a dancer. Lacquered oak, he says, was chosen for its subtle luminosity. 'I didn’t want the material to feel precious or fragile, I wanted warmth with restraint; something that feels settled but still alive as the light shifts.'

For Audo, the piece is a welcome addition to the catalogue, which spans furniture, lighting and accessories. '“Crescent” responds to a need within our collection for storage and shelving,' says Joachim Kornbek Engell-Hansen, Audo’s brand and design director. 'But beyond function, what makes it compelling is the balance within the design – the dialogue between the strict, linear structure and the curved back that introduces a softer, more organic gesture. That contrast gives the piece a sculptural quality while still feeling architectural.'

King, who has also designed pieces for Beni Rugs (where he also serves as artistic director) and Calico wallpaper, describes his design process as 'slow and a little circular'. 'I sketch. I edit. I pin drawings to the wall and live with them. I build small models and move them around the studio. There are a few trusted friends I share work with. They’re honest in a kind way. Sometimes the most helpful response is simply a pause that tells me to keep refining. Sometimes it’s encouragement to stay the course. Both are gifts.'

Unlike many of Audo’s collaborators – architects and product designers such as Norm Architects, Gabriel Tan and Søren Rose Studio – King has brought the often overlooked role of stylist into sharper public focus, aided in part by his considered use of social media. In doing so, he has evolved into a brand in his own right, one whose aesthetic carries cultural currency. For Audo, partnering with King represents not only a design collaboration, but an alignment with that broader visual language.

'Our collaboration with Colin has always been very intuitively driven,' says Kornbek Engell-Hansen. 'It’s a relationship built on long-term mutual understanding and trust. The process with him differs from the more structured development paths we often follow with designers – there’s a certain freedom in not always knowing exactly where the journey will end.'

For King, the launch of ‘Crescent’ feels like a significant evolution in his non-linear career path, which has taken him from dancer to social media editor to stylist, writer and designer. 'Furniture asks different questions of me, and I’m drawn to that,' he reflects. 'Styling is about composition and editing. It’s about what to remove so something else can breathe. Furniture carries that same discipline, but it also has permanence. A photograph can be adjusted. A piece of furniture enters someone’s daily life. It has weight. That responsibility shifts the mindset and slows everything down.'