The archival research and personal histories behind a Ralph Lauren Home collection — like the two new ones now on display at Salone del Mobile for Milan Design Week.
By Andrew Craig
“Our homes are a canvas for living,” Ralph says in the introduction to his hHome-focused book, Ralph Lauren: A Way of Living. “Whether we live in the city, the country, on a farm, at the beach, in a penthouse, or cabin, each is home and tells a story. And just as we dress differently in each of these places, we want to live differently as well.”It’s true for each of the designer’s personal homes, of course —— which are spread out across the bustle of Manhattan, the shores of Montauk, the pastoral Hudson Valley, the jungle of Jamaica, and the mountains of Colorado. It’s also true of each new collection he designs for Ralph Lauren Home, which this month has two new additions that will debut at Salone del Mobile in Italy, as part of Milan Design Week.
Before a Home collection becomes exactly that, though, it starts the same way as any other at Ralph Lauren: as a cinematic vision. Each new “concept” is built around a cast of characters and a consideration for how they would live—How do they dress when they’re at home? How do they spend their weekends? What heirlooms would they have gathered? What do they collect and care for? How do they entertain?—which comes to life in an immersive mood board of archival and vintage textiles, photographs, décor objects, clothing, and more. Thousands upon thousands of historical references and images are combed through, from past runway collections to historic interiors, architectural references, vintage magazines, and anything else inspiring from the art and design references lining the stacks of Ralph Lauren’s library. And a new concept, inspired by history but shaped into something entirely new, starts to take shape.
From this overall creative vision, each Home category team interprets the concept into specific new furniture pieces, textiles, lighting fixtures, décor, and more. Slipcovers and upholsteries are developed from Collection runway fabrics. New tapestry prints, designed after centuries-old references, are commissioned from old-world weavers in Belgium and India. Silver finishes on furniture and accessories are treated with a galvanized bath to replicate the cloudy patina of vintage sterling. The delicate painting technique from a vintage blanket chest is carefully studied and replicated onto new future-heirloom furniture. Vintage Polo Sport pieces and photographs of Ralph’s vintage autos inform the design of a chrome and leather sectional couch.Soon, a full collection is realized into a concrete, creative vision for living, inspired by the past and replete with vintage charm, but made for the modern era. Illustrating the point are two new Home collections, debuting at the 2026 edition of Salone del Mobile for Milan Design Week: Sterling Square and Saddlebrook.
While no two collections are quite alike, each Home concept forms loosely around one of Ralph’s own homes—the recent Meadow Lane collection, for example, reflecting the laid-back beachy feeling of his Montauk escape. Sterling Square is a nod to Ralph’s Fifth Avenue apartment and his clubby, Art Deco “penthouse” aesthetic, but with a twist. Rather than dark and heavy designs with bright finishings, Sterling Square takes Art Deco into lighter and softer territory, evoking a more French moderne evolution of the aesthetic with a softer-hued palette and a lighter hand. Deep rosewood is replaced by bleached mahogany and high-contrast details are replaced by layers of earth tones—for a soft and airy pied-à-terre in Paris or London, perhaps, and the creative, cosmopolitan couple who come and go.
Saddlebrook, on the other hand, is the forever home—a vision of a heritage estate and its next generation. Adapted, in part, from the eclectic furnishings of Ralph’s own Bedford home in the Hudson Valley, Saddlebrook imagines an heirloom-filled country home, curated and cared for by a young family unafraid to mix the old and the new. Dark and sumptuous textiles, inspired by Collection runway shows, layer colors and texture: jewel-tone velvet, leopard, gothic florals, and intricate tapestries. Stately furniture, from carved armchairs to mahogany beds to drinks tables, is scattered throughout the wings. Marquetry boxes in tortoiseshell and straw, cut crystal vases, and generations of family photographs adorn every surface. Worn country boots stand next to chinoiserie.Regardless of the specific nuances within, or the characters each is designed for, each Ralph Lauren Home collection captures that ineffable art of the mix, as only Ralph can do—blending high and low, old and new, humble and elegant. And through their heirloom-focused inspirations and historical references, each collection creates a feeling not just of timelessness, but, or many times at once, homes that are rooted firmly in the past, feel inspiring for today, and that age gracefully into the ever-expanding future lives of those who inhabit them.
ANDREW CRAIG is the former men’s content editor for Ralph Lauren.
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