Alison Chi

Managing director at Tzelan (Tzelan.com)

“People are looking for products with artistic, layered stories behind them,” says Chi, whose firm specializes in design for hospitality clients.

Chi is emphasizing texture and a dash of whimsy, exemplified by the collaboration she recently debuted at Southampton’s Mecox Gardens with Le Studio Anthost, which upholstered Tzelan’s Vanity Pouf in hand-painted black basket-weave textiles ($1,895).

For the Ritz-Carlton Singapore’s Colony restaurant, Chi enlisted New York industrial designer Jessica Corr to create bamboo chairs with an Edwardian shape ($680). “Bamboo is very casual, but we did it in a formal way. We’re rethinking organic design as less kitschy, more refined,” she says. Chi is also using natural materials like rattan and wicker.

Metals are big this summer, too. With designer David Singer, Tzelan produced a battery-oper- ated Turning Leaf Lamp featuring pressed Argentinean copper, brass or nickel finishes combined with Czech crystal for a bit of bling ($1,750, pictured left.) “The trend is returning materials to their pure forms, without additives but with innovative finishes,” she says.

“People are gravitating toward light, both in colors and materials,” says Frey, whose boutique firm focuses on high-end residential and commercial projects. To achieve an airy look, Frey paints walls with Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace and Classic Gray Aura Matte and lightens floors with a natural oak matte or satin finish. This neutral foundation creates a great showcase for judiciously applied texture and color, Frey says, allowing her to enliven cabinetry and appliances with “blingy” hardware like Emtek’s Berlin door handles in matte black ($150, Emtek.com). Metals also give depth to furniture like in Jonathan Zawada’s marble, wood and aluminum side table ($1,750 at MatterMatters.com).

For a softer look, Frey layers textured flatweave or Berber wool rugs alongside natural fibers like linen and woven rattan.

“Woven furniture is very sculptural,” she says. A favorite: Peg Woodworking’s white oak Euclid bench with braided cord top ($3,200 at PegWoodworking.

com). Technology is another big trend. Frey uses LED lighting like Paul Loebach’s Halo Oval Pendant ($8,500 at PaulLoebach.com), appliances like Miele’s Speed Oven ($2,000 at MieleUSA.com) and Lutron’s RadioRA 2 system, which offers wireless control for lighting, temperature and window treatments ( Lutron.com).

“It may seem a little contradictory to talk about artisan materials and technology, but they’re co-existing in the modern, clean, smart home.”