CB2’s Latest Collection is a Calming Dose of Zen

CB2’s newest collection is calm, cool, and collected. The modern retailer partnered with designer Ross Cassidy, who took his inspiration from Japan for the luxe-meets-minimalist line.

The LA-based, South African-born Cassidy—whom you might recognize from Bravo’s 2011 show Million Dollar Decorators—has worked with the likes of Sia, actor Alex Pettyfer, and model Amber Valetta, and his collection adds a refined twist to utilitarian design.

“I’m about taking things down to their basic form, then I add back one tiny flourish that says this is special, this is different, this is unique,” Cassidy says.

Describing it as “yin and yang” and “luxurious without being ostentatious,” Cassidy manages to take his high-end aesthetic and translate it to “affordable heirlooms” that maintain that specialness. For example, the desk is upgraded with gold sawhorse legs, and the coffee table, inspired by a bento box, features a gilded tray and square cushions that make it multifunctional.

Inspired by Japanese minimalism, the color palette is similarly restrained, with gold and a couple blue ombre pieces being the main accents. There is, however, a variety of texture, from rugs woven from abaca—a fiber that comes from banana stalks—to marble, to stone and resin lamps that resemble travertine.

You might remember CB2’s Matthew Williamson collection from the fall, which is on the opposite end of the design spectrum. The maximalist style was an explosion of the British fashion designer’s love of dark tropical prints and juicy jewel tones.

Check out some of our favorite pieces in the gallery above, or shop the full collection in stores and at CB2 online.