Designer Leanne Ford Has a New Collaboration with Crate & Barrel, and I Made Her Play Favorites With the Products
One of HGTV’s finest (at least in my book!), designers Leanne Ford has teamed up with Crate & Barrel again to build upon her popular decor and furniture collection with the home retailer. Her latest offerings pick right up where the existing collection left off; this time around, she’s focusing on the categories of outdoor tabletop, office, lighting/decor, and new kids’ pieces. Because Ford tends to design in her signature palette — blacks, whites, and neutrals — and focuses on primitive-inspired but classic silhouettes, you can shop confidently knowing this latest assortment is going to work with her prior pieces beautifully and withstand the constant evolution of decorating styles. Even better, Ford specifically makes the things she can’t find, so you know the products are going to be solution-based and unique in the marketplace.
“It’s a fun time for me with my collection for Crate,” says Ford. “The foundation of pieces of furniture have been set, and so now it’s time to play and layer in these new items. I always say curate — don’t decorate.”
Naturally, there’s a lot to curate with in this assortment of over 100 products (50 Crate & Barrel and 60 Crate & Kids), from the stylish, sturdy Haldeman Pine Wood Bookcase with Cabinet inspired, Ford says, by “French bakery racks” to the Haldeman Pine Wood Desk (shown above) that’d mesh well with practically any living room or bedroom decor. “My biggest thing is hiding ugly things,” says Ford. Her new Haldeman Pine Wood Credenza (also shown above), in particular, delivers on that promise. “You can put your printer in the dresser, and there’s filing drawers so you don’t need a filing cabinet,” she says.
In true Ford fashion, the kids’ additions are just as stylish as you’d expect but without compromising performance or comfort. “We always try to walk the line between high design and comfy yet casual,” says Ford. You can see that in the Ever Slipcovered White Daybed & Mattress Cover, which features a twin-sized mattress and is shown directly above. Ford suggests a pair of these in a playroom or game room as the ultimate sleepover staple, but this piece could easily live in a family room or living room as well, since it’s so sophisticated.
When asked to pick a favorite product from the collection, Ford narrowed it down to four (who can blame her?). Beyond the above-mentioned desk and bookshelf, she also singled out her Noon Natural Wicker basket-inspired pendant lighting, which she said can work beautifully in a living room, dining room, or office.
The last favorite? Her Range melamine plates, which are part of a full outdoor Range melamine tabletop collection, pictured here. “As a mom, these pieces made my heart pitter-patter,” Ford says. “My daughter can drop them without anything breaking, and honestly, they’re so pretty and well-made, it’s hard to tell the difference from the stoneware versions of them.”