Visualista Digest October 2025
- Alla Yaskovets
- Oct 1
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 2
Welcome to the October digest. Whether you are a designer, PR professional, or brand strategist, Visualista Digest is crafted to help you stay ahead — highlighting the standout editorial content across leading design magazines, uncovering opportunities for project and product placement, and showing how to align your work with the major titles. This month, we cover The World of Interiors, House & Garden, Elle Decoration, Homes & Gardens, and Livingetc, with a focus on British design, season launches and inspiring new collections.
House & Garden
Editor’s Letter
With Hatta Byng’s departure, readers might have expected an introduction from incoming editor Talib Choudhry. Instead, the October issue is opened by Deputy Editor David Nicholls, who notes that Choudhry will officially take up his role in November.
This Month’s Focus: 100 Designers
October celebrates 100 Designers, House & Garden’s curated showcase of the most exciting new names and products in contemporary design. From emerging makers to standout materials and products, this annual selection highlights the innovators shaping the way we live today.
Exhibitions & Design Highlights
The issue guides readers through key London events. At Focus/24 in Chelsea Harbour, the magazine promotes an upcoming talk between Talib Choudhry and designer Rachel Chudley.
The London Design Festival receives strong coverage, while a feature on the surreal, visually striking Pauline Karpidas Collection presented by Sotheby’s.
Design Trend: Maximalism Returns
A current exhibition at the V&A on Marie Antoinette, “the most fashionable queen in history,” inspires an editorial reflection on interiors embracing grandeur and excess. Maximalism is framed as a counterpoint to pared-back minimalism, gaining traction as a dominant decorate trend for the season.
Editorial Shoots
House & Garden continues to prove its leadership in textile coverage. Style editors Ruth Sleightholme and Remi Mishon present the latest fabric collections staged within a Welsh castle — a romantic, atmospheric shoot that underscores the richness of textile heritage from the 11th and 12th centuries.
Another shoot by Mishon, photographed by Rachel Whiting focuses on lampshades.
Editorial Insights for Designers
The House section continues to be the premier showcase for interior designers, usually spotlighting the finest British projects or international homes with a distinctly English touch. This October, the magazine introduces an exciting new feature: a detailed breakdown of the key products within each project. By highlighting the objects that define a space, House & Garden adds a fresh, detail-driven layer to its design storytelling.
The Decorating section offers space for designers to share expertise. In October, the spotlight is on kitchen islands, with practical tips and solutions. Closing the issue, the Last Word section offers a playful note: Martin Brudnizki reflects on the value of “unseriousness” and escapism in design.
Editorial Insights for Brands and Product Designers
House & Garden typically showcases new projects and products across its Notebook, Shopping and Insider News sections. The October issue, however, raises the bar with the 100 Designers feature, highlighting not only emerging designers but also a curated selection of standout products, from furniture and lighting to textiles. The issue also spotlights innovative industry initiatives, such as interior and product designer Shalini Misra’s residency programme in India, which supports emerging designers passionate about traditional craft.
The World of Interiors
Editor’s Letter
True to The World of Interiors’ spirit of play, Emily Tobin opens with a celebration of the issue’s main editorial shoot — a textile story inspired by Jane Asher’s Costume Book. Styled by Miranda Sinclair and photographed by Polly Brown. As Tobin notes, the preparation was intense, but the result is joyful, an experiment that only WOI could pull off.
This Month’s Focus: Designers’ Own Worlds
The October issue turns inward, spotlighting the imaginative spaces that interior designers, stylists, and decorators create for themselves. From the fantastical home of stylist Lydia Chan in London to the Tokyo apartment of fashion stylists Terry Ellis and Keiko Katamura, the features reveal how those shaping the visual industry for others envision their own.
Editorial Shoot
Textiles take centre stage this month. Sinclair’s set builds a visual dialogue between costume and interiors, while the inclusion of artists and actors pushes the boundaries of a traditional fabric story.
Editorial Insights for Brands
New products surface across News, Network, Inspiration, and Roundup. The standout this month is a feature curated by David Lipton, previewing the most significant launches of London Design Festival.
Editorial Insights for Designers
Unusually, every featured house this month is tied to a professional in interiors. From decorators and fashion stylists to interior designers. Examples include the home of Maria Speake and Adam Hills, founders of Retrouvius. This is a powerful reminder: WOI is most interested when the personal intersects with the professional, when a house is a manifesto of taste, history and imagination.
Elle Decoration
Editor’s Letter
For Editor Ben Spring, October is the most exciting month of the year — when new collections launch and the UK’s design and art-festival season comes alive. He reminds readers that Britain holds a unique place in the global design scene: internationally minded yet locally rooted, a combination that fuels both creativity and pride.
This Month’s Focus: British Design & Manufacturing
The October issue celebrates Britain’s design DNA — from local studios shaping interiors to the nation’s manufacturing legacy. The magazine also publishes a dedicated Bathroom Supplement, offering inspiration and product launches in this essential design category.
Exhibitions & Events
The calendar is packed: Decorex, Focus/25, and the London Design Festival take centre stage. A major feature spotlights designers and their new collections.
Design Trends:
Pop Chameleon Aesthetics: With the David Bowie Centre opening at V&A East Storehouse, Elle Decoration explores how Ziggy Stardust–era styling translates into bold interiors.
Treasure from Waste: A rising generation of creatives is turning discarded materials into covetable design.
Objects of Remembrance: From urns to memorial pieces, design is reshaping our cultural relationship with death.
Glass Brick Revival: Glass Bricks — long overlooked — return as a hero material in contemporary interiors.
Editorial Shoots:
Decorating Feature: Amy Heffernan styles rich combinations of fabrics, textiles, and paints, photographed by Gareth Williams.
Metallic Story: Anna Sheridan captures the gleam of the metallic trend, photographed by Jon Day.
Editorial Insights for Brands & Product Designers
The NOW section, led by Alice Finney, remains the magazine’s most product-driven platform, spotlighting fresh launches in furniture, colour, craft, and textiles — with a particular focus on new names unveiled during the London Design Festival.
This issue also features Dusty Deco founders, who open the doors to their apartment — created in collaboration with Matthew Williamson — blending brand storytelling with editorial lifestyle appeal.
Editorial Insights for Interior Designers
The Spaces section takes an unusual turn this month, featuring exclusively UK-based projects — including the London home of Peter Mikic — in keeping with the issue’s overarching celebration of British design identity.
This focus is extended in a major essay by Fiona McCarthy, who examines a contemporary national style, illustrating through work from leading studios.
Two designer profiles add further weight: the Treasured section spotlight goes to James Thurstan Waterworth, while the Industry Index highlights Studio Vero, whose momentum since their WOW!house debut demonstrates the role of showcase events in elevating designers’ names.
Livingetc
Editor’s Letter
Editor Pip Rich highlights a trend that strongly resonates with his own outlook and experience: furniture that is playful, flexible, and easy to adapt. These pieces turn interiors into spaces for socialising and entertaining. Reflecting on Milan Design Week, he notes that the latest launches all seemed to declare: “this room is ready for a party.”
This Month’s Focus
Seasonal colours, design trends trends and a Kitchen & Bathroom supplement.
Exhibitions
The issue highlights London’s major design events, including Focus at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour and London Design Festival, offering a curated view of the best installations across the city’s design districts.
Design Trends
Livingetc is well-known for spotlighting the key trends shaping interiors. In the October issue, Editor Pip Rich reflects on Milan Design Week and identifies the directions that resonate most with the new season:
Dairy Milk Brown: A warm, enveloping shade that is emerging as the new autumnal favourite, gradually replacing the previously popular terracotta and oxblood tones.
New Angle: Triangular forms are stepping into the spotlight as curves recede.
Light In: Interiors that balance colour and object density with a sense of openness — not minimalism, but airiness.
Slick Silver: Chrome and polished metals are reasserting their place in interiors.
Lightness of Being: Levitating and floating furniture designs create a sense of ease.
Editorial Insights for Brands
Livingetc offers several dedicated sections to highlight brands and products. In the News section, emerging names and new collections are introduced, such as the latest furniture line by Maddux Creative. Another notable current is slogan-style objects, which have migrated from fashion catwalks into interiors.
The Sourcebook and Shopping sections provide thematic selections, curating the best pieces for specific rooms or design needs.
While the magazine is less known for textiles, this issue gives space to new textile patterns in rich autumnal palettes within the Decorating section. A regular feature New Big Thing invites designers to share the brands they admire and believe readers should watch — in this issue, the spotlight is on the wood furniture maker James Bowyer.
Editorial Insights for Designers
The Homes section showcases only six projects in depth, with a focus on international design — reflecting the magazine’s British perspective while highlighting global creativity. In October, only two UK projects are included, alongside a Munich house, a New Jersey mansion, a Milan villa, and a Paris apartment.
Unlike many interiors magazines, Livingetc consistently creates space for designers to tell their stories. Each issue includes an in-depth interview; in the October issue, the spotlight is on Andrew Jonathan Griffith.
The Traditional Decorating feature invites designers to share expertise — this month focusing on home studies, timely for autumn as the working season peaks.
The Clever section explores practical yet stylish design tricks; October’s highlights include built-in beds, chic heating, and creative curtains, all designed for cozy seasonal interiors.
Homes & Gardens
Editor’s Letter
Editor Jo Baily dedicates this issue to exploring the power of texture, textiles, and craftsmanship, with a spotlight on new names in ceramics.
This Month’s Focus
Textile and wallpaper collections 2025, plus an ultimate Kitchen supplement.
Exhibitions
Highlights include Decorex, with particular attention on Tolù Adẹ̀kọ́ lounge design and key installations at the London Design Festival.
Editorial Opportunities for Brands and product designers
Homes & Gardens provides multiple entry points for brands to gain visibility.
Object of Desire: This month the focus is on textiles collections, featuring new patterns, trims and curtains.
Craft Spotlight: The issue profiles designers shaping the industry, such as furniture maker Shivangi Vasudeva.
Decorating Section showcases modern artisans and products in a rich autumnal colour palette, featuring everything from wallpaper and murals to ceramics and furniture.
My Life in 10: Every issue traditionally closes with the My Life in 10 section, where designers describe ten things that are important to them — in October, textile designer Christine Van Der Hurd is featured.
Editorial Opportunities for Designers
The Homes section is the largest section of the magazine, dedicated to in-depth project features. In October, the unifying theme is “conviviality.” Reflecting the magazine’s British base but international outlook, the selection includes five projects: two in the UK, two in the US, and one in France.
Besides the Home section Homes & Gardens consistently creates opportunities for designers to share expertise and philosophy.
Next in Design Award: Once a year, the magazine nominates designers, and each issue spotlights one of the nominees. In the October issue, the focus is on Jessica Adams.
Design & Decorating: A colour feature exploring how designers incorporate soft greens into their schemes.
Design Rule: A section where studios present their ethos; October features Vero Studio founders discussing their principles of layering.
Designer Profile: A dedicated interview; this month, Lorenzo Castillo.
Looking to pitch your story to top interiors magazines?
Visualista offers bespoke editorial strategy for design brands and studios ready to stand out in the pages of The World of Interiors, House & Garden, ELLE Decoration, Home & Interiors, Livingetc and more.
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