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Home Front is a weekly deep dive into the rising—and returning—trends, decor, and teeniest of design details fresh on our radar. In last week’s send, Lindsey, Domino’s digital director, made a case for holing up.

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My version of the “tell me you’re a mom without telling me you’re a mom” trend would be a snap of all the rattles, board books, and crinkly stuffed animals that have completely taken over our living room. Fortunately, as you’ll see, my hunt for home decor with holes—intentional ones—led me to some standout storage solutions. But first, the story behind my latest design crush…

On Board

collage of decor with perforations and holes in it
Photography by Belle Morizio; Styling by Julia Stevens

I’m not ashamed to admit that I lived vicariously through Julia, Julie, and Kate last month as they posted IRL updates of cool exhibit after cool exhibit at this year’s Salone del Mobile. My note to self on the design fair’s last day: holey moly. A wood screen at Muuto’s Milan Apartment, brass sconces by Flack Studio, sheet-metal floor lamps by Hassene Jeljeli—they were all perforated. The way a series of circular cutouts scatter light and obscure not-so-cute corners with a quirky, playful flair feels very me. So I made it my mission to uncover the best hole-riddled goodies available Stateside. 

Here’s my current wish list:

  1. My daughter was born on a full supermoon, and this Swiss cheese–y fruit bowl reminds me of one. 
  2. I use our bathroom waste bin every day, so why shouldn’t it be a little luxury like this handmade metal one? (Yes, I can make any purchase seem reasonable.)
  3. This birch storage box is a total fantasy purchase (one costs upwards of $500), but it would be the sweetest toy bin in my daughter’s room.
  4. Maybe I would finally become a bath person if our tub was dressed in Quiet Town’s new Bubble shower curtain, which is meant to be layered with a colorful liner underneath.
  5. The millwork in this New Jersey entryway makeover, a nod to Josef Hoffmann and the historic local train station, dreamed up by designer Hollie Velten-Lattrell, ingeniously hides a charging center. (Keep your eyes peeled for the before-and-after, coming to Domino later this month!)
  6. When you have original 1930s wood floors to show off but also can’t live without a cozy layer underfoot, you strongly consider a perforated rug.
  7. Ever since I spotted the drilled wood-trimmed holes Alison Mazurek chose in place of typical kitchen cabinet knobs, I want to do the same.
  8. Snail mail that isn’t junk is a rarity in our house, so I’d reimagine this vintage letter holder as cloth napkin storage.
  9. Forget shelves: I’m loving the idea of cubbies for stashing away books and baby paraphernalia, preferably in the happiest shade of lemon yellow.
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