The gradual onset of the cooler weather tends to tease the much-anticipated comforts many of us look forward to all year long. From intimate fireside conversations to curling up with a glass of wine or a good book under a lush throw, the enjoyment of the season is only enhanced by the gorgeous colors of the fall foliage from the vantage point of the home.
So when Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams announced their soon-to-come Fall Collection—the New Modern—we waited with delight. It did not disappoint.
Designed with intention, each beautifully crafted furnishing is meant to elevate the way we live—today. It’s the brand’s version of modern, with each piece exuding a warm yet architectural nature that invites conversation and comfort while emanating an understated, yet unavoidable, clean-lined elegance.
To showcase a behind-the-scenes take on what defines the New Modern, we sat down with Allison O’Connor, President, and CEO of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, to get an unvarnished look at the breadth of the collection and some insight into the inspiration behind some of our favorite pieces. We hope you enjoy the discussion as much as we did!
Downtown: How would you describe the essence of the new Fall Collection?
Allison O’Connor, President & CEO of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams: Our Fall Collection focuses on warm and welcoming design with an architectural appeal, a blend of beautiful craftsmanship, and timeless style. We’re drawn to elements that both look and feel luxurious—like the deep and generous cushions in our sophisticated Montauk Sectional, so tailored yet still inviting. We’ve also been excited to work with even more exceptional materials this season. Our Hayes Dining Table, for example, is inspired by mid-century Italian design and features a stunning contrast of American walnut and lightly antiqued brass sheeting. You’ll find that a lot of thoughtful, design-driven detail has gone into this collection.
And at the heart of everything, of course, is customization: We love to see our customers express their own design voice through our brand, whether it’s choosing a favorite fabric from our exclusive Kravet library, or unique details like nailhead and finish.
Downtown: How did your definition of the New Modern inspire the direction of the collection?
Allison O’Connor: Most of us have experienced some major lifestyle shifts recently, and a lot of that has centered around home—how we interact with space at home, what home means for us. We’ve built deeply personal bonds with our concept of home, and at the design level, it has inspired us to consider how fresh, relevant design can elevate the way we live. This is the basis for the New Modern: It’s a deep reverence for living in the present, and for a customizable design that becomes part of the fabric of our homes, part of those memories we make. For us, it’s about creating interiors that are aesthetically pleasing but also support our busy lifestyles and families.
Downtown: The cushions on the Montauk Modular Sectional look incredibly comfortable—while maintaining a very sophisticated yet casual look. What are some of the details that went into achieving the look and feel of the sofa?
Allison O’Connor: We conceptualized our Montauk Sectional to look effortlessly elevated, yet still be an irresistibly inviting place for everyone to gather thanks to its exceptionally versatile design. We love its Turkish corner cushions and deeply angled back—they create a very tailored yet sculptural appearance. We added a wood plinth base to complete the look with an understated foundation, and also offer some additional opportunities for customization with more than 20 wood finishes and over 600 fabrics.
Downtown: We particularly love the warmth of the Keane dining chair and the beach-vibe sophistication of the Portia Dining Chair (can’t you see this in an expansive Hamptons dining room with views of the ocean?). What do you most love about these two designs and what inspired their shape for this particular collection?
Allison O’Connor: Yes—absolutely, ocean views and all! Our Keane and Portia dining chairs are perfect examples of multifunctional sophisticated seating. Both have a fresh, modern feel that complements almost any style of the dining room, office, entry, or bedroom while enveloping you in an extremely comfortable sit. Keane, in particular, has a modern floating curved back and warm solid-maple wood frame accented with a plush seat and back that can be customized in fabric or leather. And the Portia Dining Chair is a modern slip-covered barrel chair for easy-care dining. With its loose seat and comfortable curved back, Portia is perfect for casual dining settings. And you can customize in a choice of hundreds of fabrics.
Downtown: We are obsessed with pairing the Portia Dining Chair with the Vann Dining Table. What would be your ideal color palettes/finishes when using them together?
Allison O’Connor: I love that style pairing. Portia and Vann nicely balance uncomplicated form with a sophisticated feel. I like dining rooms to feel airy and relaxed, to gather my family and friends and share a meal together, and warm neutrals are a wonderful way to set the tone. For Portia, I’d choose MG+BW exclusive performance linen in Flax, a warm and grounded fabric that’s very family-friendly and also easy to care for. To complement that, I love the idea of our Vann Dining Table in the Weathered Oak finish—it really emphasizes its unique grain patterns from reclaimed wood.
Downtown: We love the height and look of the Spindle chair. What types of frame finishes and fabric choices are available?
Allison O’Connor: You can customize our Spindle Chair from more than 600 fabrics and 40 types of leather, including performance fabrics, velvets, linens, chenille, and boucle. That also includes exclusive access to Kravet fabrics that were previously only available to designers. We also have more than 20 unique wood finishes to work with.
The beauty of Spindle is its exceptional craftsmanship—it features this very classic yet timeless turned-wood detailing, and it evokes a distinctive aesthetic depending on the finish. Choose something dark and smoky like Storm and you instantly have a very dramatic and modern piece or try something a bit rich and warm like Toffee and the chair evokes a very different kind of character. The spindle has unique upholstered details, as well, that add striking contrast against the frame—so choosing any favorite fabric is going to stand out beautifully.
Downtown: The Niles bed looks particularly enveloping. Is it as comfortable as it looks? What do you most love about it?
Allison O’Connor: Niles is the ultimate bed to choose for serene, cocoon-like comfort. It’s designed in a curved, overstuffed batwing silhouette with a sheltering headboard and rails that seem to wrap around you. It also features finely tailored seams that bring a level of sophistication without losing its warmth. I think it appeals to an instinctive part of us, almost like a hug. It’s just lovely. And that’s how a bedroom should feel—a sanctuary where we go to relax, recharge, and feel nurtured. If you want to experience our Niles Bed in the most luxurious way possible, customize it in a soft fabric like performance luxe velvet. You might not want to get out of bed in the morning.
Downtown: We love the Margaux Full Swivel Side Chair and its midcentury vibe—what inspired adding a much-loved swivel feature to such a gorgeous chair?
Allison O’Connor: Our Margaux Side Chair is a much-loved part of the collection, with influence from mid-century Italian design. It’s already a fluid piece of furniture, with a svelte and smartly scaled frame that complements dining rooms, home offices, and entertainment areas of all dimensions. Then we realized that we could bring fresh appeal to this favorite by making it a swivel, so that this chic little accent chair can suddenly, truly, sit anywhere in style. The swivel version features a sleek metal base in two choices of finish, and we created a matching swivel ottoman to celebrate the design.
Downtown: The Tate Dining Table is a favorite—is the oak finish as textured as it looks? How many people can it comfortably accommodate?
Allison O’Connor: Yes, that fantastic texture is actually a striking sunburst veneer pattern over carbon oak. Our Tate Dining Table balances two key elements perfectly—modern minimalism and natural materials—in a very sleek and clean design. It has a tapered central column that you can comfortably seat six people around, so it’s a smart, design-forward choice for a dining room or an open-concept kitchen.
Downtown: The Tate Buffet exemplifies everything we are loving about cane these days! What inspired the use of this material?
Allison O’Connor: The exquisite detail of materiality is centric to our design ethos. Our Tate Collection’s star material is carbon oak. It has this rich, varied texture that adds so much depth and character. The woven cane front of our Tate Buffet gave us an opportunity to juxtapose two very distinctive, natural textures to create a functional piece that feels at once organic and modern while balancing the drama of unrelieved black with some lightness.
Downtown: The Blake Media Console shows a bit of a departure from the rest (at least in terms of the color palette). What do you most love about its place in the collection?
Allison O’Connor: Blake is a bold statement piece. Consoles can easily become the focal point in a room whether they’re staged in an entryway, office, living room or dining area, so we had some fun imagining how color, material and shape all command attention. Blake is built in the style of modern campaign furniture, so it has that inherent sense of functional structure and purpose. And to that, we added striking denim blue and satin brass hardware accents as a way to balance masculine form with a very fashion-forward concept. It’s completely unique in this season’s collection, and we love the personality that it brings to any space.
Downtown: The Hazel Flatweave Jute Rug adds the perfect pop of color to almost any design in the collection. What inspired the color palette and what would you pair it with?
Allison O’Connor: It’s a beautiful accent, isn’t it? Hazel is one of the exceptional creations from our partnership with Obeetee, who is world-renowned for handmade rugs and carpets. They share a lot of our values, including respect for artisan craft, natural material, and a sustainable manufacturing process. Hazel is made from extremely soft jute so it’s not going to be scratchy underfoot, and the color palette evokes a cool vintage vibe through desaturated colors in warm, earthy tones. The geometric pattern is very current, but Hazel also has a relaxed feel to it, so it helps to set the tone in a modern casual space.
We love it paired with our Vann Dining Table, which has similar geometric lines and a natural look and feel. Grounding the space around our Montauk Sectional is also a great, harmonious look. But we want people to experiment, too, with their own design vision. Hazel is a very adaptable rug to any space—tell us where you’d put it!
Downtown: What are a couple of your favorite accessories in the collection? We cannot get over the Antwerp Boucle Throw in Camel!
Allison O’Connor: The Antwerp Boucle Throw is one of my favorites, as well. It’s so incredibly cozy, and something as simple as a boucle texture adds so much depth and character when it’s thrown over a sofa, armchair, chaise, or bed. Another favorite is our collection of Italian Carrara Marble barware—there’s a set of coasters, a lovely and curvaceous champagne bucket, and a large round serving tray. Carrara has a luminous lightness to it, and very faint striations in the stone. It’s a favorite of ours to work with because it adds such richness to a room without being overwhelming.
We also have a partnership with Lost Art Salon and an exclusive collection that we’ve curated with them that I love. Lost Art Salon brings rediscovered art to the public from history and underrepresented groups, with an emphasis on 20th Century Modernism. Our collection features striking watercolors, prints, and photography—modern pieces that reflect a unique vantage point through the lens of the artist.
Downtown: What are your favorite elements of the collection and which design would you take home with you today?
Allison O’Connor: I really do love how well our Fall Collection embraces modern design that’s completely approachable. Our Giselle Collection is a perfect example of that—it’s a luxurious statement collection, with gentle curves and an elegant profile that makes for gathering and igniting conversations. And the attention to detail speaks so eloquently to the craftsmanship of our artisans. Yet it’s also warm, generous, utterly comfortable—something you can sink into at the end of a long day without feeling like such a glamorous piece is off-limits for every day. Our furniture is made to be enjoyed. I’d take home everything in the Giselle Collection today.
