New Pierce & Ward West Elm Collection 2026: AD Interview

Twelve years ago, when the AD100 firm Pierce & Ward was just Emily Pierce and Louisa Ward, Ward found a chandelier in New Orleans—massive and irresistible—and phoned Pierce for permission to buy it (“Maybe she had a cocktail or two—I don’t want to speak on her behalf,” Pierce says). Without a thought, Pierce agreed: Buy it. Since then, the pair has always operated on instinct. “We have no idea where it's going to end up,” Pierce says. “That’s how we finish a home—we take a semi-truck from our warehouse filled with small trinkets and books and things we’ve collected over the past 13 years and we mix them in. We bring some old stuff and we make some new stuff.”That “new stuff” has evolved into their second West Elm collection, which sees the brand expanding into bedding and bath items, as well as building on their first with new materials like burlwood and cork and new pieces like a floating bookshelf, a bistro table, and ceramic dinnerware. The collection employs the signature layered, maximalist style that’s made Pierce & Ward one of the most sought-after design teams of this decade (having worked on homes for A-listers such as Emma Roberts and Dakota Johnson).Ward’s mother-in-law’s collection of tramp art, a style of layered and notched woodworking from the 19th-century, formed the inspiration for this new collaboration. The intricate carved-wood objects like mirrors, boxes, and frames were sprinkled throughout her home and when she passed, Ward could only keep so much. She started placing them in client homes, and then sourcing them deliberately until they became part of the fabric of the duo’s decorating style.Bold striped circle pillows exhibit Pierce & Ward's love of impactful color and pattern. Courtesy of West ElmMahogany and mindi wood make up this swirly bar cart that toggles contemporary design and mid century essential. Courtesy of West ElmTramp art, like many antique fixations, has become a highly sought-after style these days. The pieces in this collection are imbued with the handmade texture and visual style of the art form, which dovetails perfectly with Pierce & Ward’s reputation for creating and curating pieces that carry a sense of history. “We never want everything to feel like it all came from one place,” Pierce said. She notes the Novelty Burl Side Table as the collection’s best example: a high-contrast burl piece that could read as an antique.West Elm gave the pair near-total creative freedom, which yielded experiments with lacquer, and a hybrid-purpose table in the peculiar shade of green Pierce calls Serene Cypress, and a striped loveseat both designers insisted was a neutral. The bedding line, also new, extends the same sensibility for patterns they’d established in the first collection—block-print-adjacent florals, ogee, clover, and twill stripe—all cotton, designed to be layered together without obvious coordination.The archival process is clearly represented in the chintz florals, the burl woods, and the lacquer accents, while the price points make the lived-in style possible minus the time, the sprinter van, or the Facebook Marketplace brainrot. When I ask the pair: What advice could you give to someone trying to achieve that “layered look” you’re so known for? Ward answers, cheekily: “Well, if you just buy everything from our collection, that would do it—you’ve got a perfect home.”Pierce & Ward Wave Bar CabinetPierce & Ward Rectangle Tramp Art Wall MirrorPierce & Ward Ceramic Cereal Bowl (Set of 4)Pierce & Ward Linked Wood VasePierce & Ward Berry Lattice Pillow CoverPierce & Ward Slim Ceramic Table LampPierce & Ward Swoop ChandelierPierce & Ward Arched Burl Arm ChairPierce & Ward Channeled 2-Piece Chaise SectionalPierce & Ward Two-Tone Chifforobe