Paloma Contreras Launches Linen, Lighting, and Decor Collection with Williams Sonoma Home

Ariel Okin

Paloma Contreras’s first home product collaboration, a 19-piece grouping focused on bedding, pillows, lighting, and decor, will debut this week at Williams Sonoma Home. With the recent release of her book, Dream Design Live, a fêted new brick-and-mortar-store in Houston, and a room in this year’s upcoming Kips Bay Decorator Show House, Contreras certainly has her hands full with a variety of exciting projects. But this collection, which launches on April 18 online and in stores, is a notable feather in her already dazzling cap.

The first seedlings for this collaboration trace back to 2016. That year, when Contreras was working on a room for the Southern Style Now show house, Williams Sonoma lent some products to include in her design. After that, the interior designer and San Francisco–based company hit it off. “The conversation went on about potentially doing something together for a while," Contreras tells AD PRO. "We started working on product development [for this collection] at the end of 2016, so it’s been a long process!"

A hexagonal brass tray, which is part of the new line.
A hexagonal brass tray, which is part of the new line.
Photo: Courtesy of Williams Sonoma

Over the course of an almost three-year period, Contreras designed, sketched, and sent over a litany of images of centuries-old antiques—as well as images of her own work—to the Williams Sonoma team. The two then collectively poured over that information, and set out to create common signature motifs. Included in the finished collection are references to accessories Contreras has found on her many sourcing trips abroad (like bone inlay obelisks—an interpretation of objets she has seen in France) and hexagonal mirrors made to look vintage, offered in two different sizes (inspired by an antique version, originally found in Paris).

"Their team was really wonderful," Contreras says of Williams Sonoma. "They are unique in that they have a fantastic product and art departments in-house, so the patterns you see in the collection were all hand-painted and designed exclusively for us. I really felt like they understood the vision and were able to execute it in a wonderful way." There are also a few firsts for Williams Sonoma Home included in this new line. Designer details, like hand-tied knots on bedding pillows, and appliqué on the duvet and shams, are new offerings for brand. Contreras also developed monograms of her own for the debut.

Pillows, including some of the linen Greek key–covered variety favored by Contreras.
Pillows, including some of the linen Greek key–covered variety favored by Contreras.
Photo: Courtesy of Williams Sonoma Home

The interior designer says that the collection really is an accurate interpretation of her own aesthetic. “You see a lot of references to classic design motifs: chinoiserie, lacquer, stripes, geometric pieces, natural fiber," she says of the products. "I wanted to create pieces based off of things that I love and use repeatedly in my projects—items that are hallmarks of my individual style, but that are also versatile enough for anyone to use in their home.”

When asked what her favorite item is, Contreras called out her “modern take on Greek key appliqué,” seen on a series of linen pillows, which were inspired by a custom pair she used to own. Speaking of Williams Sonoma in particular, Contreras says, "It’s such an amazing American heritage brand known for its craftsmanship and enduring style, and was always a brand I respected. We developed a really nice working relationship very quickly. I realized that we have many of the same ideals and values." That, and a shared sense of style.