A young Italian had a dream to make well-designed furniture and do so ethically and sustainably. It came true at just 32 years old for Lucian Ercolani when he founded Ercol in 1920, building the first factory in High Wycombe, England. His story is one of the greats – a young boy who came from nothing and went on to establish one of Britain's flagship furniture companies.

Lucian Ercolani

Lucian grew up in the little country town of Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino in Italy. But after the Ercolani family emigrated, London became home in the 1890s.

It all started as a rebellious thought: to live in the space between architecture and interiors. A design duo took their classical design training and began exercising a new frame of thinking in order to defy norms within upholstery and art. This is none other than Space Copenhagen.

Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rützou were just students at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture when they met and were tracked to become direct competitors in the world of Copenhagen design. But instead, they did something different. This pair not only had mutual interests and talents but also frustrations around the same subject matter. Their design education prepared them for theory, for aesthetic excellence, but not for the humdrum practicality of designing for everyday life.

You finally find the rug you love – it's the perfect weave, it's comfortable and durable, and you're ready to roll that thing out like it's meant for the feet of Oscar winners. But then you get it home and the worst happens: the sizing is off. Even though you made sure to measure your room upwards of 28 times. Not to fear, we've all been in this sticky situation, so much so, we've created a guide with the help of Armadillo &Co to help you select the perfect rug the very first time.

The Dining Room

Beyond style or function, we're constantly looking for transparency and honesty when it comes to manufacturing, materials, and sustainability practices. There is a lot that goes undisclosed when it comes to ethical practices and sometimes hours at the computer can lead you right back to your first question – can I trust that this brand acts with thoughtfulness towards the environment? We want to make the process a little easier and share a brand that is committed to sustainability: our friends at Gus* Modern.

Gus* is based in Toronto, and as we know, Canadians are our North American neighbors that seem to just do everything better. Maybe it's all in our heads, maybe it's Justin Trudeau fulfilling our leadership dreams? No question this has translated to their practices within the furniture world. Okay, enough from us, here's what

Now that Fourth of July has come and gone, the barbecue has officially been christened for use, it's time for us to properly bask in the humidity once more.They say if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen ... but forgot to add an addendum that says just grab a cheese plate and go outside. For us, it's important to remind ourselves that we can still feel connected to summer when living in a city – as long as we make time for respites. A purposeful pause is a way for you to reclaim your time and curate an experience solely for yourself, or as an intimate practice for you and a few friends. And the perfect way to do so is to unplug, share a meal, and take advantage of a green space.

We decided the best way to show you some effective picnic styling was to have one of our own.

Essentials:

• Fabric Napkins – they’re washable and help save the environment
• Real Plates from the cupboard – they aren't too heavy

She'll be the first to tell you, it's people that are the nucleus of both her life and her work.