Rachel Donath’s New Furniture Range Fuses Maximalist Detail With Minimalist Style

Furniture designer and collector Rachel Donath calls herself a “maximal minimalist”.

When it comes to styling a space, she says less is always more. But when it comes to choosing individual pieces, the more artistic touches the better.

“I prefer less to more in terms of quantity of items in a space, but every individual piece has maximal detail and attention to line, form, shape,” Donath says.

“I am very much drawn to shapely pieces, something out of the ordinary [or] an unusual pairing. I love pieces that are interesting to look at from different perspectives, that tell a story and that don’t date.”

Today Donath launches Forme, the third collection from her eponymous brand, which plays with shapes to create sculptural pieces of furniture with bold silhouettes.

She designed five items for the new drop – a cool cotton bedhead with matching bolster pillow inspired by twin mountain peaks ($3600), a mirror framed by hand-moulded plaster that nods to ancient civilisations ($1600), a burl wood lamp ($2100), an impossibly sophisticated tasselled triangular ottoman ($840), and a bamboo coffee table that takes its cues from optimistic mid-century French design ($2200).

They join her existing wares – including vintage decor, stools, writing desks and hall tables – from the debut line Donath curated for the brand in 2021, and a second line she designed herself and launched in March 2022.

The Melbourne designer, who works out of a studio and warehouse in Moorabbin, says every piece in the collection tells a story of discovery and is as much about the material as the shape.

“Our philosophy revolves around creating timeless and modern heirlooms – furniture pieces that are more than their function and certainly more than any passing trend,” Donath says.

“Every piece tells a story or reflects a feeling, a memory, a place. This story is felt in each piece and adds dimension to it.”

Creating each piece is a journey that starts in Melbourne, but can become a global task depending on the production process and item in question.

Donath designs the pieces and produces prototypes on home soil. Then it’s on to manufacturing – sometimes onshore with Australian crafters, sometimes outsourced to top artisans worldwide.

Donath says collaborating with fellow creatives is a big perk of the job. “When you're working with artisans with a genuine love of their craft, they naturally share ideas and suggestions on how to improve a design based on their knowledge of the material or manufacturing process,” she says.

“It’s been through this kind of back and forth that we come up with a final design that not only reflects my initial vision, but is far better than anything I could have dreamed up on my own.”

One thing Donath does insist on is keeping the brand’s manufacturing as sustainable as possible. There are very strict guidelines on what materials can be used; among the must-haves are recycled timbers, non-toxic glue and sustainably sourced fabrics.

“We do everything in our power to minimise our footprint,” Donath says. “We're always trying to learn more about how we can do things better for our customers, our collaborators and for the world we inhabit.”

Rachel Donath products can be purchased through stockists in Sydney, New York, Los Angeles and Oslo, and online.

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