KOUROS MAGHSOUDI DESIGNS FOR PARTY PEOPLE

The design world can sometimes feel overly serious with its veneration of clean lines, simple forms, and general refinement, but Kouros Maghsoudi’s playful, hedonistic work pushes back against this tendency. Take the Hug Tray from his Bundle collection, which débuted at The Standard — the glossy, hand-poured ceramic piece can be used as an ashtray, jewelry holder, or “party plate.” “If I’m designing for someone’s home, I’m designing for their lifestyle and behavior. People smoke cigarettes and party, so why isn’t anyone designing for that?” Maghsoudi asks. He realized the tray design would work equally well as a bed, so he blew up the size — the Hug Bed’s fiberglass frame embraces two aluminum sheets that slide into it and can be expanded or contracted to fit different mattress sizes. Though he once designed a 600-pound marble DJ table for Alcova Milano, a giant phallus-shaped mirror, and a pill-shaped coffee table with a hidden compartment, Maghsoudi’s work isn’t just about indulgence — the Taarof table from his first collection is a nod to his Persian roots, a cocktail table made for hosting and complete with a built-in ice bucket, ashtray, and fruit bowl. His designs can be sustainable, too. His Neo Lounge chair, a Space Age–inspired chrome chair, is made from recycled aluminium. “It’s hand-welded, handmade, and can be recycled. You can literally throw it in the recycling bin,” he says. “But hopefully you don’t.”