The New Nostalgia

Roweam’s Pavilion chair is equal parts nostalgia and modernity. / Courtesy photo

Blair Moore spent much of her childhood on a working cattle farm in Australia. “I grew up in unfinished historic houses,” she recalls. Her father was a craftsman who often built furniture; her mother was an amateur interior designer. Moore’s upbringing instilled in her a deep appreciation for quality, artistry, and technique, as well as “being mindful of the purpose of something and its connection to human hands,” she says.

Before becoming an interior designer, Moore studied fashion at Parsons School of Design. “I’ve always been a maker who enjoys playing with material palettes,” she says, noting that in fashion, she was focused on sustainability, crafting the internals of garments, and studying how different fabrics and embroideries reacted together.

Gold-striped coupe glasses from Roweam’s True Vintage collection. / Courtesy photo

As an interior designer—she launched Moore House Design in 2018 with one other employee, now they are a team of 10—Moore found herself increasingly designing custom furniture for her projects, tapping into her love of materiality, belief in sustainability, and desire to create enduring, well-made pieces. Ultimately, this led to her decision to develop her own luxury brand, Roweam, which launched in September.

The collection features both new-vintage and true-vintage pieces. “For me, it’s about creating a collection of quality pieces that have the best internals and externals. It’s not just about what a piece looks like; it’s about the interior architecture, too,” Moore says. All of Roweam’s pieces are designed to age gracefully and develop a unique patina, mirroring the lives and experiences of its owners.

The Bromley sofa was designed for comfort, with angled arms that invite lounging. / Courtesy photo

Designed in Warren, Rhode Island, where a Roweam showroom is slated to open in 2024, all new pieces are American-made and housed in Fall River, Massachusetts. There’s an East Coast vibe—with grit, says Moore—to Roweam’s heirloom-quality furniture, which includes the down- and feather-filled Bromley sofa featuring angled arms that invite lounging, and an English-style slipcover. The Pavilion chair takes cues from the classic wingback style with casual, modern additions, including a swayed back and curvaceous form; a layer of fringe on the bottom cascades onto the floor, creating a lovely, mod impact.

“The idea is that we are creating beautifully tailored pieces that almost become memories themselves,” says Moore, who has been curating items in the line’s true-vintage collection for years from all over the world. “In 20 years, we want your kids to fight over a Roweam sofa because it’s held up so beautifully.”

First published in the print edition of Boston Home’s Winter 2024 issue, with the headline “The New Nostalgia.”