Eva Chen’s resume is packed with over two decades of fashion editorial experience. But even as a seasoned professional, the vice president of fashion partnerships at Instagram admits that she’s a humble newbie when it comes to design. Her foray into interiors is relatively recent, and buying furniture always had an “intimidation factor” for her.
The creative has been developing her own intuitive palette over time, though. Her most recent revelation came when she purchased her weekend home three years ago, working in tandem with the architecture and design firm Hendricks Churchill and taking a plunge into her “first real, deep immersion” into the design world. But hunting for furniture for her three children—Ren, nine; Tao, seven; and River, three—posed an unexpected challenge. “I noticed most of the kid’s furniture I came across felt utilitarian and sterile,” Chen tells AD over Zoom from an upstairs room at her part-time residence. “Some things I found also felt too design-forward and extremely expensive.”
Eva Chen’s capsule collection with West Elm Kids was birthed out of her brimming desire to create a comforting sanctuary for children to explore through elevated essentials fit for any space. The 34-piece assortment marries functionality and whimsical cues—in other words, it’s refined without sacrificing the fun kids actually want. (Be warned, a few marker smudges and kinetic sand will always manage to find their way onto something, somehow, notes Chen.) The line features items like textured bedding, playful rugs, curved bookcases, and even a rolling art easel. Prices range from $39 for quilts and cotton baskets to $2,499 for a lofted bunk bed. “I felt like this was an opportunity to merge my design wishes and what I’ve been learning about design in a friendly, accessible way,” she says.
Motherhood was very much the center of Chen’s inspiration for the West Elm collaboration, merging her children’s unique characteristics with her own upbringing as a first-generation Chinese-American. “I was painfully shy growing up [and] I always had my nose in a book,” she tells AD. “So, we tried infusing reading into almost every piece.” Her bookish tendencies as a kid are heavily embedded in the collection’s hero items—the Arched Reading Nook is a lounger with built-in shelves on the sides.
The Lofted Bed is one of the top hits among her own children. It functions, of course, as a bed, but underneath it is a cozy nest intended as a quiet space for reading. It’s adorned with shelves to stash away their favorite books at arm’s reach (or knowing kids, storing tiny toys and tchotchkes galore). “I thought it would be fun to have a place where my kids could build pillow forts, draping a blanket from the loft and then hiding inside the nook,” Chen says.
Above all, each piece is an “invitation for kids to play,” she adds. “I’ve read about a dilemma with modern parenting: Kids are not playing as much because they’re so programmed and optimized these days, and I think they’re missing out on so much,” Chen tells AD. Taking in this fact ultimately inspired the childlike ethos that’s seen threaded throughout the collection. She masterfully ideates “quirky and cool” furniture that nurtures a kid’s innate curiosity and encourages adventure inside the home—all while honoring her inner child during the process.
But similar to fashion, Chen knows that furniture, too, is not a one-size-fits-all. “Parents nowadays have a lot of choices that reflect their personal aesthetics, and kids are also never one-size-fits-all,” she says. “I wanted to create pieces that appeal to both parents and kids equally. I know that once I get my hands on everything, every single item in the collection will be deeply used and loved in my home.”
